Hope everyone's Monday started off as well as mine. What follows is another installment of Music History...well music I like history. Was asked today by the darling vinyle what the Bakersfield sound was. So.....here it goes kiddies:
I first heard this music with my grandfather when I was very young. I liked it because it had a hard beat and clear, crisp vocals. Not to mention guitars that weren't just strummed like on the Lawrence Welk Show. My grandmother liked ol' Lawrence because it was "pretty" and my grandfather like honky tonk and country western because it made his foot tap. There wasn't a studio created sound involved because it was "real" music. What I mean by "real" music is that it is music that could be played at home or heard at a local park or bar. It was music that sounded simple and was for the working man. Sharp, piercing guitars with a steady drum and bass beat made this music attractive too me. Lyrics were of lost loves and hard times. There were parts that reminded me of Buddy Holly(who when I was eight wanted to be) and of the great Roy Orbison. Not to mention Bill Halley and the Comets. There was a rock n roll flair that would keep you interested in it. Later in life I have made a full loop listening to traditional Bakersfield performers like Buck Owens, Merele Haggard, Dwight Yoakam and moved into The Cramps, Misfits, Social Distortion, Reverend Horton Heat, Hillbilly Hellcats and many more with that swing and twang to them. Call those bands what you want, but they all have one thing in common, they make your foot tap. No wonder punk rock attracted me at an early age. Interesting how much punk rock has in common with "The Bakersfield" sound.
The "Bakersfield Sound" started in the 1930's and 1940's with the migration of families of the dust bowl from Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas to California. They left thier family farms and decades of hard work because the dry, dusty conditions rendered their land useless. These families brought with them simple pleasures and simple music. The childern of these people were the forefathers of "The Bakersfield" sound. Although not all of them were the childern of the families who migrated. They were very poor and lived the lifestyle only they could understand. Depression, no money, living without and the hard times just couldn't get any worse. These people were the poorest of the poor. In the early 1950's these childern of the dust bowl started combinding the sharp, loud sounds of the electric and steel guitars, piano, lead and harmony vocals and fiddles influenced by traditional country, rockabilly and of course rock and roll. The sound didn't happen over night nor was it started by just one artist. Like most styles of music the sound developed and matured into the "Bakersfield Sound". In Nashville at this time started the "pop" country movement as I like to call it. Strings including cellos, violins(not fiddles), harps and different forms of percussion were being used in Nashville at this time. It wasn't very practical for the working man to bring a harp or cello on the porch or into a honky tonk to play. All they had were thier steel guitars, a house piano, upright bass, vocals and the Fender Telecaster to play thier music with. Bakersfield soon was noticed for it's love of the "working man's" music. Honky Tonks as they were called allowed these muscians to play every night for an audience. Something that wasn't that easy to do in Nashville. During the 50's and 60's the "Bakersfield" music troop included such top tallents as Merele Haggard and Buck Owens. There many more, but those two are the most recognized from the period. The Beach Boys, Dean Martin and Elvis Presley were just some that were making hits out of original music coming from that small town just above Los Angeles. During the seventies and even early eighties the "Bakersfield" sound wasn't very popular on the charts. Artists like Dwight Yoakum and Rosie Flores are credited to saving it and is making a comeback.
Dwight Yoakam was born in Pikesville, Kentucky and was raised in Columbus, Ohio. Both of his parents had white collar jobs int he automotive industry. Dwight attended Ohio State University, but dropped out and moved to Nashville in the late seventies with the intent of becoming a recording artist. When he started his "Bakersfield" honky tonk was not accepted in the current Nashville country pop scene. He packed up and moved to the Los Angeles area. There he played with such punk bands as Dead Kennedys, Butthole Surfers and X. He carried on his country swing, rockabilly/rock and roll, Bakersfield sound and cut Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. in 1986. It was an instant hit and has launched his career skyward. He has even enjoyed a duet with Buck Owens on The Streets Of Bakersfield.
One of the newer Bakersfield sound artist that I personally enjoy are The Derailers. They look and play the part. Check them out!
Smile.....you have been Tonked!
I first heard this music with my grandfather when I was very young. I liked it because it had a hard beat and clear, crisp vocals. Not to mention guitars that weren't just strummed like on the Lawrence Welk Show. My grandmother liked ol' Lawrence because it was "pretty" and my grandfather like honky tonk and country western because it made his foot tap. There wasn't a studio created sound involved because it was "real" music. What I mean by "real" music is that it is music that could be played at home or heard at a local park or bar. It was music that sounded simple and was for the working man. Sharp, piercing guitars with a steady drum and bass beat made this music attractive too me. Lyrics were of lost loves and hard times. There were parts that reminded me of Buddy Holly(who when I was eight wanted to be) and of the great Roy Orbison. Not to mention Bill Halley and the Comets. There was a rock n roll flair that would keep you interested in it. Later in life I have made a full loop listening to traditional Bakersfield performers like Buck Owens, Merele Haggard, Dwight Yoakam and moved into The Cramps, Misfits, Social Distortion, Reverend Horton Heat, Hillbilly Hellcats and many more with that swing and twang to them. Call those bands what you want, but they all have one thing in common, they make your foot tap. No wonder punk rock attracted me at an early age. Interesting how much punk rock has in common with "The Bakersfield" sound.
The "Bakersfield Sound" started in the 1930's and 1940's with the migration of families of the dust bowl from Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas to California. They left thier family farms and decades of hard work because the dry, dusty conditions rendered their land useless. These families brought with them simple pleasures and simple music. The childern of these people were the forefathers of "The Bakersfield" sound. Although not all of them were the childern of the families who migrated. They were very poor and lived the lifestyle only they could understand. Depression, no money, living without and the hard times just couldn't get any worse. These people were the poorest of the poor. In the early 1950's these childern of the dust bowl started combinding the sharp, loud sounds of the electric and steel guitars, piano, lead and harmony vocals and fiddles influenced by traditional country, rockabilly and of course rock and roll. The sound didn't happen over night nor was it started by just one artist. Like most styles of music the sound developed and matured into the "Bakersfield Sound". In Nashville at this time started the "pop" country movement as I like to call it. Strings including cellos, violins(not fiddles), harps and different forms of percussion were being used in Nashville at this time. It wasn't very practical for the working man to bring a harp or cello on the porch or into a honky tonk to play. All they had were thier steel guitars, a house piano, upright bass, vocals and the Fender Telecaster to play thier music with. Bakersfield soon was noticed for it's love of the "working man's" music. Honky Tonks as they were called allowed these muscians to play every night for an audience. Something that wasn't that easy to do in Nashville. During the 50's and 60's the "Bakersfield" music troop included such top tallents as Merele Haggard and Buck Owens. There many more, but those two are the most recognized from the period. The Beach Boys, Dean Martin and Elvis Presley were just some that were making hits out of original music coming from that small town just above Los Angeles. During the seventies and even early eighties the "Bakersfield" sound wasn't very popular on the charts. Artists like Dwight Yoakum and Rosie Flores are credited to saving it and is making a comeback.
Dwight Yoakam was born in Pikesville, Kentucky and was raised in Columbus, Ohio. Both of his parents had white collar jobs int he automotive industry. Dwight attended Ohio State University, but dropped out and moved to Nashville in the late seventies with the intent of becoming a recording artist. When he started his "Bakersfield" honky tonk was not accepted in the current Nashville country pop scene. He packed up and moved to the Los Angeles area. There he played with such punk bands as Dead Kennedys, Butthole Surfers and X. He carried on his country swing, rockabilly/rock and roll, Bakersfield sound and cut Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. in 1986. It was an instant hit and has launched his career skyward. He has even enjoyed a duet with Buck Owens on The Streets Of Bakersfield.
One of the newer Bakersfield sound artist that I personally enjoy are The Derailers. They look and play the part. Check them out!
Smile.....you have been Tonked!
VIEW 7 of 7 COMMENTS
vinyle:
For real! I love to cook. I make great shredded london broil enchiladas and refried white beans. Ooh and guacamole.
vinyle:
sure, why not? maybe my sister will let me add a lttle mexican to the sushiness. we need something else, right?