Music Honky-tonk

hank williams, influential honky-tonker 1940s-1950s

the honky-tonk sound has full rhythm section playing two-beat rhythm crisp backbeat. steel guitar , fiddle dominant instruments.

the first music genre commonly known honky-tonk music style of piano playing related ragtime emphasizing rhythm more melody or harmony; style evolved in response environment in pianos poorly cared for, tending out of tune , having nonfunctioning keys.

honky-tonk music influenced boogie-woogie piano style, indicated jelly roll morton s 1938 record honky tonk music , meade lux lewis s hit honky tonk train blues. lewis recorded latter many times 1927 1950s, , song covered many other musicians, including oscar peterson.

the twelve-bar blues instrumental honky tonk bill doggett combo, sinuous saxophone line , driving, slow beat, rock , roll hit. new orleans native fats domino honky-tonk piano man, blueberry hill , walkin new orleans hits on popular music charts.

in years before world war ii, music industry began refer honky-tonk music played texas , oklahoma west coast hillbilly music. more recently, term has come refer primary sound in country music, developing in nashville western swing became accepted there. originally, featured guitar, fiddle, string bass, , steel guitar (imported hawaiian folk music). vocals rough , nasal, exemplified singer-songwriters floyd tillman , hank williams, later developed clear , sharp sound, such of george jones , faron young. lyrics tended focus on working-class life, tragic themes of lost love, adultery, loneliness, alcoholism, , self-pity.

copyrighted , released in 1941, walking floor on , ernest tubb, sixth release decca, helped establish honky-tonk style , tubb 1 of foremost practitioners. tubb, crisp, texas, fan of jimmie rodgers , fused western swing, had been using electric guitars years, other country sounds.

he took sound nashville, first musician play electric guitar on grand ole opry. in 1950s, honky tonk entered golden age, popularity of webb pierce, hank locklin, lefty frizzell, faron young, george jones, , hank williams. in mid- late 1950s, rockabilly (which melded honky-tonk country rhythm , blues) , slick country music of nashville sound ended honky-tonk s initial period of dominance.

the rolling stones number-one single , gold record honky tonk women (1969) based on sound of 1940s honky-tonk artists hank williams , referred reputation of honky-tonk bars centres of prostitution. in 1970s, outlaw country s brand of rough honky-tonk represented artists such gary stewart, waylon jennings, willie nelson, david allan coe, , billy joe shaver.