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ROOTS OF AMERICAN

COUNTRY MUSIC

Robert D. Morritt

 

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          I have collected ‘rural recordings’ for many years . From their lyrics Inoticed their structure betrayed an earlier provenance. In many cases they had evolved into American ballads, their origin long forgotten. Many ballads surfaced during the 1920’s on early recordings originated from rural Appalachia and had been preserved orally in the hills. Another influence was that of urban  recordings purchased by rural people from mail order catalogues containing Victorian or tin Pan Alley era songs.

 

          For those who enjoy history and listening to recorded music. This presentation is to contribute  to the understanding of how , where and when these ballads and songs originated and how they evolved .This book is the result of over 34 years of personal research, which due to career restraints I was unable to complete until now. It has been an interesting journey, in and out of rural Barns, innumerable junk shops, during  vacation ‘stops’ in  Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Alabama, Indiana, Tennessee , North Carolina and Appalachian Ohio, and locally. My own compilations of  handwritten ( later  typed  discographies) and  my personal  record  collection  has assisted me to collate this  information  into some  semblance of order. It has been an interesting journey.