Yodeling wasn't intended to be music

In the 1920s, country was often called 'hillbilly music'

The term was meant to describe the rural people who typically performed the Appalachian folk music. Though Black people were also making country music at the time, their records were categorized as “race music.”

Country music can be traced back to Colonial America

The genre begins with the folk music of the Colonial settlers, blending the area’s regional sounds, including gospel, African spirituals, and Anglo-Saxon, Scottish, and Celtic ballads.

Bluegrass, a subgenre of country music, allows every participant to take a solo

The music grew popular after World War II and, like country, was based on a combination of blues, spirituals and Celtic folk songs. Bluegrass has a "high, lonesome sound," as pioneered by Bill Monroe, and features breaks for every melody instrumentalist to take a solo.

Outlaw Country was a subgenre that emerged in the 1970s

Outlaw country was a reaction against popular country music produced in Nashville. The name's origin is disputed, but it was firmly established with the 1976 album “Wanted! The Outlaws,” a record featuring songs by Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser—artists who bucked industry norms.

The sound of country music has evolved over its lifespan

Like any genre, country music is constantly evolving. This in-depth analysis from NPR illustrates how the notoriously traditionally minded industry has been redefined, time and time again, by its greatest artists. More recently, it highlights stars like Kacey Musgraves, Sam Hunt, and Maren Morris for taking it in new directions.

Microphone technology made crooning possible

Before the electric microphone, vocalists needed to project to have their voices captured. The new technology, however, made softer, more intimate singing possible, leading to a new style of singing that took off in the late 1920s, with "crooners" becoming some of the first American pop stars.

Why one country legend embraced punk rock

Dwight Yoakam was among the most popular country music acts of the 1980s, praised for his upbeat rockabilly and neo-Bakersfield sound. In this interview, Yoakam explains why he left the Midwest for California and began playing in punk clubs, including with an iteration of the legendary LA punk outfit X.

Chuck Berry was one of the genre's early innovators

A pioneer of rock ‘n’ roll, Berry redefined music in the 1950s with hits like "Maybellene" and "Johnny B. Goode." Drawing from blues and country, his signature riffs and storytelling influenced generations of artists.

TikTok's algorithm has changed the way hits are made

Songs aimed at TikTok's algorithm—designed for viral dances or soundtracking common experiences—often find success on the Billboard charts. An early example was Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road," which used his memes and a country-trap beat from the Netherlands to rise to the top of the Billboard charts.

Parton released her first recording at age 13

The song was written at the age of 11 with the assistance of her uncle, Bill Owens, and was released by Goldband Records in 1959, when she was 13. The rockabilly song doesn’t sound much like the country music that would make Parton famous in the next decade, but it does hint at the power of her voice.

Bob Dylan often reworks his vocal melodies, even for his classic songs

Bob Dylan is an unpredictable live artist willing to reinvent his classics as they age. This analysis by Steven Rings, a music professor, breaks down the evolution of the singing style in "A Hard Rain’s A‐Gonna Fall," which transformed in one 1994 performance and then continued growing.

The earliest known country recording is Louis Vasnier's 'Thompson's Old Gray Mule'

This BBC documentary offers a brief history of the recording, explaining how the wax cylinder recording was transferred to vinyl and how the singer was identified. Interestingly, it also suggests why this recording might have been overlooked for over a century.

'Jolene' was based on a real woman who flirted with her husband

The song was Dolly Parton’s second No. 1 hit and a modern standard that’s been covered by the likes of the White Stripes and Beyoncé. According to Parton, it was based on a real-life experience about an attractive bank teller who flirted with her husband. That woman’s name wasn’t actually Jolene, though: That was the name of a young fan who’d once asked Parton for an autograph.

The word 'dude' was originally used as an insult

Although the actual origin of the word is unknown, stymologists found the first recorded use in the United States was in the 1880s and referred to a young man, usually from the East Coast, who was overly concerned with his appearance. "Dude ranches" were an informal name for the ranches out West that catered to these types of men.

The mesmerizing harmonies of Georgia's 'singing village' feast

Listen along to a polyphonic feast in Georgia known as a Supra. The event is a long-held tradition in the "singing village" of Lakushdi, featuring intricate, stunning musical harmonies sung by attendees and performers. Learn how the singing is learned and performed and participate in the feast from afar with this fascinating podcast.

‘Hang On Sloopy,’ Ohio’s unofficial anthem

The McCoys' 1965 single "Hang On Sloopy" isn't technically about the Buckeye State, but it became a fan favorite after appearing in the Ohio State Marching Band repertoire.

The US lacked a national anthem for the first 8 Olympics

Although songs like “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “America the Beautiful” were informal anthems, the country did not have an official national anthem. That changed in 1931, when President Herbert Hoover signed a bill into law designating the song as the national anthem.

The origin of the 'barbershop quartet'

Barbershop is subgenre of acapella, limited to four singers who all play highly specific roles. If you see a particularly inspired quartet, you might even see them in old-timey barber dress, a nod to style's origin: the British barbershop. This brief explainer from Mental Floss breaks down the strange story behind the form and how it traveled overseas to become the music we know today.

'Shoofly pie' was named after a molasses named after a mule named after a song

Although most people assumed the sweet dessert earned its name for its ability to attract flies, etymologists believe it can be traced back to a molasses brand named after a boxing mule (Shoofly the mule), who was named after a song ("Shoofly Don't Bother Me") that was a play on slang of the time.

Wales has had a massive influence on fantasy music, movies and books

Many of "The Lord of the Rings" settings and languages are rooted in the country's landscape and dialect. Studio Ghibli icon Hayao Miyazaki was inspired by Wales' countryside. Rock band Fleetwood Mac used Welsh myths as a basis for songs.

The story behind the little Scottish village in the Italian Alps

High in the Italian Alps is Gurro, a small village with a distinct Scottish flair that can be found in its food, clothing, language, and music. At first glance, it may seem like a curiosity, but, as one resident explains in this short video documentary, there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for how an Italian town became known as a Scottish hamlet.

What did Ötzi the Iceman sound like?

The natural pitch of a person's voice depends on the size of their larynx, also known as their voice box, and the length and thickness of their vocal folds or vocal cords. Using this information, scientists have recreated the voice of Ötzi the...

The true origins of the Western tumbleweed

Tumbleweeds are iconic features of classic American westerns, seen blowing across a desert landscape as a cowboy walks into town. But this species isn't native to the US Southwest. In fact, it was unintentionally imported from Russia. As farmers loosened the ground in the West, they created the perfect breeding ground for the Russian thistle tumbleweed to flourish there. Watch more on its history here.

Norse Yule solstice rituals inspired many modern Christmas decorations

Scandinavian Vikings celebrated Yule during the winter solstice, burning massive, decorated logs to protect their homes and ensure good harvests, while hoping for the sun's return. The festival included evergreens, mistletoe, holly, and ivy.

America’s first roller coaster initially transported coal instead of people

The Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway in the hills of Pennsylvania wasn’t initially intended to be a ride, but over time passengers and businessmen alike took advantage of the lovely tour through nature. The railway eventually reached over 100,000 riders in some years.

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

70 years ago today, city officials in Santa Cruz, California, banned rock 'n' roll to protect its youth from corruption after witnessing a 'provocative' concert the night before.

English mathematician Ada Lovelace wrote the first computer algorithm a century before computers existed and hypothesized that computing devices would one day be able to compose music—foreseeing the generative AI systems of today.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

Brian Wilson wrote the Beach Boys' 'Don't Worry Baby' for the Ronettes, but the legendary girl group rejected it.

In preparation for this weekend's Eurovision finale, which is something like the World Cup of pop music, here's a young Céline Dion performing (for Switzerland?) at the 1988 competition.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, but became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

In 2009, the nation was gripped by the story of a missing young boy who was believed to be floating over Colorado in a homemade balloon, until it was revealed that he was at home the whole time.

Famed poet TS Eliot rejected the manuscript for George Orwell's political fable 'Animal Farm,' writing that its criticism of authoritarianism was not 'the right point of view.'

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

El Niño, Spanish for 'the boy,' was named after Jesus Christ because the phenomenon resembled the weather changes observed around Christmastime.

Sears sold DIY house kits starting at $600 in its famous catalog from 1908 through the 1940s, resulting in roughly 10,000 'Sears and Roebuck houses' being built.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.

The boiling temperature of water decreases with increasing elevation because the molecules need less energy to overcome the lower atmospheric pressure associated with thinner air.

In 1963, a basement renovation in Turkey revealed a passageway to a hidden, multilevel underground city that once housed as many as 20,000 people