Research into the country and western music genre for media coursework

1. Country and Western Hannah, Arfa, Yasir and Leon

2. History of the genre It wasn't until August 1, 1927 in Bristol, Tennessee, that Country Music really began Country and western music is directly descended from the folk songs, ballads, and popular songs of the English, Scottish, and Irish settlers of the U.S. southeastern seaboard The first commercial country music recording was made in 1920: "Sallie Gooden," performed by fiddler A.C. Robertson The five elements that made commercial country music possible are radio, record making, live touring, song writing and song publishing (which all came together in Atlanta) Johnny Cash is considered the best country music artist of all time

3. Target Audience Today's country music listener is not limited to the rural person or the blue collar worker. The audience has grown to include people from all walks of life. For example, the recent success of Taylor Swift’s cross between pop and country music that attracts a large teenage audience as well as the stereotypical country audience Country music is America's best liked music. According to a Harris survey, 60% of the adult population likes country music Country music delivers a large, exclusive audience. 25.4% of its listeners listen ONLY to country music 64% of the country music audience are aged between 25 – 54 Although females dominated Country music's fan base in recent years, Toby Keith says those numbers are changing and that there is now a big ‘guy audience’ Another report we read for the CMA, which came out in April of 2009, said that 2 out of 5 adults age 18-54 'qualify' as country music fans

4. 5 Artists with brief history and key songs… TAYLOR SWIFT Most popular songs: Love Story and You Belong With Me Brief history: She is a country-pop singer and at age 14 she became the youngest staff song writer ever hired by the Sony/ATV tree publishing house. JOHNNY CASH Most popular songs: Ring of Fire and I Walked the Line Brief history: Cash began playing guitar and writing songs as a young boy. His first recordings were released in 1955 under Sun records. He died in 2003. BILLY RAY CYRUS Most popular songs: Achy Breaky Heart and I Want My Mullet Back Brief history: He is a a multi-platinum selling recording artist, has scored a total of eight top-ten singles on the US. He re launched his career in 2007.

5. 5 Artists cont… THE CARTER FAMILY Most popular songs: Keep On the Sunny Side and Wild Wood Flower Brief history: Made their first recording in 1927, by the end of 1930 they had sold 300,000 records in the US. They stopped recording in 1987 DOLLY PARTON Most popular songs: Do I Ever Cross Your Mind, Something Special and 9-5 Brief history: she remains one of the most-successful female artists in the history of the country genre which garnered her the title of ‘The Queen of Country Music’. Parton began performing as a child, singing on local radio and television programs in the East Tennessee area.

8. Kenny Rogers ‘The Gambler’ Treatment… Kenny Rogers’s ‘The Gambler’ is known for it’s deeper metaphorical meaning of being about life and knowing when to stand your ground (when to hold 'em) and when to retreat (when to fold 'em). The song itself is a concept as it encourages people to go below the surface of the lyrics and work out the deeper meaning behind it. As the song has a deeper undertone it deserves a music video that will portray this, which is why we have decided to do a pure concept music video. Furthermore, as Kenny Rogers is really well known in the country and western music world we can afford to take risks. We want to ‘go back to basics’ and do a black and white music video in order to convey the seriousness of the song and also it stops the audience being distracted so that they can concentrate on the music video.

9. Kenny Rogers ‘The Gambler’ The concept: we want to show the song has a universal relevance so we are going to include mini stories of lots of different types of people within society. For example, a gang beating up an individual and a member walking away as he knows that it’s time to ‘fold’. (This would appeal to a modern audience). To make it appeal to a traditional audience we would also have a shot of a cowboy trying to tame a wild horse to give an example of when not to fold and when you should ‘hold em’ as his determination will eventually pay off. To start the music video there will be a man dressed in black walking down a dark cobbled street with a street wearing cowboy boots and a cowboy hat. This will introduce the audience into the country and western feel of the song and will appeal to the traditional audience without distinguishing the cowboy’s identity to keep the universal relevance of music video. (It would also make a good image for the single cover).

10. Kenny Rogers ‘The Gambler’ By the end of the song the ‘ace’ that Kenny Roger’s refers to is the advice that he has been given by the gambler. It becomes clear to the audience that this advice has brought enlightenment to his life, which is why towards the end of the music video we want to use brighter lighting to signify how this advice has changed outlook on life to a more positive view, We got this idea from Dolly Parton’s popular music video ‘Jesus and gravity’, which is black and white throughout most of the video and then turns into colour towards the end to show the hope that her faith has brought into her life.

11. Album Cover Analysis Dolly Parton- Jesus and Gravity There is a direct link between the single and the album cover as the album cover is advertised in the beginning of the video through the use of an iPod. The use of the album cover in the music video sells Dolly Parton as a mainstream artist as the iPod is a symbol of mainstream culture and modern technology. Also, the inclusion of the album cover in the video advertises her whole album, not just her single. Shania Twain- Man I feel like a woman The single cover links with the music video because in the music video Shania Twain wears a corset with a white shirt and bowler hat and on the single cover she’s wearing the same clothes. Also, in the music video the background is a deep red, the single cover is also deep red. Furthermore, the fact that Shania Twain is on the album cover sells her sexy image, which, naturally, sells more records.

12. Album Cover Analysis Billy Ray- I want my mullet back (Wanna Be Your Joe) There is no direct link between the music video and album cover. Billy Ray Cyrus is typically seen as being “uncool’’. The fact that he is against a white background and is wearing jeans and a white top suggests to the audience that he’s breaking out as a mainstream artist and is tearing away from his “old school image”. Taylor Swift- You Belong With Me There is a direct link between the music video and single cover as in the video Taylor Swift is in the a marching band at school and on the single cover she’s sitting on the bench in her band outfit inside the gymnasium. The whole music video is based on the fact that the boy that Swift loves is with another girl. The single cover highlights the split in the cliques. In the music video, Swift is a “nerd” and the couple are “popular”. The single cover shows a clear divide through the use of costumes. The band are wearing the same outfit whereas the popular couple are wearing mainstream clothing. Also, the fact that Swift is the only one on the single cover not wearing a hat suggests that she her love for the boy sets her apart from her clique.

13. Album Cover Analysis Tim McGraw- My Little Girl There is no obvious direct link between the music video and single cover apart from the dark lighting that is used in some parts of the music video.

14. YEEE HAWWW