Document Type
Article
Abstract
Country music, in its lyrics, its image and its themes, attempts to reflect the interests and experiences of the US white working class. Centred on the figure of the cowboy, this musical genre frequently draws upon influences from music originating in other communities, yet this process is "whitewashed" from the finished product. This encapsulates two broader trends: an attempt to construct a genuinely "American" form of popular music, shaped through often dubious ethnographic techniques, and forms of marketing which reflect official preoccupations expressed in the 1924 National Origins Act and its attempt to freeze immigration in proportion to the 1890 US census. Country music is shown emerging as the soundtrack to ethnic exclusion.
Repository Citation
Yuill, Kevin. "Creating an American Music: A Critical View of the Origins of Country [Part 1]." Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture vol. 8, no. 4, 2008, pp. 1–22. https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/reconstruction/vol8/iss4/10