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Picture of the day - May 8, 2009
"Bristol's 20 foot guitar"
Photo by
Rick Rouse.
(Click on the photo for a larger view)
The great city of Nashville, Tennessee is known the world over as
"Music City, USA", the home and hub of the world of modern
Country Music. But few among us are aware that it all started
some 250 miles to the east in the twin cities of
Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia.
In the summer of 1927,
Mr. Ralph Peer of the
Victor Talking Machine Company came to Bristol on a mission to
seek out and record a handful of the many unknown, yet extremely
talented singers and musicians that
lived in the Appalachian Mountain region. He was well aware of the
fact that those magnificent "hills and hollers" were filled to the
brim with talented folks who loved to pick and sing in a blended
style that was unique to the region, and his job was to record a
fair sampling of it.
Over the course of the next two weeks, a number of groups and
individuals from near and far responded to Peer's plea, arriving in
Bristol with little more than a change of clothes and
their instruments. One after another they filed into Peer's
makeshift studio to share their talents with the world. Among
others, that legendary group of performers included
The Stonemans,
Jimmie Rodgers, and the group that would soon come to define
Country Music itself:
The Carter Family.
With
"The Bristol Sessions" as their springboard, The Carter Family
soon achieved a level of success in the music business that had
never before been reached, including the recording of the world's
very first million selling record: the beautiful
"Wildwood Flower". The Bristol Sessions are often referred to as
"The Big Bang of Country Music", and in 1998 Congress passed a
resolution officially designating Bristol as the
"Birthplace of Country Music".
2009 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the
Bristol,
TN-VA Chamber of Commerce, and in celebration of
that important milestone they have erected a monument that
reflects the twin city's unique status in the world of music: the
beautiful 20
foot guitar featured in today's picture.
Visitor Comments...
Name: Ron Trees
Town: Spokane, WA
Great photo today Rick!! That is one big guitar! The info that you
posted was also very interesting.
Name:
Gordon
Brugman
Town: Gatlinburg, TN
Rick, as an East Tennessee guitar fancier (among other things) I’m
ashamed to say I had no idea of the musical significance of the twin
cities just up the road. Your wonderful image and accompanying
commentary are delightful and educational. I may just have to print
and frame a copy of this giant flat top to hang in my “worlds’
smallest recording studio” with my 10 other guitars! (With your
permission, of course) Great photo, Rick.
Name: Phyllis Helton
Town: Bristol, VA
Great job Rick.
Name: Robert Schwarztrauber
Town: Buffalo, NY
Now there's something you don't see everyday! Or any day unless
you're checking out TodaysPhoto.org. That's a great photo Rick! Must
have been even better standing beside it, looking up.
Name: Rick Rouse
Town: Abingdon, VA
Thanks, everyone. Yes Bob, it is quite a sight when you're standing
beside it.
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