Nashville has long held the title of capitol of country music but another town in Tennessee holds the role of the "birthplace of country," and that historical notion is now backed in Bristol, TN by the appropriately-titled Birthplace of Country Music museum.
Before the concept of "country" music existed, there was the offensively-titled "hillbilly" scene, dominated by Columbia and Okeh, two major record labels at the time. The Victor Talking Machine Company (now RCA) was looking on a way to compete in the genre so it organized a number of recording sessions throughout the South. The most fruitful of the sessions occurred in Bristol, a town in the far east of the state near the Virginia border near the mountains. Traditional music in the United States is much like water...it tends to flow downhill.
Ernest Stoneman came in to record, gathering a total of 76 recordings from performers in the region, including the country music icons Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family. Country music historians consider the "discovery" of The Carters and Rodgers as the de facto origin of country music, where it definitively split from the "hillbilly" era.
Accordingly, the museum will focus on those recording sessions and the early history of country music in the United States, including its impact on other genres. Perhaps the highlight of the museum is the feature that allows visitors to select an instrumental version of the recordings and perform their own vocals over it.
The museum has opened in time for the thousands who come to Bristol every year for the Bristol Annual Rhythm and Roots Reunion.
