The good old days when times were bad : class, race and the New South origins of country music

This thesis examines the social context that led to the emergence of country music as a commercial artform during the 1920s. It investigates the economic situation of workers, musicians and middle-class actors in the county of Wise, Virginia. It argues that country music was the product of interclass collaboration, and examines it as a cultural artifact in relation to other cultures created by the community at the time. Country music emerged during this period from a desire to alleviate the woes brought by a depressed local economy and an oppressive social stereotype. The collaboration between classes depended on the actors assertion of their own identities at a time when the meanings of the “hillbilly” shifted, and permitted a moment of self-articulation in a community dominated by the coal industry. This thesis assesses the place of coal in the lives of the people of Wise, and examines the ramifications of coal company dominance in terms of race and economics