January 11, 1964 - Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash became the first country album to top the U.S. pop album chart. Music categories were seperate entities, and each had its fans. Rock and Roll fans listened to Rock and Roll, Country and Western fans listened to Country and Western, Jazz fans listened to Jazz, etc. What is known as crossover, music that comes out of one genre, but finds an audience in another, was not so common. Popular music, Rock and Roll, Pop-Rock, Folk-Rock, had roots in other musical genres, but while there may have sometimes been a hint of a Country Sound, were not Country. Johnny Cash, who, even when I hated Country Music, was one of my favorite musical artists, sang Country, but it was a Country accessible to non-Country people too. I think that it was a taste of what has been happening in popular music for some time now: Fusion. Increasingly, genres are blurring, and styles are blending. Maybe its part of an evolution of American music that takes into itself a variety of styles from a variety of cultures and it becomes something you might never have found anywhere else. Unlike most countries that wee based on a single or nearly single ethnic/tribal identity, America is an immigrant nation. People have come from all over the world and made it home. They brought with them their culture. For a long time those cultural identities remained primary. Even now, ask someone what they are, and you might hear a reply like, Im part German, Irish, Italian and French. Maybe you have to be away from your country to really feel American. I am asked that question often, by people, survey forms, government red tape, and I always reply: American. I contend that thats what is slowly happening there. The interim is the hyphen American you find people being refered to. Mexican-Americans, African-Americans, Italian-Americans... Perhaps, one day, it wont matter and Americans wont need the ethnicity and the hyphen. Anyway, it has little to do with Johnny Cash and his crossover album. But it was a blending of the Country and Western genere into mainstream American music. The impact of Johnny Cash on music should be discussed separately, lets listen to some of his music, Johnny Cash, like me, American. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_of_Fire:_The_Best_of_Johnny_Cash
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 01:44:34 +0000
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