Music

Sun Records burst onto the post-World War II American scene suddenly, a force that few would forget. At the helm was Sam Phillips, an eccentric radio engineer willing to put black and white sharecroppers, truck-drivers, dishwashers, and factory workers in…

Tennessee has two professional orchestras designated as "regional" (Nashville and Memphis) and three that fall in the "metropolitan" status (Chattanooga, Jackson, and Knoxville). Other cities with part-time orchestras are Oak Ridge, Murfreesboro, Johnson City, Kingsport, and Germantown, and the University…

The cable television industry in Tennessee, represented by several different networks, has increased the visibility of the state and positioned it as a culturally relevant and important part of the American media landscape. These networks have often focused on values…

Rufus Thomas, legendary R&B singer, was born on March 26, 1917, in Cayce, Mississippi, just south of Memphis. He began performing in the 1930s at the Palace and Handy theaters in Memphis and as a traveling entertainer with such troupes…

If one could describe Justin Timberlake’s career in terms of a lifespan, his career would be nearly as old as Timberlake himself. His rise to fame as the daydream of adolescent girls certainly handicapped him in the eyes (and ears)…

Ernest Tubb, pioneer of the "honky tonk" sound in country music and an important Nashville record shop entrepreneur, was born in Crisp, Texas, on February 9, 1914. After hearing a Jimmie Rodgers record, "In the Jail House Now," Tubb determined…

Tina Turner, one of Tennessee's most popular performers, gained international fame and attracted record-breaking audiences with her choreographed, fast-paced dancing, her musical blend of rhythm-n-blues and pop rock, and her electrifying stage show artistry. She has won seven Grammy Awards,…

James D. Vaughan, “the father of southern gospel music,” was born on December 14, 1864 in Giles County, Tennessee. Vaughan grew up in Middle Tennessee surrounded by the sounds of gospel music. As a teenager, he attended his first singing…

A wide variety of terms have been used to describe American vernacular religious music: religious ballads, hymns, spiritual songs, folk hymns, revival religious songs, gospel songs, folk tunes, and fuguing tunes. Overwhelmingly revivalistic, nineteenth-century vernacular religious music began to express…

Country music icon Porter Wagoner defined the genre’s image during the 1960s and 1970s with his blonde pompadour, dazzling stage wear, and down-home friendly manner. But his stage persona sometimes overshadowed the creativity and business acumen that he possessed. A…

Jo Walker-Meador, the first executive director of the Country Music Association, was born Josephine Denning in Orlinda. One of ten children, her early ambition was to become a girls' basketball coach. She attended Lambuth College and George Peabody College and…

Orton Caswell "Cas" Walker was one of the most flamboyant politicians in mid-twentieth century Knoxville as well as a major force in promoting country music in East Tennessee. Born in Sevier County, Walker grew up in a working family, and…

In 1948-49 white-owned WDIA in Memphis became the nation's first all-black radio station. Its owners, Bert Ferguson and John R. Pepper, hired Nat D. Williams, the first publicly identified black disc jockey. The station aired black history segments and presented…

Kitty Wells, pioneering female country music vocalist, was born Muriel Deason in Nashville on August 30, 1919. She learned to sing and play guitar at an early age and was performing with Johnny Wright and the Harmony Girls by 1936.…

Andrew Nathaniel White III, the only child of Reverend Doctor and Mrs. Andrew White, was born in Washington, D.C. In 1946 the family moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where Rev. White was the president of a local chapter of the National…

Songwriter Beth Slater Whitson was born in Goodrich, Hickman County, in 1879. Her parents were John H. Whitson and Anna Slater Whitson; her father was coeditor of the Hickman Pioneer newspaper. Beth Whitson began her extensive songwriting career in Hickman…

Few entertainers have conveyed the sincerity and realism reflected in Hank Williams's southern working class lyrics and singing style. Even fewer have enjoyed the lanky Alabaman's phenomenal degree of success. His songs permanently etched the nation's consciousness in the brief…

WLAC is a Nashville radio station established by the Life and Casualty Insurance Company in 1926; it shaped musical tastes in Nashville for over seventy years. Its most significant contribution to Tennessee cultural history came from the mid-1940s to the…

One of the ten oldest radio stations in the United States, WNOX in Knoxville played a significant role in showcasing major talents in the burgeoning hillbilly--or country--music field from the 1930s through the 1950s. The station went on the air…

Werner and Emmy Land Wolff played significant roles in the creation of the Chattanooga Opera and enhancing the popularity of opera in Chattanooga. Werner Wolff was born in Berlin on October 7, 1883. His father, Hermann Wolff, founded the Berlin…