Marker 01

On this episode of Our American Stories, in the early 1920s, WSM filled its schedule with whatever talent it could gather, and one night a fiddler stepped into the studio with a tune that settled easily across the airwaves. The reaction from listeners changed the station’s direction. The music felt local in the best sense of the word, and the signal carried it into homes that had never heard anything like it. Those moments revealed how quickly a simple performance could influence the American music history taking shape around the radio.

The Grand Ole Opry emerged within that momentum, and Nashville followed along with the shift. The influence created a bridge between regional tradition and the broader landscape of country-western music, giving the early threads of country-music origins a steady place to land. Craig Havighurst, author of Musicality for Modern Humans, joins us with a look into how WSM and the Opry reshaped Nashville’s music history and left a mark that continues to guide the way the city sounds today.

Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)

On this episode of Our American Stories, in the early 1920s, WSM filled its schedule with whatever talent it could gather, and one night a fiddler stepped into the studio with a tune that settled easily across the airwaves. The reaction from listeners changed the station&rsquo;s direction. The music felt local in the best sense of the word, and the signal carried it into homes that had never heard anything like it. Those moments revealed how quickly a simple performance could influence the American music history taking shape around the radio.
The Grand Ole Opry emerged within that momentum, and Nashville followed along with the shift. The influence created a bridge between regional tradition and the broader landscape of country-western music, giving the early threads of country-music origins a steady place to land. Craig Havighurst, author of&nbsp;<a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FMusicality-Modern-Humans-Listen-Artist%2Fdp%2F1958861839&amp;data=05%7C02%7CUraelBlackshear%40iheartmedia.com%7Cef54c7fda5a548c5a8c708de31cdecab%7C122a527e5b714eba878d9810b495b9e3%7C0%7C0%7C639002957671670517%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=j5%2FOnWvByNYTeerzR61rOzP81zMIXaVaUSVbo%2BcbH3g%3D&amp;reserved=0" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="1">Musicality for Modern Humans</a>, joins us with a look into how WSM and the Opry reshaped Nashville&rsquo;s music history and left a mark that continues to guide the way the city sounds today.
Support the show (<a href="https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)">https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)</a>

Our American Stories tells stories that aren’t being told. Positive stories about generosity and courage, resilience and redemption, faith and love. Stories about the past and present. And stories about ordinary Americans who do extraordinary things each and every day. Stories from our listeners about their lives. And their history. In that pursuit, we hope we’ll be a place where listeners can refresh their spirit, and be inspired by our stories.

Our American Stories

How the Opry Gave Country Music a National Voice

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/dfb3d104-552a-42e0-a969-b3a70159c0a4/transcript

Advertisement