ROOTS of Country Music

 Time Life: Golden Age of Country

Early country music originated in the Appalachian mountains in the 1930's and was primarily acoustic, orchestrated with banjos and fiddles. The genre moved into the golden age as then-called "mountain music" moved out of the mountains and into the mainstream, popularized by institutions such as the Grand Ole Opry.

Traditional country music of the golden age blended the sound of mountain music with new instrumentation, such as the pedal steel guitar. Johnny Cash, Porter Wagoner and Loretta Lynn were all artists that epitomized this era. The golden age of country music continued into the late 1960's, its longevity attributed to the explosion of the Nashville sound in country music. Here, traditional country artists were combining honky-tonk lyrics with big-band orchestration, backed by strings and horns.

Artists like Patsy Cline, Ray Price, Eddy Arnold and George Jones were best known for this type of sound. Much of the success of the crossover country music of today can be attributed to the golden age of this era, where artists first experimented with merging traditional sounds with popular music trends of the time to generate a wider appeal.

                                   
Time Life proudly presents Golden Age of Country, the most comprehensive collection devoted to the country music of the '50s and '60s. This collection brings together the most influential country artists of the decades that truly represented the "golden age" in country music history. You'll get 158 hits from country legends like Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, George Jones, Kitty Wells, Ray Price, Buck Owens, Marty Robbins, Kitty Wells, Tammy Wynette, Hank Williams, Carl Smith, Webb Pierce, Porter Wagoner, Jean Shepard, Faron Young, Hank Thompson, Lefty Frizzeoll, the Louvin Brothers and so many more!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Time Life Music: Classic Country

Time Life Music introduced the Classic Country Series in early-2000,  the most comprehensive collection devoted to country music of the '40s, 50s, 60s, '70s and '80s. This collection brought together the most influential country artists of the decades that truly represented this era of country music.

This Time-Life collection is readily available at Amazon  and if you are looking for this era and variety of country music, these CDs are a great value. Most of these are double CDs (single CDs have 15 songs) which contain 30 songs along with an informative booklet that includes brief artist information and complete song listing with the respective songwriters and session information. These compilation CDs are produced from original masters and deliver flawless sound quality.

The series includes Classic Country Golden '40s, Classic Country Golden '50, Classic Country Golden '60, Classic Country Golden '70s, Classic Country 1950-59, Classic Country 1960-64, Classic Country 1965-69, Classic Country 1970-74, Classic Country 1975-79, Classic Country 1980-84, Classic Country Great Duets, Classic Country Hard to Find Hits, Classic Country Christmas, Classic Country Love Songs, Classic Country Great Country Gospel, Classic Country Road Songs, Classic Country Cowboy Country, Classic Country Sweet Country Ballads, Classic Country Killer Country B Sides, Classic Country Crazy Country Hits, Classic Country Great Story Songs, Classic Country The Nashville Era, Classic Country Queens of Country, Classic Country Sing Me a hank Williams Song, Classic Country Somebody Done Me Wrong Song, Classic Country Honky Tonkin' and Classic Country  '80s Love Songs. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Time Life Music: Legendary Country Singers

In the early mid-1990s, Time Life released the Legendary Country Singers series, the most comprehensive collection devoted to country music of the '50s, 60s and '70s. This collection brought together the most influential country artists of the decades that truly represented the "golden age" in country music history.

The series include such country legends as Alabama, Barbara Mandrell, Buck Owens, Charlie Pride, Dolly Parton, Conway Twitty, George Jones, Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, Merle Haggard, Patsy Cline, Ray Price, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, The Statler Brothers, The Oak Ridge Boys and more!

This Time-Life collection is readily available at Amazon and if you are looking for this era of country music, these CDs are a great value. Each CD contains 25 songs along with an informative booklet that includes brief artist bio and complete song listings with  the respective songwriters and session information. These compilation CDs are produced from original masters and deliver flawless sound quality.

George Jones: The Legendary Country Singers Series

The highlight of the George Jones CD is the original unabridged version of George Jones first hit Starday single Why Baby Why. This cut was originally issued on a 45 single and also on a 78 single. Shortly, after the single was issued Starday Records decided to put it on a low budget Dixie 45 Extended Play (EP) album. They put 3 cuts on each side including Why Baby Why. However since a 45 could only hold a limited amount of music, Why Baby Why was abbreviated. A piano riff, in a musical bridge, was eliminated and there was a quick fade out at the end where none had existed on the original. About 23 seconds of recording time was eliminated.

All subsequent reissues of the 1955 Why Baby Why, whether on 45 or 33 vinyl, cassette or CD were the abbreviated version. This is the first domestic reissue to have the unabridged version. This is a career spanning anthology with 25 cuts and features material from the Starday, Mercury, United Artists, Musicor and Epic labels. This is a good buy for the money which will pique your interest to go deeper into the 56 years of music that this genius has created.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Researched, compiled and written by Richard Bell, Roots of Country Music, Feb. 1, 2012.