On July 25 1927 a Victor Talking Machine company producer set up a portable recording studio in Bristol Tennessee. Instead of having musicians travel to New York City to record, recording technology could now allow him to travel to the musicians. The new technology also allowed him to record softer instruments like dulcimers and guitars. He had placed advertisements in local papers throughout the south and between the advertisements and word of mouth reporting, he attracted 19 musicians to Bristol. And between July 25 and August 5th, 76 records had been cut. Among them the first recordings of the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers.
On American Pastimes we are hosting “Orthophonic Joy: The 1927 Bristol Sessions Revisited.” - a new cd release made in conjunction with the Country Music Museum that commemorates those important sessions - which are known by many as the “Big Bang of Country Music.”
Our narrator for today's program will be Eddie Stubbs from the Grand Ole Opry and WSM-AM who will tell the Bristol story with biographical detail, lots of anecdotes, and historical context. And we’ll also be hearing music of course: 18 contemporary interpretations of some of the classic songs that was first put down on those wax discs 88 years ago in the makeshift studio in Bristol, Tennessee.
Performers to be featured include: Emmy Lou Harris, Dolly Parton, Doyle Lawson, Marty Stuart, Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers, Vince Gill, Keb Mo, Carl Jackson, Jesse McReynolds, Sheryl Crow and others.
