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Kris Kristofferson

Kris Kristofferson

Kris Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936 in Brownsville, Texas) is an influential country music songwriter, singer and actor. He is best known for hits like "Me and Bobby McGee" and "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", many of which were co-written with Shel Silverstein or Fred Foster.

Early life

Although born in Brownsville, Texas, he moved around much as a youth, finally settling down in San Mateo, California, where he graduated high school. An aspiring writer, Kristofferson earned a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University (Merton College, Oxford) after previously attending Pomona College. While in England, Kristofferson began writing songs and working with his manager Larry Parnes; he recorded for Top Rank Records under the name Kris Carson, but was unsuccessful. In 1960, Kristofferson graduated with a master's degree in English literature and married an old girlfriend, Fran Beir. He joined the United States Army and became a helicopter pilot. During the early 1960s, he was stationed in West Germany and returned to music and forming a band. Kristofferson sent some of his compositions to a friend's relative, Marijohn Wilkin, a successful Nashville, Tennessee songwriter.

Music career

Kristofferson moved to Nashville after resigning his commission in 1965, intent on becoming a professional songwriter. He worked a variety of odd jobs while struggling to make it in the music business, burdened with expensive medical bills as a result of his son's defective esophagus. He and his wife soon divorced. In 1966, Dave Dudley released a successful Kristofferson single, "Viet Nam Blues". The following year, Kristofferson signed to Epic Records and released a single, "Golden Idol"/"Killing Time", but the song was not successful. Within the next few years, more Kristofferson originals hit the charts, performed by Roy Drusky ("Jody and the Kid"), Billy Walker & the Tennessee Walkers ("From the Bottle to the Bottom"), Ray Stevens ("Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down"), Jerry Lee Lewis ("Once More with Feeling") Faron Young ("Your Time's Comin'") and Roger Miller ("Me and Bobby McGee", "Best of all Possible Worlds", "Darby's Castle"). He also gained some success as a performer himself, due to Johnny Cash's introduction of Kristofferson at the Newport Folk Festival. Kristofferson signed to Monument Records as a recording artist. The label was run by Fred Foster, also manager of Columbine Music, Kristofferson's songwriting label. His debut album for Monument was Kristofferson, which included a few new songs as well as many of his previous hits. Sales were poor. In spite of his failure as a recording artist, Kristofferson's compositions were still in high demand. Ray Price ("For the Good Times"), Waylon Jennings ("The Taker"), Bobby Bare ("Come Sundown"), Johnny Cash ("Sunday Morning Coming Down") and Sammi Smith ("Help Me Make It Through the Night") all recorded successful versions of his songs in the early 1970s. "For the Good Times" (Ray Price) won 'Song of the Year" in 1970 from the Academy of Country Music, while "Sunday Morning Coming Down" (Johnny Cash) won the same award from the Academy's rival, the Country Music Association in the same year. This is the only time an individual has won the same award from these two organizations in the same year for different songs. In 1971, Janis Joplin, a very influential vocalist, had a #1 pop hit with "Me and Bobby McGee" from her posthumous Pearl, which was followed by more hits from Ray Price ("I Won't Mention It Again", "I'd Rather Be Sorry"), Joe Simon ("Help Me Make It Through the Night"), Bobby Bare ("Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends"), O.C. Smith ("Help Me Make It Through the Night") Jerry Lee Lewis ("Me and Bobby McGee"), Patti Page ("I'd Rather Be Sorry") and Peggy Little ("I've Got to Have You"). Kristofferson released his second album, The Silver Tongued Devil and I in 1971; the album was a success and established Kristofferson's career as a recording artist in his own right. Not long after, Kristofferson made his acting debut in The Last Movie (directed by Dennis Hopper) and appeared at the Isle of Wight Festival. In 1972, he acted in Cisco Pike and released his third album, Border Lord; the album was all-new material and sales were sluggish. He also swept the Grammies that year with numerous songs nominated and several winning song of the year. Kristofferson's 1972 fourth album, Jesus Was a Capricorn began slow but the third single, "Why Me", was a success and significantly increased album sales.

Film career

For the next few years, Kristofferson focused on acting. He appeared in Blume in Love (directed by Paul Mazursky) and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (directed by Sam Peckinpah) and also married Rita Coolidge. With his new wife, Kristofferson released an album called Full Moon, another success buoyed by numerous hit singles and Grammy nominations. However, his fifth album, Spooky Lady's Sideshow was a commercial failure, setting the trend for most of the rest of his career. Artists like Ronnie Milsap and Johnny Duncan continued to record Kristofferson's material with much success, but his own rough voice and anti-pop sound kept his own audience to a minimum. He continued acting, in Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Vigilante Force, The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, and A Star Is Born (with Barbra Streisand). In spite of his success with Streisand, Kristofferson's career was heading downward with the non-charting ninth album, Shake Hands with the Devil. His next film, Freedom Road, did not earn a theatrical release in the US and he divorced Rita Coolidge. Meanwhile, more artists were taking his songs to the top of the charts, including Lena Martell ("One Day at a Time") and Willie Nelson, whose Willie Nelson Sings Kris Kristofferson LP was a smash success. Kristofferson's next film was Heaven's Gate, a phenomenal failure that temporarily ended his acting career.

Later career

In 1982, Kristofferson participated (with Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, and Brenda Lee) on The Winning Hand, a country success that failed to break into mainstream audiences. He then married again, to Lisa Meyers, and concentrated on films for a time, appearing in The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck, Flashpoint and Songwriter. The latter also starred Willie Nelson and Kristofferson was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. Music from Songwriter (an album of duets between Nelson and Kristofferson) was a massive country success. Nelson and Kristofferson continued their partnership, and added Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash to form the supergroup The Highwaymen. Their first album, Highwayman was a huge success, and the supergroup continued working together for a time. In 1985, Kristoferson starred in Trouble in Mind and released Repossessed a politically aware album that was a country success, particularly "They Killed Him" (also performed by Bob Dylan), a tribute to his heroes, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Jesus, and Mohandas Gandhi. Kristofferson also appeared in Amerika at about the same time; the mini-series was controversial, hypothesizing life under Communist domination. In spite of the success of Highwayman 2 in 1990, Kristofferson's solo recording career slipped significantly in the early 1990s, though he continued to successfully record with the Highwaymen. Lone Star (1996 film) reinvigorated Kristofferson's acting career, and he soon appeared in Blade, Blade II, A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries, Fire Down Below, Tim Burton's remake of Planet of the Apes and Payback. Kris Kristofferson was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and in 1977 to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. His last album is called Broken Freedom Song and was recorded live in San Francisco in 2003. In 2004 Kris Kristofferson was put in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

External links

- [http://www.chapter33.com Chapter33.com]
- Kristofferson, Kris Kristofferson, Kris Kristofferson, Kris Kristofferson, Kris Kristofferson, Kris Kristofferson, Kris Kristofferson, Kris Kristofferson, Kris Kristofferson, Kris Kristofferson, Kris Kristofferson, Kris simple:Kris Kristofferson

1936

1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar).

Events

January-March

leap year starting on Wednesday
- January 7-10 - Second Italo-Abyssinian War: In the Battle of Ganale Doria, General Graziani attacks troops under Ras Desta Damtew guarding southern Ethiopia; after over three days of slaughter, the Ethiopians break and flee.
- January 15 - The first building to be completely covered in glass is completed in Toledo, Ohio, for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company.
- January 16 - Serial killer Albert Fish executed in Sing Sing
- January 20 - Death of George V of the United Kingdom. His son Edward VIII succeedes him as King of the United Kingdom, King of Ireland and Emperor of India.
- January 24 - Albert Sarraut's government begins in France.
- January 28 - Ismail Kadare, Albanian writer.
- January 31 - The Green Hornet radio show debuts.
- February 4 - Radium E. becomes the first radioactive element to be made synthetically.
- February 6 - The 1936 Winter Olympic Games opens in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.
- February 10-15 - Second Italo-Abyssinian War: Ethiopian units under Ras Mulugeta counterattack southwest of Chalacot in the Battle of Amba Aradam, but are repulsed with heavy losses.
- From February 14, 1936, to March 1, 1945, AG Weser launched a total of 162 U-boats.
- February 19 - Manuel Azaña's government begins in Spain
- February 26 - 1400 Japanese soldiers invade government offices in Tokyo. They demand arrest of general Kazushige Ugaki and that general Sadao Araki made head of the Kwantung Army and death of the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal, the minister of Finance and Inspector General of Military Education
- February 29 - Emperor Hirohito orders Japanese army to arrest 123 conspirators in Tokyo government offices - 19 of them are executed in July.
- March 7 - A small contingent of German troops, increased considerably in number in the following days, marched into the Rhineland demilitarized zone bordering France.
- March 31 - Second Italo-Abyssinian War: Emperor Haile Selassie personally leads an Ethiopian counter-attack in the Battle of Maychew. A crushing Ethiopian defeat, this is the last major battle of the war.

May-June

Battle of Maychew
- May 2 - Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia leaves the capital city of Addis Ababa for Djibouti, whence he travels to Europe to personally address the League of Nations.
- May 5 - Italians occupy Addis Ababa
- May 8 - Jockey Ralph Neves temporarily dies during a race in Bay Meadows Racecourse in California but dashes back from the morgue to the racetrack
- May 9 - Italy officially annexes Ethiopia.
- May 12 - The Santa Fe railroad in the United States inaugurates the all-Pullman Super Chief passenger train between Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California.
- May 18 - Sada Abe, a Japanese former prostitute, causes the death of her lover Kichizo Ishida from asphyxia while having sexual intercourse. She performs penis removal on the corpse. She wanders the streets of Tokyo for three days with the severed penis placed in her kimono.
- May 21 - The Japanese Police apprehends Sada Abe for manslaughter. She is sentenced to six years in prison but she gains fame from the incident. She would later become an actress.
- May 27 - The first flight by the Irish airline Aer Lingus takes place.
- May 27 - British luxury liner The Queen Mary leaves Southampton on her maiden voyage over the Atlantic
- May 28 - Alan Turing submits "On Computable Numbers" for publication.
- June 3 - Haile Selassie arrives to London in exile.
- June 4 - Léon Blum becomes Prime Minister of France.
- June 11 - Opening of the London International Surrealist Exhibition at the New Burlington Galleries.
- June 15 - Army laboratory explodes in Estonia - 50 dead.

July-September

Estonia
- July - A major heat wave strikes the Midwestern United States, hundreds of high temperature records are set
- July 4 - Last day of the London International Surrealist Exhibition at the New Burlington Galleries
- July 11 - Triborough Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic
- July 13 - Murder of Spanish monarchist Jose Calvo Sotelo
- July 13 to 14 - Peak of July 1936 heat wave. The states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana all set new state records for high temperature.
- July 16 – George McMahon tries to shoot Edward VIII at the Colour ceremony. Later he tries to claim he was working for MI5
- July 17 - Spanish Civil War: Francisco Franco and other generals attempt a coup d'état, starting a conservative rebellion against the recently-elected leftist Popular Front government of Spain
- July 17 - Franco's forces invade Canary Islands
- July 18 - Troops of Francisco Franco land on Morocco and Barcelona - Spanish Civil War begins
- July 19 - Spain - the main trade union, the anarchist CNT calls for a revolution to defeat the military coup and institute libertarian communism.
- July - British Police end routine armed patrols in London
- August 1 - The 1936 Summer Olympics open in Berlin, Germany.
- August 4 - Ioannis Metaxas bans political parties in Greece
- August 5 - Military coup in Greece - Ioannis Metaxas takes power
- August 14 - Rainey Bethea is hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky in the last public execution in the United States
- August 25 - Lev Kamenev and Grigory Zinoviev were shot by a firing squad
- September 6 - The last surviving thylacine, Benjamin, dies alone in his cage in the Hobart Zoo in Tasmania.
- September 14 - Landslide in northern Norway - 74 dead

October

Norway
- October 1 - Francisco Franco elected Jefe del Estado (Head of State) in Spain.
- October 5 - In Jarrow, England, 200 unemployed shipyard workers begin a march to London to petition the government to create more jobs. On October 31, 197 of them arrive on the Houses of Parliament
- October 7 - Basque representatives in Guernica declare the Basque Republic of Euzkadi
- October 9 - Generators at Boulder Dam (later renamed to Hoover Dam) begins to transmit electricity from the Colorado River 266 miles to Los Angeles, California.
- October 13 - The Jarrow March sets off for London.
- October 13 - Regular ferry traffic begins between Dover and Calais
- October 23 - Legión Cóndor joins the Falangists
- October 25 - Rome-Berlin axis is formed between Italy and Germany.
- October 28 - US President Franklin Roosevelt rededicates the Statue of Liberty on its 50th anniversary.
- October 31 - The Boy Scouts of the Philippines was formed.

November-December

Boy Scouts of the Philippines]
- November 3 - U.S. presidential election, 1936: Franklin D. Roosevelt is reelected to a second term in a landslide victory over Alf Landon.
- November 12 - In California, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge opens to traffic.
- November 16 - Edward VIII of the United Kingdom announces his intention to marry Wallis Simpson
- November 20 - In UK, new Matrimonial Causes Act permits divorce on the grounds of cruelty, drunkenness, willful desertion, incurable insanity, and being a prisoner on a death sentence
- November 23 - The first edition of Life is published.
- November 25 - In Berlin, Nazi-Germany and Japan sign the Anti-Comintern Pact, thus agreeing to consult on what measures to take "to safeguard their common interests" in case of an unprovoked attack by the Soviet Union against either nation (Adolf Hitler broke the terms of the pact when he signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact in August, 1939).
- November 25 - Abraham Lincoln Brigade sails from New York City on its way to Spanish Civil War
- November 30 - In London, the Crystal Palace is destroyed in a fire (it had been built for the 1851 Great Exhibition).
- December 3 Radio station WQXR is officially founded
- December 10-11 - Edward VIII of the United Kingdom abdicates
- December 11 - Abdication of King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom leads to accession of King George VI of the United Kingdom.
- December 12 - George VI of the United Kingdom accedes to the throne.
- December 12-26 - Men of two of his generals kidnap Chiang Kai-Shek in Xi'an (Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng do it to force him to negotiate a deal with the communists)
- December 30 - The United Auto Workers union stages its first sit-down strike.

Unknown Dates

- Inge Lehmann argues that the Earth's molten interior has a solid core.
- The Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Turkish Straits is signed.
- YMCA Youth and Government program founded in Albany, New York
- Oswald Mosley leads an Anti-Jewish march through London's East End, where it meets with opposition
- Start of the Great Arab Revolt in the British mandate of Palestine (lasting until 1939)
- Jean Piaget (1896-1980) publishes 'La naissance de l'intelligence chez l'enfant'.
- Mordecai Ham begins radio ministry.

Births

January-February

- January 2 - Roger Miller, American singer (d. 1992)
- January 3 - Georgina Spelvin, film actress
- January 10 - Stephen Ambrose, American historian (d. 2002)
- January 10 - Robert Wilson, American physicist and radio astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate
- January 21 - Koji Hashimoto, Japanese film director (d. 2005)
- January 22 - Ong Teng Cheong, President of Singapore (d. 2002)
- January 22 - Alan J. Heeger, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- January 22 - Joseph Wambaugh, American author
- January 23 - Jerry Kramer, American football player
- January 27 - Troy Donahue, American actor (d. 2001)
- January 27 - Samuel C. C. Ting, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- January 28 - Alan Alda, American actor
- January 28 - Ismail Kadare, Albanian writer
- February 1 - Azie Taylor Morton, U.S. Treasurer (d. 2003)
- February 11 - Burt Reynolds, American actor
- February 14 - Andrew Prine, American actor
- February 17 - Jim Brown, American football player
- February 20 - Larry Hovis, American actor (d. 2003)
- February 21 - Barbara Jordan, American politician (d. 1996)
- February 22 - J. Michael Bishop, American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- February 24 - Lance Reventlow, English playboy, entrepreneur, and race car driver (d. 1972)
- February 29 - Henri Richard, Canadian hockey player

March-April

- March 4 - Jim Clark, Scottish race car driver (d. 1968)
- March 5 - Canaan Banana, first President of Zimbabwe (d. 2003)
- March 5 - Dean Stockwell, American actor
- March 6 - Marion Barry Jr., Mayor of Washington, DC
- March 7 - Loren Acton, astronaut
- March 9 - Tom Sestak, American football player (d. 1987)
- March 11 - Rev. Ralph Abernathy, American civil rights leader (d. 1990)
- March 11 - Antonin Scalia, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
- March 17 - Ladislav Kupkovic, Slovak composer
- March 18 - Frederik Willem de Klerk, President of South Africa, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- March 19 - Ursula Andress, Swiss actress
- March 20 - Lee "Scratch" Perry, Jamaican musician
- March 24 - David Suzuki, Canadian environmentalist
- March 28 - Mario Vargas Llosa, Peruvian author and politician
- March 31 - Marge Piercy, American novelist
- April 10 - John Madden, American football coach and sportscaster
- April 14 - Kenneth Mars, American actor
- April 22 - Glen Campbell, American musician
- April 23 - Roy Orbison, American singer (d. 1988)
- April 29 - Zubin Mehta, Indian conductor

May-August

- May 2 - Engelbert Humperdinck, British singer
- May 9 - Albert Finney, English actor
- May 9 - Glenda Jackson, English actress and politician
- May 12 - Frank Stella, American painter
- May 14 - Aline Chainé, First Lady of Canada
- May 14 - Bobby Darin, American singer (d. 1973)
- May 14 - Waheeda Rehman, Indian actress
- May 15 - Anna Maria Alberghetti, Italian-born actress
- May 15 - Paul Zindel, American novelist and playwright (d. 2003)
- May 16 - Karl Lehmann, German theologian
- May 17 - Dennis Hopper, American actor and director
- May 22 - M. Scott Peck, American psychiatrist and writer (d. 2005)
- May 28 - Betty Shabazz, American civil rights leader
- May 30 - Keir Dullea, American actor
- June 4 - Nutan, Indian actress
- June 8 - James Darren, American actor and singer
- June 8 - Kenneth G. Wilson, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- June 22 - Kris Kristofferson, American singer, songwriter, and actor
- June 23 - Costas Simitis, Prime Minister of Greece
- June 26 - Robert Maclennan, British politician
- June 28 - Cathy Carr, American singer (d. 1988)
- June 28 - Chuck Howley, American football player
- June 29 - Harmon Killebrew, baseball player
- July 5 - James Mirrlees, Scottish economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- July 6 - Dave Allen, Irish comedian (d. 2005)
- July 23 - Don Drysdale, baseball player (d. 1993)
- July 28 - Garfield Sobers, West Indian cricketer
- August 1 - Yves St. Laurent, Algerian-born French fashion designer
- August 4 - Assia Djebar, Algerian writer and filmmaker
- August 20 - Hideki Shirakawa, Japanese chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- August 21 - Wilt Chamberlain, American basketball player(d. 1999)
- August 29 - Inga Artamonova, Russian speed skater (d. 1966)

September-December

- September 2 - Andrew Grove, Hungarian-born businessman
- September 7 - Buddy Holly, American singer (d. 1959)
- September 14 - Walter Koenig, American actor
- September 14 - Ferid Murad, American physician and pharmacologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- September 24 - Jim Henson, American puppeteer, filmmaker, and television producer (d. 1990)
- October 3 - Steve Reich, American composer
- October 7 - Charles Dutoit, Swiss conductor
- October 16 - Andrei Chikatilo, Russian serial killer (d. 1994)
- October 23 - Barry Sinclair, New Zealand cricket captains
- October 31 - Michael Landon, American actor (d. 1991)
- November 12 - Mills Lane, American boxing referee
- November 19 - Yuan T. Lee, Taiwanese-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- November 20 - Don DeLillo, American author
- November 21 - Victor Chang, Australian heart surgeon
- December 11 - Taku Yamasaki, Japanese politician
- December 25 - Princess Alexandra of Kent
- December 29 - Mary Tyler Moore, American actress
- December 29 - Ray Nitschke, American football player (d. 1998)

Deaths

- January 16 - Albert Fish, American serial killer (executed) (b. 1890)
- January 18 - Rudyard Kipling, British writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)
- January 20 - King George V of the United Kingdom (b. 1865)
- February 4 - Wilhelm Gustloff, German leader of the Swiss Nazi Party (b. 1895)
- February 19 - Billy Mitchell, U.S. general and military aviation pioneer (b. 1879)
- February 26 - Saito Makoto, Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1858)
- February 27 - Ivan Pavlov, Russian psychologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1849)
- February 28 - Charles Nicolle, French bacteriologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1866)
- March 16 - Marguerite Durand, French journalist and feminist leader (b. 1864)
- March 21 - Alexander Glazunov, Russian composer (b. 1865)
- April 3 - Bruno Hauptmann, German killer of Charles Lindbergh Jr. (b. 1899)
- April 8 - Robert Bárány, Austrian physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1876)
- April 30 - Alfred Edward Housman, English poet (b. 1859)
- June 11 - Robert E. Howard, American author (suicide

Country music

Country music, also called country and western music or country-western, is an amalgam of popular musical forms developed in the Southern United States, with roots in traditional folk music, Celtic Music, Blues, Gospel music, and Old-time music. However, country music is actually a catch-all category that embraces several different genres of music: Nashville sound (the pop-like music very popular in the 1960s); bluegrass, a fast mandolin, banjo and fiddle-based music popularized by Bill Monroe and by the Foggy Mountain Boys; Western which encompasses traditional Western ballads and Hollywood Cowboy Music, Western swing, a sophisticated dance music popularized by Bob Wills; Bakersfield sound (popularized by Buck Owens and Merle Haggard); Outlaw country; Cajun; Zydeco; gospel; oldtime (generally pre-1930 folk music); honky tonk; Appalachian; rockabilly; neotraditional country and jug band. Each style is unique in its execution, its use of rhythms, and its chord structures, though many songs have been adapted to the different country styles. One example is the tune Milk Cow Blues, an early blues tune by Kokomo Arnold that has been performed in a wide variety of country styles by everyone from Aerosmith to Bob Wills to Willie Nelson, George Strait to Ricky Nelson and Elvis Presley. Vernon Dalhart was the first country singer to have a nationwide hit (May 1924, with "The Wreck of Old '97") (see External Links below). Other important early recording artists were Riley Puckett, Don Richardson, Fiddling John Carson, Ernest Stoneman, Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers, and The Skillet Lickers. Some trace the origins of modern country music to two seminal influences and a remarkable coincidence. Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family are widely considered to be the founders of country music, and their songs were first captured at an historic recording session in Bristol, Tennessee on August 1, 1927, where Ralph Peer was the talent scout and sound recordist. It is possible to categorize many country singers as being either from the Jimmie Rodgers strand or the Carter Family strand of country music.

Jimmie Rodgers' influence

Jimmie Rodgers' gift to country music was country folk. Building on the traditional ballads and musical influences of the South, Jimmie wrote and sang songs that ordinary people could relate to. He took the experiences of his own life in the Meridian, Mississippi, area and those of the people he met on the railroad, in bars and on the streets to create his lyrics. He used the musical influences of the traditional ballads and the folk to create his tunes. A annual festival has been held in Meridian for over 30 years. Pathos, humor, women, whiskey, murder, death, disease and destitution are all present in his lyrics and these themes have been carried forward and developed by his followers. People like Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Townes van Zandt, Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash have also suffered, and shared their suffering, bringing added dimensions to those themes. It would be fair to say that Jimmie Rodgers sang about life and death from a male perspective, and this viewpoint has dominated some areas of country music. It would also be fair to credit his influence for the development of honky tonk, rockabilly and the Bakersfield sound.

Hank Williams

Jimmie Rodgers is a major foundation stone in the structure of country music, but the most influential artist from the Jimmie Rodgers strand is undoubtedly Hank Williams, Sr. In his short career (he was only 29 when he died), he dominated the country scene and his songs have been covered by practically every other country artist, male and female. Some have even included him in their compositions (for example, Waylon Jennings and Alan Jackson). Hank had two personas: as Hank Williams he was a singer-songwriter and entertainer; as "Luke the Drifter", he was a songwriting crusader. The complexity of his character was reflected in the introspective songs he wrote about heartbreak, happiness and love (e.g., "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry"), and the more upbeat numbers about Cajun food ("Jambalaya") or barbershop Indians ("Kaw-Liga"). He took the music to a different level and a wider audience. Both Hank Williams, Jr. and his son Hank Williams III have been innovators within country music as well, Hank Jr. leading towards rock fusion and "outlaw country", and Hank III going much further in reaching out to death metal and psychobilly soul

The Carter Family's influence

The other Ralph Peer discovery, the Carter family, consisted of A.P. Carter, his wife Sara and their sister-in-law Maybelle. They built a long recording career based on the sonorous bass of A.P., the beautiful singing of Sara and the unique guitar playing of Maybelle. A.P.'s main contribution was the collection of songs and ballads that he picked up in his expeditions into the hill country around their home in Maces Springs, Virginia. In addition, being a man, he made it possible for Sara and Maybelle to perform without stigma at that time. These two women were the musical talent. They arranged the songs that A.P. collected and wrote their own songs. They were the precursors of a line of talented female country singers like Kitty Wells, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Skeeter Davis, Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton and June Carter Cash, the daughter of Maybelle and the wife of Johnny Cash.

Bluegrass

Bluegrass carries on the tradition of the old String Band Music and was invented, in its pure form, by Bill Monroe. The name "Bluegrass" was simply taken from Monroe's band, the "Bluegrass Boys. The first recording in the classic line-up was made in 1945: Bill Monroe on Mandolin and Vocals, Lester Flatt on Guitar and Vocals, Earl Scruggs on 5-String Banjo, Chubby Wise on Fiddle and Cedric Rainwater on Upright Bass. This band set the standard for all bluegrass bands to follow, most of the famous early Bluegrass musicians were one-time band members of the Bluegrass Boys, like Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs, Jimmy Martin and Del McCoury, or played with Monroe occasionally, like Sonny Osborne, Ralph & Carter Stanley and Don Reno. Monroe also influenced people like Ricky Skaggs, Alison Krauss and Rhonda Vincent, who carry on the folk and ballad tradition in the bluegrass style.

Other influences

Country music has had only a handful of Black stars Charley Pride and Deford Bailey being the most notable. Pride endured much open racism early in his career with some radio programmers refusing to play a "nigger". Many TV audiences were shocked to realize that the songs they enjoyed were performed by a black man. Pride became the first black member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1993. He is considered a major influence on traditionalists today. Country music has also influenced the work of many black musicians such as Ray Charles and Keb' Mo'.

The Nashville sound

During the 1960s, country music became a multimillion-dollar industry centered on Nashville, Tennessee. Under the direction of Chet Atkins, the Nashville sound brought country music to a diverse audience. Although country music has great stylistic diversity, this diversity was strangled somewhat by the formulaic approach of the record producers like Chet Atkins. They played safe to protect sales. Even today the variety of country music is not usually well reflected in radio airplay and the popular perception of country music is still influenced by the maudlin ballads and whining steel guitars that many people still associate with the genre.

Reaction to the Nashville sound

The "vanilla"-flavored sounds that emanated from Nashville under the influence of Chet Atkins and his fellow producers led to a reaction among musicians outside Nashville, who saw that there was more to the genre than "the same old tunes, fiddle and guitar..." (Waylon Jennings). California produced the Bakersfield sound, promoted by Buck Owens and Merle Haggard and based on the work of the legendary Maddox Brothers and Rose, whose wild eclectic mix of old time country, hillbilly swing and gospel in the 1940s and 1950s was a feature of honky-tonks and dance halls in the state. Texas produced rebels like Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, Jerry Jeff Walker and others who bucked the Nashville system and created outlaw country. Within Nashville in the 1980s, Randy Travis, Ricky Skaggs and others brought a return to the traditional values. Their musicianship, songwriting and producing skills helped to revive the genre momentarily. However, even they, and such long-time greats as Jones, Cash, and Haggard, fell from popularity as the record companies again imposed their formulas and refused to promote established artists. Capitol Records made an almost wholesale clearance of their country artists in the 1960s.

Country music developments

The two strands of country music have continued to develop. The Jimmie Rodgers influence can be seen in a pronounced "working man" image promoted by singers like Brooks & Dunn and Garth Brooks. On the Carter Family side, singers like Iris Dement and Nanci Griffith have written on more traditional "folk" themes, albeit with a contemporary point of view. In the 1990s a new form of country music emerged, called by some alternative country, or "insurgent country". Performed by generally younger musicians and inspired by traditional country performers and the country reactionaries, it shunned the Nashville-dominated sound of mainstream country and borrowed more from punk and rock groups than the watered-down, pop-oriented sound of Nashville. There are at least three U. S. cable networks devoted to the genre: CMT (owned by Viacom), VH-1 Country (also owned by Viacom), and GAC (owned by The E. W. Scripps Company).

Samples

- Download recording - "Prisoner’s Song" country music from the Library of Congress' [http://www.loc.gov/folklife/Gordon/sideAband8.html Gordon Collection]; performed by Ernest Hilton with banjo accompaniment in Biltmore, North Carolina on November 20, 1925
- Download sample of Hank Williams' "Cold, Cold Heart", one of the best-known Williams songs, covered by numerous other stars, and an excellent representation of the 1950s Nashville music.

External links

- [http://www.artistdevelopmentnetwork.com/ Artist Development Network in Nashville Tennessee]
- [http://www.nashvilletallent.com/ NashvilleTallent - Kicking Down The Doors In Nashville!]
- [http://www.roughstock.com/history/begin.html History of Country Music]
- [http://www.countrymusichalloffame.com/ Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum]
- [http://www.cmaworld.com The Country Music Association (America)]
- [http://www.ccma.org The Canadian Country Music Association]
- [http://www.angrycountry.com AngryCountry] Country Music News Magazine
- [http://www.countryweekly.com/ Country Weekly magazine]
- [http://www.opry.com/ Grand Ole Opry website]
- [http://www.luma-electronic.cz/lp/elpe.htm LP Discography-Covers & Lyrics]
- [http://www.countryhall.com/ Traditional Country Hall of Fame]
- [http://www.purecountrymusic.com/ Pure Country Music]
- [http://www.top-country-songs.com/ Top Country Songs]
- [http://www.countryexaminer.com/ Country Examiner] Up to the Minute Country Music News

Tribute sites to early artists

- [http://www.geocities.com/robtmorca/ Vernon Dalhart]
- [http://www.geocities.com/acuvar/carson_robison.html Carson Robison]
- [http://www.geocities.com/Fiddlindon/DON_RICHARDSON.html Don Richardson] Category:Country music Category:Musical genres Category:Radio formats ja:カントリー・ミュージック

Songwriter

A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. That is to say, a songwriter is a lyricist, a composer, or both. The word 'songwriter' is however more commonly used to describe one who writes popular songs than to describe a writer of art songs.

History and background of songwriters

Songwriters may perform the songs they write themselves, or may write for somebody else to perform. People who sing their own songs are nowadays typically called singer-songwriters, although the tradition of doing this dates back hundreds of years. It is often speculated that pre-historic man must have made up and sung songs. More recently, the troubadours of the middle ages sang their own work, as did the German Minnesingers. Most art songwriting is written for somebody other than the composer to perform, although it is known that Schubert often sang his own songs at private parties, and there have been a number of composers who were also singers and wrote for themselves, Carl Loewe being one example. Many modern rock and roll bands have one or two songwriters, usually members of the band. In many cases, the lead singer is one of the songwriters. There have been quite a few popular songwriting teams such as the Tamla Motown team of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland and the teams of Townshend and Entwistle, Lennon and McCartney, Lerner and Loewe, George and Ira Gershwin, Jagger and Richards and Rodgers and Hart. Many songwriters also serve as their own music publishers, while others have outside publishers. Legally, songs are considered intellectual property, and song copyrights can be bought, sold, or otherwise exchanged. Songwriting and publishing royalties can be a substantial source of income, particularly if a song becomes a hit record.

External links

- [http://www.songwritersguild.com/ Songwriters Guild of America]
- [http://www.hodgson-law.com/a-reference-center.php Music industry Reference Center for Songwriters] This site provides plain english explanations of terms and concepts related to the needs of songwriters.
- [http://www.hodgson-law.com/ Hodgson Law Group legal advice for the recording artist] We provide plain english advice of the terms and concepts related to the needs of songwriters and publishing agreements.
- [http://www.copyright.gov/records/cohm.html Searching song copyright holder information on US Copyright office website] Category:Occupations in music

Singer

:For other senses of this word, see singer (disambiguation). singer (disambiguation) In music a singer is a type of musician who uses his or her voice as an instrument to produce music. Usually, singing refers to vocal melody only, though vocalist is a similar term which which also encompasses non-melodic sounds and effectively includes anyone using their voice as part of a musical composition, including spoken word and rapping. A lead singer (in barbershop music simply called a lead) is one who sings the primary vocals of a song, as opposed to a backup singer who sings backup vocal(s) to a song or harmonies to the lead singer. An exception is in five-part gospel a cappella music, where the lead is the highest of the five voices and sings a descant, never the melody which may be in any of the other four parts. In European classical music and opera, voices are treated just like musical instruments. Composers write music for these instruments, understanding the skills and vocal properties of the singers. Singers build careers by specializing in certain musical styles. To help both composers and singers, voice classification systems evolved, of which there are now many systems. How loud or how fast a singer can sing can be taken into account, while some systems include non-musical characteristics like what a singer looks like, how well a singer acts (crucial in opera), or how funny a singer can be. In Germany, opera houses use a complex sorting procedure, called the fach system, that considers all these elements. Classifying singers by range and sex is the most common method. But even using these guidelines, there are still many, many categories. The six most common classifications are:
- Female voices:
- soprano, the highest female voice
- mezzo-soprano, the middle female voice
- contralto, the lowest female voice, called alto in chorus music
- Male voices:
- tenor, the highest male voice
- baritone, the middle male voice
- bass, the lowest male voice There are many other designations, including soubrette, heldentenor, bass-baritone, coloratura, and basso buffo. There are even categories for men capable of singing in the female range. This type of voice is rare, but still used in opera. In Baroque music, many roles were written for castratos, male singers who were castrated as boys to prevent their voices from changing. Today, with training, a man can still sing these roles. This singer is called a sopranist, countertenor, or male alto. Singers may also be classified according to the style of music they sing, such as soul singers or carnatic vocalists.

Me and Bobby McGee

"Me and Bobby McGee" is a song written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster, originally performed by Kristofferson and is one of the most-covered songs of all time. The best known recordings of "Me and Bobby McGee" are by Janis Joplin on her 1971 Pearl album and the Grateful Dead's Skull & Roses album, also released in 1971. Joplin's version topped the charts to become only the second posthumous number one single in rock & roll history. The song was also recorded by Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Gordon Lightfoot, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roger Miller, Dave Dudley and Olivia Newton-John, among others.

External link

- [http://www.superseventies.com/sl_meandbobbymcgee.html Me and Bobby McGee lyrics] Category:1971 singles Category:Number one singles

Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down

Sunday Morning Coming Down

Fred Foster

Fred Luther Foster (born July 26, 1931) is a songwriter, music record producer, and founder of Monument Records. Born in Rutherford County, North Carolina, he struggled to help look after his family when his father passed away. At age 17, he moved to Washington, D.C. where he eventually worked for Mercury Records and then in 1955 went to ABC-Paramount. Using his life savings, in September of 1958, he started the Monument Record Company (so named after the Washington Mounument in DC) where he remained active until 1983. Although running what was basically a country music record label, Foster is credited with the development of Rock and Roll legend Roy Orbison's career. Foster played a significant role in Dolly Parton's early career, signing her to Monument in 1964, shortly after her arrival in Nashville, when no other record companies were interested. Amongst the songs for which he is noted, Fred Foster co-wrote (with Kris Kristofferson) Me and Bobby McGee which was a very big hit, both for Kristofferson himself, as well as for Janis Joplin. Foster, Fred Foster, Fred Foster, Fred

Texas

Texas is a state located in the United States of America. The 28th U.S. state, Texas joined the United States in 1845. Its postal abbreviation is TX. The state name derives from a word in a Caddoan language of the Hasinai, táysha (or tejas, as the Spaniards spelled it), meaning friends or allies. Spanish explorers mistakenly applied the word to the people and their location. With an area of 696,241 km² and a population of 22.5 million, Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous 48 states in area. (Alaska is the largest U.S. state in area and California is the most populous.) Texas has historically had a "larger than life" reputation, especially in cowboy films.

History

Texas can claim that "Six Flags" have flown over its soil: the Fleur-de-lis of France, and the national flags of Spain, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the United States of America and the Confederate States of America. Native American tribes that once lived inside the boundaries of present-day Texas include Apache, Atakapan, Bidai, Caddo, Comanche, Cherokee, Kiowa, Tonkawa, and Wichita. Currently, there are three federally recognized Native American tribes which reside in Texas: the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas, and the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo of Texas. On November 6, 1528 shipwrecked Spanish conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca became the first known European to set foot on Texas. A member of the Narváez expedition, he was later enslaved by a Native American tribe of the upper Gulf coast, and explored what are now the U.S. states of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona on foot from coastal Louisiana to Sinaloa, Mexico, over a period of roughly six years. He returned to Europe in 1537, where he wrote about his experiences in a work called La relación ("The Tale"). Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca] Prior to 1821, Texas was part of the Spanish colony of New Spain. After Mexican independence in 1821, Texas became part of Mexico and in 1824 became the northern section of Coahuila y Tejas. On 3 January 1823, Stephen F. Austin began a colony of 300 American families along the Brazos River in present-day Fort Bend County and Brazoria County, centered primarily in the area of what is now Sugar Land. This group became known as the "Old Three Hundred." The "Conventions" of 1832 and 1833 responded to rising unrest at the policies of the ruling Mexican government. Policies that most irritated the Texians included the Mexican ban on slavery, the forcible disarmament of Texian settlers, and the expulsion of illegal immigrants from the United States of America. The example of the Centralista forces' suppression of dissidents in Zacatecas also inspired fear of the Mexican government. Zacatecas On March 2, 1836, the "Convention of 1836" signed the Texas "Declaration of Independence," declaring Texas an independent nation. On April 21, 1836 the Texans won their independence when they defeated the Mexican forces of Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto. Santa Anna himself passed into captivity, and on May 14, Republic of Texas officials and General Santa Anna signed the treaty of Velasco. The Republic of Texas included all the area now included in the state of Texas, although its self-proclaimed western and northwestern borders extended as far west as Santa Fe and as far northwest as present-day Wyoming, respectively. In 1845, Texas was admitted to the United States as a constituent state of the Union. Annexation was mutually beneficial to Texas and the United States. Texas was in a very susceptible position following independence, with a weak government, little industry, and minimal infrastructure. The U.S. could not allow such a tenuous nation to sit right on its border. Texas also lay partially in the way of the U.S. expansion to the Pacific, and its "Manifest Destiny." The major stumbling block of annexation, besides the potential for war with Mexico, was the fact that Texas was a slave state and potentially would tip the balance between free and slave states due to its huge size. Some southerners were pushing for the ability to divide Texas into multiple states, thereby increasing the number of slave states even more. A compromise was reached in that if Texas were divided, any states north of the Missouri Compromise would be free states. During the Civil War, Texas seceded from the Union and joined the Confederate States of America. In 1870, the United States Congress readmitted Texas into the Union. Texas today is a state thoroughly steeped in tradition, yet equally embracing of new social and technological developments. From the state capital of Austin (also headquarters of Dell Computers and known as "Silicon Hills") to the cosmopolitan air of Dallas, to the oil-and-finance rich industry of Houston to the Latinesque cultures of San Antonio and El Paso, the state tourism slogan truly fits: "Texas: It's like a whole other country."

Geography

1870

Location

Texas borders New Mexico on the west, Oklahoma on the north (across the Red River), and Louisiana (across the Sabine River) and Arkansas on the east. To the southwest, across the Rio Grande, Texas borders the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. To the southeast of Texas lies the Gulf of Mexico. Texas lies in the south-central part of the United States of America. Texas is considered to form part of the US South and part of the U.S. Southwest. Some regions of Texas are associated with the Southwest more than the South, while other regions are associated with the South more than the Southwest. Texas shares some cultural elements with both regions, with more similarities with the South, especially Arkansas and Louisiana, in East Texas, and more similarities with the Southwest, especially Mexico and New Mexico, in West Texas and South Texas. Texas is so large in its east-west expanse that El Paso, in the western corner of the state, is closer to San Diego, California than to Beaumont, near the Louisiana state line; Beaumont, in turn is closer to Jacksonville, Florida than it is to El Paso. The north-south extent is similarly impressive; Dalhart, in the nortwestern corner of the state, is closer to the state capitals of Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming than it is to the Texas state capital (Austin).

Human Geography

Articles on Texas regions:
- Arklatex
- Big Bend
- Central Texas
- Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
- Deep East Texas
- East Texas
- Edwards Plateau
- Greater Houston
- North Tex

Kris Kristofferson

Early life

Music career

Film career

Later career

External links

1936

Events

January-March

May-June

July-September

October

November-December

Unknown Dates

Births

January-February

March-April

May-August

September-December

Deaths

Country music

Jimmie Rodgers' influence

Hank Williams

The Carter Family's influence

Bluegrass

Other influences

The Nashville sound

Reaction to the Nashville sound

Country music developments

Samples

Further reading

Early innovators

The Golden Age

Country rock

Contemporary Country Stars 1980-2005

Television and radio shows of note

See also

External links

Tribute sites to early artists

Songwriter

History and background of songwriters

See also

External links

Singer

See also

Me and Bobby McGee

External link

Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down

Fred Foster

Texas

History

Geography

Location

Human Geography