by Sam Madsen

Created on: August 06, 2011

Nashville, Tennessee is far more than a beautiful city surrounded by steep rock bluffs, covered with trees, or the Cumberland River winding its way around the outer edge of the city, it is also Country music capital of the world, and with good reason.

The Nashville, Tennessee area is where it all began for country music and the hundreds of performers, who made it popular and shared it with the world as we know it today.

It all started in 1925, just five years after commercial radio was born in the United States. In the prime of his career, George D. Hay was the nation’s most popular radio announcer and became the voice of WSM’s “Barn Dance” in 1927. Being heard every Saturday night, around the nation and in parts of Canada, the show was a hit. Around this time period, is when Hay changed the name from the Barn Dance to the “Grand Ole Opry”. Playing country music as an instrumental production, the guitars, fiddles and the rest of the instruments played became a favorite pass time for the folks listening.

On the other side of Nashville, in Bristol, Tennessee in the same year, the very first country music recording deal was being signed between “Victor Records” and “Jimmie Rodgers and The Carter Family”, which was the beginning of a wonderful career for both performers, in the country music genre.

It wasn’t until 1938 that the first singer was introduced into the show, this was when “Roy Acuff” first debuted and wow’s the listeners with is performance of “The Great Speckled Bird” song. This night on the Grand old Opry changed the Opry forever.

Ryman Auditorium became the home for the Grand ole Opry in 1943, ushering in a new era of musicians, into the country music genre, with names like Little Jimmy Dickens, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Red Foley, Jim Reeves, Minnie Pearl and many more to follow over the next several decades of glorious country music.

These were the people who helped guard a softer more simple way of living, through the songs and ballads they sang to us over the radio waves.

Today’s country artists are among some of the most famous and well respected musicians in the world and because they sing soulful, heartfelt songs to do with, loving and living life to the fullest.

Here in Nashville, Tennessee the country music legend began many years ago and thrives still today in the many hearts and ears of the millions of people who enjoy the laid back genre, to start their personal day off in a up-beat positive way.

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