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The Sheer Joy of Orthophonic Music: Revisiting the Bristol Sessions

Bristol – a city straddling the Virginia/Tennessee border - is known as the birthplace of Country Music..in fact, it was designated as such by Congress in 1998. It's a title that comes with one of the most important events in music history. Known as the “Big Bang of Country Music,” several modern popular artists are paying tribute to the Bristol Sessions through a new collaborative project. 

In July 1927, a producer with the Victor Talking Machine Company in New York City named Ralph Peer packed up some state-of-the-art Western Electric microphones and took off for Bristol. There, he would set up a makeshift studio on State Street, and for 10 days record some of Appalachia's finest musicians. Those sessions would become, as Johnny Cash once proclaimed, the “single most important event in the history of Country Music.”

It's not the very first commercial recording of early Country Music, that had been a developing industry. But what makes Bristol significant is the fact that there's a lot of talent coming into one place, and it's one of the first Southern location recordings.”

Jessica Turner is the Director of the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol.

And it was the first time that the Carter Family was ever recorded, it was the first time Jimmie Rodgers was ever recorded. Jimmie Rodgers became later known as the father of Country Music, and his music was very influential. The Carter Family – lots of people, not only across the United States, but around the world – are listening to the Carter Family, certainly in the 30s and 40s.”

The museum partnered with Grammy award winning musician Carl Jackson and songwriter Rusty Morrell to re-release some tracks from the Bristol Sessions. Leah Ross with the museum says there were no problems finding artists willing to pay tribute to the founders of one of America's most defining musical genres:

"Orthophonic Joy" album cover

Everyone said yes. I mean, it wasn't like 'well let me think about it.' When he called Dolly Parton she said yes. When he called Vince Gill – when he called Emmylou. He was in the studio where Sheryl Crow was one day and said 'Hey, would you be interested in doing this song?' And she said yes – and they recorded right there.”

One by one, today's musicians recorded their takes on country classics from the Bristol Sessions. Such as “Bury Me Beneath the Willow” as done originally by the Carter Family, and redone for the new album by Emmylou Harris.

The album is titled "Orthophonic Joy", a tribute to the 1925 Victor Orthophonic Victrola, the very first machine designed to play electrically recorded disks. Back then, Ralph Peer recruited musicians by placing an ad in area newspapers that read “Do not deny yourself the sheer joy of orthophonic music”

And we even did a competition – we did that same advertisement, and the last person on the CD won a contest. They had to record a song and it was judged.”

The winner was Virginia native Corbin Hayslet, who chose the traditional “Darling Cora,” recorded in Bristol by a barber from Kentucky named BF Shelton, and remastered by Hayslett.

Hayslett is in his 20s, and has been picking in the traditional music scene around Virginia for years. He's a true testament to the lasting impact the Bristol Sessions have had on all walks of the music community – and whether you prefer the crisp, digital recordings of the 21st century, or the cacophonous character of recordings from years past..

Do not deny yourself the sheer joy of this re-visitation of the Big Bang of Country Music.

Orthophonic Joy” contains both songs and educational commentary...and it's available now.

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