1.
Limestone County, Texas
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Limestone County is a county located in the U. S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 23,384, the county was created in 1846. Indians friendly to the settlers resided in east Texas before the Kiowa and these tribes hunted, farmed the land, and were adept traders. The Tawakoni branch of Wichita Indians originated north of Texas, from 1843 onward, the Tawakoni were part of treaties made by both the Republic of Texas and the United States. Tawakoni were also known as Tehuacana. The Limestone County town of Tehuacana was settled on the site of a Tehuacana village. The Waco people were also a branch of the Wichita Indians, the Indians subsequently attacked the fort, killing or kidnapping all but about 18 settlers who managed to escape to Fort Houston. Limestone County was part of the Haden Harrison Edwards and Robertsons Colony empresario grants made by the Coahuila y Texas legislature in 1825, by contracting how many families each grantee could settle, the government sought to have some control over colonization. Baptist spiritual leader Daniel Parker and eight other men organized the Pilgrim Predestinarian Regular Baptist Church in Lamotte, the fellowship in its entirety migrated in 1833 to the new frontier of Texas. Among this group of settlers were Silas M. Parker, Moses Herrin, Elisha Anglin, Luther T. M. Plummer, David Faulkenberry, Joshua Hadley, and Samuel Frost. Fort Parker, near the Navasota River in what is now central Limestone County, was the earliest actual settlement in the vicinity, following on the heels of the original settlers, other communities were established. On April 11,1846, Limestone County was formed from Robertson County, on August 18,1846, the county was organized. The county seat was moved to Groesbeck in 1873 after boundary changes, homesteaders became self-sustaining farmers and ranchers who supplemented the dinner table with wild game. Support businesses were connected to the repair and maintenance of farm equipment, the population of 1860 was 4,537. Of these,3,464 were white,1,072 were slaves, Limestone County voted 525 -9 in favor of secession from the Union, and sent its men to fight for the Confederate States of America. Lochlin Johnson Farrar raised the first Confederate company from the county, reconstruction in the county was so contentious, with racial violence and threats against the government, that on 9 Oct 1871, Texas Governor Edmund J. Davis declared the county under martial law. The Houston and Texas Central Railway laid tracks in 1869, terminating near Kosse which was named after the chief engineer Theodore Kosse. The Trinity and Brazos Valley Railway, laid track in 1903 from Cleburne to Mexia, several towns were established on these routes
Limestone County, Texas
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The Limestone County Courthouse in Groesbeck
2.
Fort Worth, Texas
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Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. The city is in North Central Texas and covers nearly 350 square miles in the counties of Denton, Parker, Wise, according to the 2015 census, estimates, Fort Worths population is 833,319. The city is the second-largest in the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area, the city was established in 1849 as an Army outpost on a bluff overlooking the Trinity River. Today, Fort Worth still embraces its Western heritage and traditional architecture, USS Fort Worth is the first ship of the United States Navy named after the city. Fort Worth is home to the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, also of note is the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, designed by Tadao Ando. The Amon Carter Museum of American Art, designed by Philip Johnson, the Sid Richardson Museum, redesigned by David M. Schwarz, has one of the most focused collections of Western Art in the U. S. emphasizing Frederic Remington and Charles Russell. The Treaty of Birds Fort between the Republic of Texas and several Native American tribes was signed in 1843 at Birds Fort in present-day Arlington, Texas. Article XI of the treaty provided that no one may pass the line of trading houses without permission of the President of Texas and these trading houses were later established at the junction of the Clear Fork and West Fork of the Trinity River in present-day Fort Worth. At this river junction, the U. S, War Department established Fort Worth in 1849 as the northernmost of a system of 10 forts for protecting the American Frontier following the end of the Mexican–American War. The City of Fort Worth continues to be known as where the West begins, originally 10 forts had been proposed by Major General William Jenkins Worth, who commanded the Department of Texas in 1849. In January 1849, Worth proposed a line of 10 forts to mark the western Texas frontier from Eagle Pass to the confluence of the West Fork, One month later, Worth died from cholera in South Texas. General William S. Harney assumed command of the Department of Texas, Arnold to find a new fort site near the West Fork and Clear Fork. On June 6,1849, Arnold, advised by Middleton Tate Johnson, established a camp on the bank of the Trinity River, in August 1849, Arnold moved the camp to the north-facing bluff, which overlooked the mouth of the Clear Fork of the Trinity River. The United States War Department officially named the post Fort Worth on November 14,1849, E. S. Terrell from Tennessee claimed to be the first resident of Fort Worth. The fort was flooded the first year and moved to the top of the bluff, the fort was abandoned September 17,1853. As a stop on the legendary Chisholm Trail, Fort Worth was stimulated by the business of the cattle drives, millions of head of cattle were driven north to market along this trail. Fort Worth became the center of the drives, and later. It was given the nickname of Cowtown, during Civil War, Fort Worth suffered from shortages of money, food, and supplies
Fort Worth, Texas
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Montage of Fort Worth, Top: View of Downtown Fort Worth from Amon Carter Museum, Middle left: Fort Worth Modern Art Museum, Middle right: Fort Worth Stockyards Saloon, Bottom left: Tarrant County Courthouse, Bottom right: T&P Railroad Station
Fort Worth, Texas
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Seal
Fort Worth, Texas
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Fort Worth Texas Historical Marker
Fort Worth, Texas
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Lithograph (1876)
3.
Western swing
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Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the regions Western string bands. The movement was an outgrowth of jazz, and similarities with gypsy jazz are often noted, the electrically amplified stringed instruments, especially the steel guitar, give the music a distinctive sound. Later incarnations have also included overtones of bebop, Western swing differs in several ways from the music played by the nationally popular horn-driven big swing bands of the same era. In Western bands, even fully orchestrated bands, vocals, additionally, although popular horn bands tended to arrange and score their music, most Western bands improvised freely, either by soloists or collectively. Contemporary groups include Asleep at the Wheel and The Hot Club of Cowtown, when it escapes in all its musical glory, my friend, you have Western swing. Western swing in its beginnings was just dance music, the term swing, meaning big band dance music, wasnt used until after the 1932 hit It Dont Mean a Thing. Most of the big Western dance bandleaders simply referred to themselves as Western bands and their music as Western dance music, Bob Wills and others believed the term Western swing was used for his music while he and his band were still in Tulsa, Oklahoma between 1939 and 1942. The Los Angeles-area Wilmington Press carried ads for an unidentified Western Swing Orchestra at a nightspot in April 1942. That winter, influential LA-area jazz and swing disc jockey Al Jarvis held a radio contest for top popular band leaders, the winner would be named the King of Swing. When Spade Cooley unexpectedly received the most votes, besting Benny Goodman and Harry James, on the other hand, The Billboard, in its January 29,1944 issue, reported Cooley came fourth in the orchestra section, behind Sammy Kaye, Freddie Martin, and Jimmy Dorsey. Around 1942, Cooleys promoter, disc jockey Foreman Phillips, began using Western swing to advertise his client, Music is not the true Western type. Dancers can foxtrot or do a slow jitter to it, a more widely known first use was an October 1944 Billboard item mentioning a forthcoming songbook by Cooley titled Western Swing. This, however was preceded by this item on page 11 of the May 6,1944 Billboard, Spade Cooley, who moved in with his Western swing boys several months ago, has released the Breakfast Club. Cooley moved up from Phillips County barn dances at Venice, Calif. ballroom, after that, the music was known as Western swing. During its early development, scores of groups from San Antonio to Shreveport to Oklahoma City played different songs with the basic sound. Fred Papa Calhoun recalled that around 1930, he played in a band in Decatur and we also liked Red Nichols and Bix Beiderbecke. After ending his partnership with Vernon Dalhart, country music trailblazer Carson Robison formed Carson Robisons Madcaps. Their recording of Nonsense in September 1929 was an uptempo, pioneering example of Western swing, in the early 1930s, Bob Wills and Milton Brown co-founded the string band that became the Light Crust Doughboys, the first professional band in this genre
Western swing
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Spade Cooley's 1945 song folio, the first to identify big Western dance band music as Western swing
Western swing
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Bob Wills
4.
Vocalion Records
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The name was derived from one of their corporate divisions, the Vocalion Organ Co. The fledgling label first issued single-sided, vertical-cut disc records but soon switched to double-sided and then, in 1920, aeolian pressed Vocalion discs in a good-quality reddish brown shellac, which set the product apart from the usual black shellac used by other record companies. Advertisements stated that Vocalion Red Records are best or Red Records last longer, however, Vocalions shellac was no more durable than good-quality black shellac. In 1925 the label was acquired by Brunswick Records, during the 1920s Vocalion also began the celebrated 1000 race series. The 15000 series continued, but after the Brunswick takeover, it seems that Vocalion took a seat to the Brunswick label. By 1928–1929, many of the records issued on the Vocalion 15000 series were hot jazz exclusive to Vocalion and are extremely rare, in retrospect, it seems that Brunswick never really had a plan for the Vocalion 15000 series. From 1925 to 1930, Brunswick appeared to use this series as a specialty label for other than general sale. This seems to also be an explanation as to why the early 1930s Vocalions are rarer than Brunswick records. In April 1930, Warner Bros. bought Brunswick Records and, for a time, in December 1931 Warner Bros. licensed the entire Brunswick and Vocalion operation to the American Record Corporation. ARC used Brunswick as their flagship 75-cent label and Vocalion as one of their 35-cent labels, the Vocalion race/blues series continued and continued to be popular. Starting in 1933, a number of Brunswick artists were assigned to Vocalions then-new 2500 series, new signings contributed to the growing popularity of the label. Coupled with other short-term signings, including Fletcher Henderson, Phil Harris, Earl Hines, and Isham Jones, also, starting in 1935, Vocalion started reissuing titles that were still selling from the recently discontinued OKeh label. In 1936 and 1937 Vocalion produced the recordings of the influential blues artist Robert Johnson. From 1935 through 1940, Vocalion was one of the most popular labels for small-group swing, blues, after the short-lived Variety label was discontinued, many titles were reissued on Vocalion, and the label continued to release new recordings made by Master/Variety artists through 1940. This added Cab Calloway and the Duke Ellington small groups-within-his-band to the label, ARC was purchased by CBS and Vocalion became a subsidiary of Columbia Records in 1938. The popular Vocalion label was discontinued in 1940, and the current Vocalions were reissued on the recently revived OKeh label with the catalog numbers. The name Vocalion was resurrected in the late 1950s by Decca as a label for back-catalog reissues. In 1975, MCA issued five albums on the Vocalion label
Vocalion Records
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1921 Vocalion label
Vocalion Records
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Vocalion record by
Louis Armstrong
5.
OKeh Records
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Okeh Records was a record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. Since 1926, it has been a subsidiary of Columbia Records, today, Okeh is an imprint of Sony Masterworks, a specialty label of Columbia. Okeh was founded by Otto K. E. Heinemann, a German-American manager for the U. S. branch of German-owned Odeon Records, Heinemann formed the name of the record label from his initials, on early disc labels, the name is spelled OkeH. The first discs were vertical cut, in 1919, Okeh switched to the lateral-cut method of sound recording, more commony used for disc records. In that year the parent company was renamed the General Phonograph Corporation. The common 10-inch discs retailed for 75 cents each, the 12-inch discs for $1.25, the companys musical director was Fred Hager, who was also credited under the pseudonym Milo Rega. Okeh produced lines of recordings in German, Czech, Polish, Swedish, some were pressed from masters leased from European labels, others were recorded by Okeh in New York. In 1920, Ralph Peers recordings of the African-American blues singer Mamie Smith were a smash hit for Okeh. The company perceived the significant, little-tapped market for blues and jazz by African-American artists, in 1922, Okeh hired Clarence Williams as director of race recordings for Okehs New York studios, in addition to making recordings under his own name. Okeh then opened a studio in Chicago, the center of jazz in the 1920s. Many classic jazz performances by prominent artists as King Oliver, Lucille Bogan, Sidney Bechet, Hattie McDaniel, Louis Armstrong. As part of the Carl Lindstrom Company, Okeh recordings were distributed by other Lindstrom labels, King Oliver and Bennie Moten recorded for Okeh before moving on to other labels. The 8000 race series is highly prized by collectors, partly because Okeh recorded many blues, in 1926, Okeh was sold to Columbia Records. Columbia and its subsequent parent companies have controlled Okeh since then, the original Mamie Smith recording was in 1920, of Crazy Blues. General Phonograph Corp, Okehs manufacturer, used Smith’s success as the press to cultivate the new found market. Okeh had further prominence in the demographic, as African-American artists such as Sara Martin, Eva Taylor, Shelton Brooks, Esther Bigeou, Okeh started a special 8000 series devoted exclusively to race artists. The success of this series led Okeh to start recording where the music was being performed, the 8000 series, which began in 1921, lasted until late 1934, the final number being 8966. Okeh Records pioneered the practice of recording in 1922
OKeh Records
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Okeh Records
OKeh Records
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A lateral recording of
Billy Murray, from 1919
OKeh Records
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1927 Okeh 78, 40916, "In a Mist".
6.
Columbia Records
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Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, Inc. the United States division of Sony Corporation. It was founded in 1887, evolving from an enterprise named the American Graphophone Company. Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in the sound business. Columbia Records went on to release records by an array of singers, instrumentalists. It is one of Sony Musics three flagship record labels alongside RCA Records and Epic Records, rather, as above, it was connected to CBS, a broadcasting media company which had purchased the company in 1938, and had been co-founded in 1927 by Columbia Records itself. Though Arista Records was sold to Bertelsmann Music Group, it would become a sister label of Columbia Records through its mutual connection to Sony Music. The Columbia Phonograph Company was founded in 1887 by stenographer, lawyer and New Jersey native Edward Easton and it derived its name from the District of Columbia, where it was headquartered. At first it had a monopoly on sales and service of Edison phonographs and phonograph cylinders in Washington. As was the custom of some of the regional companies, Columbia produced many commercial cylinder recordings of its own. Columbias ties to Edison and the North American Phonograph Company were severed in 1894 with the North American Phonograph Companys breakup, thereafter it sold only records and phonographs of its own manufacture. In 1902, Columbia introduced the XP record, a brown wax record. According to Gracyk, the molded brown waxes may have sold to Sears for distribution. Columbia began selling records and phonographs in addition to the cylinder system in 1901, preceded only by their Toy Graphophone of 1899. For a decade, Columbia competed with both the Edison Phonograph Company cylinders and the Victor Talking Machine Company disc records as one of the top three names in American recorded sound. In order to add prestige to its catalog of artists. The firm also introduced the internal-horn Grafonola to compete with the extremely popular Victrola sold by the rival Victor Talking Machine Company, during this era, Columbia used the famous Magic Notes logo—a pair of sixteenth notes in a circle—both in the United States and overseas. Columbia was split into two companies, one to make records and one to make players, Columbia Phonograph was moved to Connecticut, and Ed Easton went with it. Eventually it was renamed the Dictaphone Corporation, in late 1923, Columbia went into receivership
Columbia Records
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Original home of Columbia in Washington, D.C., in 1889
Columbia Records
Columbia Records
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A Columbia type AT cylinder
graphophone, first released in 1898
Columbia Records
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This article is about the American record label active worldwide except in Japan. For the Columbia label which was a unit of EMI, see
Columbia Graphophone Company. For the Columbia label in Japan, see
Nippon Columbia.
7.
MGM Records
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MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. It soon transitioned to a pop music label which continued into the 1970s, in one instance, it even released the highly successful soundtrack album of a film made by a rival studio, Columbia Picturess Born Free. Their first soundtrack was of Till the Clouds Roll By, a 1946 film based on the life of composer Jerome Kern and it was the first soundtrack album of a live-action film. The album was issued as a set of four 10-inch 78-rpm records. As in many early MGM soundtrack albums, only eight selections from the film were included on the version of the album. In order to fit the songs onto the sides the musical material needed editing. Needless to say, it was several generations removed from the original, also, the playback recordings were purposely recorded very dry otherwise it would come across as too hollow sounding in large movie theatres. This made these albums sound flat and boxy, MGM Records called these original cast albums in the style of Deccas Broadway show cast albums. They also coined the phrase recorded directly from the soundtrack, over the years the term soundtrack began to be commonly applied to any recording from a film, whether taken from the actual film soundtrack or re-recorded in studio. The phrase is sometimes incorrectly used for Broadway cast recordings. While it is correct to call a soundtrack a cast recording it is never correct to call a cast recording a soundtrack, by 1950, magnetic tape had been perfected for recording use, and this markedly improved the sound quality on the albums, beginning about 1951. MGM Records also released a soundtrack album of Quo Vadis. Beginning in the 1990s, authentic soundtrack albums of the scores to Ben-Hur. The Rhino Records editions of these albums featured literally the entire scores, Rhino also released a full-length two-disc album of the score of Gone With the Wind, recorded from the soundtrack in the original mono. Rhinos license expired at the end of 2011 and the albums Rhino issued are now out of print, Warner Bros. now owns the MGM soundtracks first issued by MGM Records and Warner Bros WaterTower Music unit now has the rights to release the MGM soundtracks. Kildare, Andy Hardy, Maisie, and Crime Does Not Pay, the MGM record pressing plant also manufactured the electrical transcriptions used to distribute the shows to local stations. The record manufacturing division was closed when MGM Records was sold to PolyGram and these Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer records were manufactured under contract with the studio by Columbia Records. In the early 1950s, MGM Records was considered one of the record companies due to owning its own manufacturing facilities
MGM Records
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MGM Records
MGM Records
8.
Liberty Records
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Liberty Records was a United States-based record label. It was started by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and it was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revivals. Libertys early releases focused on film and orchestral music and its first single was Lionel Newmans The Girl Upstairs. Its first big hit, in 1955, was by Julie London singing her version of the song, Cry Me a River. It helped Liberty sell her first album, Julie Is Her Name and she was to record 32 albums in her career. In 1956 Liberty signed the little-known Henry Mancini and they released two singles and several albums for him, but he left in 1959 when he gained in popularity. Billy Rose and Lee Davids song, Tonight You Belong to Me, scored a number 4 and number 28 as performed by teen sisters Patience and Prudence and their biggest early rock and roll artist was Eddie Cochran, who had just starred in his second film, Untamed Youth. His first hit for the label was John D. Loudermilks Sittin in the Balcony in 1957, then came Summertime Blues, the label was also home to R&B veterans Billy Ward and His Dominoes after Jackie Wilson quit, replacing him with ex-Lark Eugene Mumford. They hit with Hoagy Carmichaels 1927 song, Stardust – already recorded by many artists – which rode the pop chart for 24 weeks, the track also reached number 13 in the UK Singles Chart in October 1957. It was to be their only million seller, the song became a number 1 hit and rescued the company. In just a few months leading up to Christmas in 1958 and it became the only Christmas record to reach number 1 on the pop chart, selling 4.5 million copies. Its success led to a string of similar albums by Denny for Liberty over the next decade. In 1965 Liberty acquired Pacific Jazz Records, founded in 1952, in 1958 Liberty formed a sublabel called Freedom Records which lasted through 1959. In 1959 Liberty moved to its long-time address at 6920 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, Libertys most successful signing of the early 1960s was Bobby Vee. They picked up his single recorded for Soma with his combo the Shadows, Suzie Baby and he covered the Clovers 1955 doo-wop ballad, Devil or Angel in mid-1960 and later that year recorded Gene Pitneys Rubber Ball which made him an international star. In the summer of 1961 Vee had a big hit with Take Good Care of My Baby and he regularly had Hot 100 hits until 1970. Other major signings included Willie Nelson, Jan and Dean, Johnny Burnette, Gene McDaniels, Del Shannon, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Timi Yuro, in 1963 the Liberty Records label was sold to Avnet for $12 million. Avnet also bought Blue Note Records, Imperial Records, Dolton Records, Aladdin Records, after two years of losses, Avnet sold the labels back to Al Bennett for $8 million
Liberty Records
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Liberty Records
9.
Light Crust Doughboys
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The Light Crust Doughboys is an American Western swing band from Texas organized in 1931 by the Burrus Mill and Elevator Company in Saginaw, Texas. The band achieved its popularity in the few years leading up to World War II. The original group disbanded in 1942, although band member Marvin Montgomery led a new version organized in the 1960s, a contemporary incarnation beginning in the 1990s bills itself as the longest-running country music band in the world. The Light Crust Doughboys were charter inductees into the Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame in 1989, in December 2005, the Light Crust Doughboys Hall of Fame and Museum opened in Quitman, Texas. In 1931, Burrus Mills president, W. Lee Pappy ODaniel, wanted to link radio, there is disagreement about exactly when and on what radio station the Doughboys first broadcast, but it is generally accepted that by January 1931 the band had started playing on KFJZ-AM. Their first broadcasts on the station included a sad song, Twenty-One Years. Their radio signature was their introduction by announcer Truett Kimzey, The Light Crust Doughboys are on the air, though the Doughboys early broadcasts were well-received, the notion of using radio to advertise was still new, and ODaniel was unconvinced. He also reportedly did not like the bands music. At first he paid the band members $7.50 a week, but also required that they work a job at the mill, Wills drove a truck, Arnspiger worked on the dock loading flour. The band eventually won ODaniel over by asking him to serve as their emcee during a broadcast, the Doughboys began to hit their stride in March 1931, when they chartered a bus to Galveston, Texas to perform at a bakers convention. The band had the bus wired for sound and they played gigs at stops along the way to large crowds. Impressed, ODaniel purchased a seven-seater Packard and rigged it with placards imploring people to eat more bread, ODaniel replaced him, to great effect—ODaniel was a natural at showmanship and promotion, and the crowds loved him. Wills and Tommy Duncan departed in 1933, and by 1935, ODaniel had left Burrus Mill to start his own company with a new radio band, Pat ODaniel. He was elected Texas governor in 1939, the original Doughboys group disbanded in 1942 with U. S involvement in World War II, and its final recording was released in 1948. During the following decades, leader Smokey Montgomery kept the band going in some form, in 1969, the Doughboys began recording again, and in 1973, the band took part in the last recording session for Wills in Dallas for the album, For the Last Time. In 1983, musician and producer Art Greenhaw booked the Doughboys to play at the Mesquite Folk Festival and he became excited about the prospects for reviving the band, which had been working only sporadically for several years. In 1993, Greenhaw joined the group as bassist, and as co-producer, he added horns to its sound, other members included Jerry Elliot, Bill Simmons, John Walden, Jim Baker and Dale Cook. In 1995, the Texas Legislature declared the Doughboys the official ambassadors of the Lone Star State
Light Crust Doughboys
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Pappy O'Daniel
Light Crust Doughboys
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The Light Crust Doughboys in the 1936 Gene Autry film,
Oh, Susanna!
10.
Texas Playboys
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James Robert Bob Wills was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the co-founder of Western swing, he was known as the King of Western Swing. The band played regularly on a Tulsa, Oklahoma radio station and added Leon McAuliffe on steel guitar, pianist Al Stricklin, drummer Smokey Dacus, and a horn section that expanded the bands sound. Wills and the Texas Playboys recorded with several publishers and companies, including Vocalion, Okeh, Columbia, in 1950, he had two Top 10 hits, Ida Red Likes The Boogie and Faded Love, which were his last hits for a decade. Throughout the 1950s, he struggled with health and tenuous finances. Wills had an attack in 1962 and a second one the next year. The Country Music Hall of Fame inducted Wills in 1968 and the Texas State Legislature honored him for his contribution to American music, in 1972, Wills accepted a citation from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers in Nashville. He was recording an album with fan Merle Haggard in 1973 when a stroke left him comatose until his death in 1975, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted Wills and the Texas Playboys in 1999. He was born on a farm near Kosse, Texas, in Limestone County near Groesbeck, to Emma Lee Foley and John Tompkins Wills. His father was a champion fiddle player and the Wills family was either playing music, or someone was always wanting us to play for them. In addition to picking cotton, the young Jim Bob learned to play the fiddle, both a sister and several brothers played musical instruments, while another sister played piano. The Wills family frequently held country dances in their home, while living in Hall County, Texas, they also played at ranch dances which were popular in both North Texas and eastern New Mexico. African Americans were his playmates, and his father enjoyed watching him jig dance with black children, the family moved to Hall County in the Texas Panhandle in 1913, and in 1919 they bought a farm between the towns of Lakeview and Turkey. At the age of 16, Wills left the family and hopped a freight train. In his 20s he attended school, got married, and moved first to Roy, New Mexico. He alternated barbering and fiddling even when he moved to Fort Worth after leaving Hall County in 1929, there he played in minstrel and medicine shows, and, as with other Texas musicians such as Ocie Stockard, continued to earn money as a barber. He wore blackface makeup to appear in comedy routines, something that was common at the time and he was playing his violin and singing. There were two guitars and a player with him
Texas Playboys
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Wills circa 1946
Texas Playboys
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Bob Wills and his
Texas Playboys
11.
Fiddle
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Fiddle is another name for the bowed string musical instrument more often called a violin. It is also a term for the instrument used by players in all genres. Fiddle playing, or fiddling, refers to various styles of music, Fiddle is also a common term among musicians who play folk music on the violin. The fiddle is part of traditional styles of music which are aural traditions. There are few distinctions between violins and fiddles, though more primitively constructed and smaller violins are more likely to be considered fiddles. In order to produce a tone, compared to the deeper tones of gut or synthetic core strings. Among musical styles, fiddling tends to produce rhythms focused on dancing, with associated quick note changes, whereas classical music tends to contain more vibrato and it is less common for a classically trained violinist to play folk music, but today, many fiddlers have classical training. The medieval fiddle emerged in 10th-century Europe, deriving from the Byzantine lira, lira spread widely westward to Europe, in the 11th and 12th centuries European writers use the terms fiddle and lira interchangeably when referring to bowed instruments. During the Renaissance the gambas were important and elegant instruments, they eventually lost ground to the viola da braccio family. The etymology of fiddle is uncertain, the Germanic fiddle may derive from the same early Romance word as does violin, the name seems however to be related to Icelandic Fiðla and also Old English fiðele. A native Germanic ancestor of fiddle may even be the ancestor of the early Romance form of violin, historically, fiddle also referred to a predecessor of todays violin. Like the violin, it tended to have four strings, another family of instruments that contributed to the development of the modern fiddle are the viols, which are held between the legs and played vertically, and have fretted fingerboards. Violins, on the hand, are commonly grouped in sections. The difference was likely compounded by the different sounds expected of violin music, historically, the majority of fiddle music was dance music, while violin music had either grown out of dance music or was something else entirely. Violin music came to value a smoothness that fiddling, with its dance-driven clear beat, in situations that required greater volume, a fiddler could push their instrument harder than could a violinist. In the very late 20th century, a few artists have attempted a reconstruction of the Scottish tradition of violin and big fiddle. Notable recorded examples include Iain Fraser and Christine Hanson, Amelia Kaminski and Christine Hansons Bonnie Lasses and Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas Fire and Grace. In Hungary, a three stringed viola variant with a bridge, called the kontra or háromhúros brácsa makes up part of a traditional rhythm section in Hungarian folk music
Fiddle
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A fiddler
Fiddle
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Peter Stampfel from the Holy Modal Rounders
Fiddle
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Fiddler Kenny Baker.
12.
Spade Cooley
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Donnell Clyde Cooley, better known as Spade Cooley, was an American Western swing musician, big band leader, actor, and television personality. His career ended in 1961 when he was arrested and convicted for the murder of his second wife, Spade Cooley was born Donnell Clyde Cooley on December 17,1910, in Grand, Oklahoma. Being part Cherokee, he was sent to the Chemawa Indian School in Salem, in 1930 his family fled the Dust Bowl for California. One of the groups played at the Venice Pier Ballroom in Venice. Several thousand dancers would turn out on Saturday night to swing, the hoards of people and jitterbuggers loved him. When Wakely got a contract at Universal, Cooley replaced him as bandleader. To capitalize on the success of the Bob Wills–Tommy Duncan pairing. Cooleys 18-month engagement at Santa Monicas Venice Pier Ballroom was record-breaking for the half of the 1940s. His Shame on You, released on Columbias Okeh label, was recorded in December 1944, a Red Foley / Lawrence Welk collaboration issued by Decca was No.4 to Cooleys No.5 on Billboards Most Played Juke Box Folk Records listing in September 1945. Soundies Distributing Corp. of America issued one of their music video like film shorts of Cooleys band titled Shame on You in the fall of 1945, Shame on You was the first in an unbroken string of six Top Ten singles including Detour and You Cant Break My Heart. Cooley appeared in 38 Western films, both in bit parts and as a stand-in for cowboy actor Roy Rogers. Billed as Spade Cooley and His Western Dance Gang, he was featured in the soundie Take Me Back to Tulsa released July 31,1944, along with Tex Williams, corrine, Corrina was released August 28,1944 minus Cotton. The film short Spade Cooley, King of Western Swing was filmed in May 1945 and it was followed by Melody Stampede released on November 8,1945. Spade Cooley & His Orchestra came out in 1949, in 1950, Cooley had significant roles in several films. Beginning in June 1948, Cooley began hosting a variety show on KTLA-TV in Los Angeles, the show became a mainstay of television in the area, and won local Emmy awards in 1952 and 1953. Guests included Frankie Laine, Frank Sinatra and Dinah Shore, the Hoffman Hayride was so popular that an estimated 75 percent of all televisions in the L. A. area were tuned into the show each Saturday night. Making use of transcriptions, The Spade Cooley Show was viewed coast-to-coast via the Paramount Television Network. KTLA eventually cancelled Cooleys program and replaced it with a competing show brought over from KCOP, although by 1956 Lawrence Welk was achieving increasing success at the nearby Aragon Ballroom, Cooleys ratings continued to drop
Spade Cooley
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Spade Cooley
13.
Tulsa, Oklahoma
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Tulsa /ˈtʌlsə/ is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. As of July 2015, the population was 403,505 and it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 981,005 residents in the MSA and 1,151,172 in the CSA. The city serves as the county seat of Tulsa County, the most densely populated county in Oklahoma, with urban development extending into Osage, Rogers, Tulsa was settled between 1828 and 1836 by the Lochapoka Band of Creek Native American tribe. For most of the 20th century, the city held the nickname Oil Capital of the World, once heavily dependent on the oil industry, Tulsa experienced economic downturn. Subsequent diversification efforts created a base in the energy, finance, aviation, telecommunications. The Tulsa Port of Catoosa, at the head of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, is the most inland port in the U. S. with access to international waterways. Two institutions of education within the city have sports teams at the NCAA Division I level, Oral Roberts University. It is situated on the Arkansas River at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains in northeast Oklahoma, the city has been called one of Americas most livable large cities by Partners for Livable Communities, Forbes, and Relocate America. FDi Magazine in 2009 ranked the city no.8 in the U. S. for cities of the future, in 2012, Tulsa was ranked among the top 50 best cities in the United States by BusinessWeek. People from Tulsa are called Tulsans, the area where Tulsa now exists was considered Indian Territory when it was first formally settled by the Lochapoka and Creek tribes in 1836. They established a settlement under the Creek Council Oak Tree at the present day intersection of Cheyenne Avenue. This area and this tree reminded Chief Tukabahchi and his group of trail of tear survivors of the bend in the river and their previous Creek Council Oak Tree back in the Talisi. They named their new settlement Tallasi, meaning old town in the Creek language, the area around Tulsa was also settled by members of the other so-called Five Civilized Tribes who had relocated to Oklahoma from the Southern United States. Most of modern Tulsa is located in the Creek Nation, with parts located in the Cherokee Nation, although Oklahoma was not yet a state during the Civil War, the Tulsa area did see its share of fighting. The Battle of Chusto-Talasah took place on the side of Tulsa. After the War, the tribes signed Reconstruction treaties with the government that in some cases required substantial land concessions. On January 18,1898, Tulsa was officially incorporated and elected its first mayor, Tulsa was a small town near the banks of the Arkansas River in 1901 when its first oil well, named Sue Bland No. Much of the oil was discovered on land whose mineral rights were owned by members of the Osage Nation under a system of headrights
Tulsa, Oklahoma
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Downtown Tulsa's skyline in May 2008.
Tulsa, Oklahoma
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The Meadow Gold sign has greeted Route 66 travelers in Tulsa for decades.
Tulsa, Oklahoma
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Cain's Ballroom came to be known as the "Carnegie Hall of Western Swing" in the early 20th century.
Tulsa, Oklahoma
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A 1909 panoramic view of Tulsa
14.
Okeh
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Okeh Records was a record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. Since 1926, it has been a subsidiary of Columbia Records, today, Okeh is an imprint of Sony Masterworks, a specialty label of Columbia. Okeh was founded by Otto K. E. Heinemann, a German-American manager for the U. S. branch of German-owned Odeon Records, Heinemann formed the name of the record label from his initials, on early disc labels, the name is spelled OkeH. The first discs were vertical cut, in 1919, Okeh switched to the lateral-cut method of sound recording, more commony used for disc records. In that year the parent company was renamed the General Phonograph Corporation. The common 10-inch discs retailed for 75 cents each, the 12-inch discs for $1.25, the companys musical director was Fred Hager, who was also credited under the pseudonym Milo Rega. Okeh produced lines of recordings in German, Czech, Polish, Swedish, some were pressed from masters leased from European labels, others were recorded by Okeh in New York. In 1920, Ralph Peers recordings of the African-American blues singer Mamie Smith were a smash hit for Okeh. The company perceived the significant, little-tapped market for blues and jazz by African-American artists, in 1922, Okeh hired Clarence Williams as director of race recordings for Okehs New York studios, in addition to making recordings under his own name. Okeh then opened a studio in Chicago, the center of jazz in the 1920s. Many classic jazz performances by prominent artists as King Oliver, Lucille Bogan, Sidney Bechet, Hattie McDaniel, Louis Armstrong. As part of the Carl Lindstrom Company, Okeh recordings were distributed by other Lindstrom labels, King Oliver and Bennie Moten recorded for Okeh before moving on to other labels. The 8000 race series is highly prized by collectors, partly because Okeh recorded many blues, in 1926, Okeh was sold to Columbia Records. Columbia and its subsequent parent companies have controlled Okeh since then, the original Mamie Smith recording was in 1920, of Crazy Blues. General Phonograph Corp, Okehs manufacturer, used Smith’s success as the press to cultivate the new found market. Okeh had further prominence in the demographic, as African-American artists such as Sara Martin, Eva Taylor, Shelton Brooks, Esther Bigeou, Okeh started a special 8000 series devoted exclusively to race artists. The success of this series led Okeh to start recording where the music was being performed, the 8000 series, which began in 1921, lasted until late 1934, the final number being 8966. Okeh Records pioneered the practice of recording in 1922
Okeh
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Okeh Records
Okeh
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A lateral recording of
Billy Murray, from 1919
Okeh
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1927 Okeh 78, 40916, "In a Mist".
15.
MGM
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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of feature films and television programs. Its headquarters are in Beverly Hills, California and it is one of the worlds oldest film studios. In 1971, it was announced that MGM would merge with 20th Century Fox, over the next thirty-nine years, the studio was bought and sold at various points in its history until, on November 3,2010, MGM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. MGM Resorts International, a Las Vegas-based hotel and casino company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MGM, is not currently affiliated with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 1966, MGM was sold to Canadian investor Edgar Bronfman Sr. whose son Edgar Jr. would later buy Universal Studios, the studio continued to produce five to six films a year that were released through other studios, mostly United Artists. Kerkorian did, however, commit to increased production and a film library when he bought United Artists in 1981. MGM ramped up production, as well as keeping production going at UA. It also incurred significant amounts of debt to increase production, the studio took on additional debt as a series of owners took charge in the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1986, Ted Turner bought MGM, but a few later, sold the company back to Kerkorian to recoup massive debt. The series of deals left MGM even more heavily in debt, MGM was bought by Pathé Communications in 1990, but Parretti lost control of Pathé and defaulted on the loans used to purchase the studio. The French banking conglomerate Crédit Lyonnais, the major creditor. Even more deeply in debt, MGM was purchased by a joint venture between Kerkorian, producer Frank Mancuso, and Australias Seven Network in 1996, the debt load from these and subsequent business deals negatively affected MGMs ability to survive as an independent motion picture studio. In 1924, movie theater magnate Marcus Loew had a problem and he had bought Metro Pictures Corporation in 1919 for a steady supply of films for his large Loews Theatres chain. With Loews lackluster assortment of Metro films, Loew purchased Goldwyn Pictures in 1924 to improve the quality, however, these purchases created a need for someone to oversee his new Hollywood operations, since longtime assistant Nicholas Schenck was needed in New York headquarters to oversee the 150 theaters. Mayer, Loew addressed the situation by buying Louis B. Mayer Pictures on April 17,1924, Mayer became head of the renamed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, with Irving Thalberg as head of production. MGM produced more than 100 feature films in its first two years, in 1925, MGM released the extravagant and successful Ben-Hur, taking a $4.7 million profit that year, its first full year. Marcus Loew died in 1927, and control of Loews passed to Nicholas Schenck, in 1929, William Fox of Fox Film Corporation bought the Loew familys holdings with Schencks assent. Mayer and Thalberg disagreed with the decision, Mayer was active in the California Republican Party and used his political connections to persuade the Justice Department to delay final approval of the deal on antitrust grounds
MGM
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MGM Tower, former company headquarters highlighted by the famous
Leo the Lion logo at the top
MGM
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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc.
MGM
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Clark Gable
MGM
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Marie Dressler and
Wallace Beery in
Min and Bill (1930)
16.
Country Music Hall of Fame
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Chartered in 1964, the museum has amassed one of the world’s most extensive musical collections. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is one of the world’s largest and most active popular music research centers, through CMF, industry leaders raised money to build the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, which opened on April 1,1967. Located at the head of Music Row, the museum was erected on the site of a small Nashville city park, at this point, artifacts began to be displayed and a small library was begun in a loft above one of the museum’s galleries. At the outset, CMA staff had run the museum, but by 1972 the museum acquired its own small staff, which has steadily increased to over 150 full-time professionals. Building expansion took place in 1974,1977, and 1984 to store and display the museum’s growing collection of costumes, films, historic cars, musical instruments, and other artifacts. To become more accessible, in May 2001 the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum moved to a new,130,000 square feet facility in the heart of downtown Nashville’s arts and entertainment district. In 2014, the museum unveiled a $100 million expansion, doubling its size to 350,000 square feet of galleries, archival storage, education classrooms, retail stores, and special event space. The story is revealed through artifacts, photographs, and text panels, recorded sound, vintage video, sing Me Back Home is enhanced by numerous, rotating limited-engagement exhibits. In addition to the galleries, the museum has the 776-seat CMA Theater, the Taylor Swift Education Center, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has developed multiple platforms to make its collection accessible to a wider audience. From weekly instrument demonstrations to its flagship songwriting program for schools, Words & Music, the Country Music Hall of Fame honor was created in 1961 by the Country Music Association, the first inductees were Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers, and Fred Rose. Roy Acuff, the first living artist to join the Hall of Fame, was elected in 1962, the most recent inductees are Jerry Reed, Don Schlitz and Alan Jackson. Over the Hall of Fame’s history, the number of new members inducted each year has varied from one to twelve, the election procedure is as follows, A small CMA nominating committee drafts slates of candidates from each category, categories have been defined variously over the years. Award recipients are determined through a two-stage balloting process, the first round of voting narrows each category to five candidates, the second round selects winners. The large select committee of electors that votes on Hall of Fame membership is composed of CMA members who have participated in the music industry for at least ten years. New Hall of Fame members receive special recognition in ceremonies at the Country Music Hall of Fame, today the plaques are displayed in a seventy-foot-high rotunda at the museum’s enlarged downtown Nashville facility. The museum’s archival and library storage, allows for the cultivation of the museum’s collection, hundreds of historic musical instruments, featuring Mother Maybelle Carter’s Gibson L-5, Earl Scruggs’s banjo, Bob Wills’ fiddle, and Bill Monroe’s mandolin. Oral histories, scrapbooks, correspondence, fan club newsletters, sheet music, periodicals, iconic Vehicles, Elvis Presley’s 1960 “Solid Gold” Cadillac limousine, Webb Pierce’s 1962 Pontiac Bonneville convertible, and Jerry Reed’s 1980 Pontiac Trans Am from Smokey and the Bandit II. When viewed from the air, the forms a massive bass clef
Country Music Hall of Fame
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Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
17.
Texas State Legislature
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The Legislature of the state of Texas is the state legislature of Texas. The legislature is a body composed of a 31-member Senate. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin, the Legislature is the constitutional successor of the Congress of the Republic of Texas since Texass 1845 entrance into the Union. The Legislature held its first regular session from February 16 to May 13,1846, the Texas Legislature meets in regular session on the second Tuesday in January of each odd-numbered year. The Texas Constitution limits the regular session to 140 calendar days, the lieutenant governor, elected statewide separately from the governor, presides over the Senate, while the Speaker of the House is elected from that body by its members. Both have wide latitude in choosing committee membership in their houses and have a large impact on lawmaking in the state. Only the governor may call the Legislature into special sessions, unlike other states where the legislature may call itself into session, the governor may call as many sessions as he or she desires. For example, Governor Rick Perry called three consecutive sessions to address the 2003 Texas congressional redistricting, any bill passed by the Legislature takes effect 90 days after its passage unless two-thirds of each house votes to give the bill either immediate effect or earlier effect. The Legislature may provide for a date that is after the 90th day. Under current legislative practice, most bills are given a date of September 1 in odd-numbered years. As of 2015, a majority of the members of each chamber are members of the Republican Party. After the initial election, the Senate is divided by lot into two classes, with one class having a re-election after two years and the other having a re-election after four years. A representative must be at least 21 years of age, a citizen of Texas for two prior to election and a resident of the district from which elected one year prior to election. They are elected for terms, running for re-election in even-numbered years. Neither the House of Representatives nor the Senate has term limits, state legislators in Texas make $600 per month, or $7,200 per year, plus a per diem of $190 for every day the Legislature is in session. That adds up to $33,800 a year for a regular session, the Texas Legislature has five support agencies that are within the legislative branch of state government. The report noted how representatives would race to the nearest empty seats to register votes for absent members on the legislatures automated voting machines, each representative would vote for the nearest absent members, apparently regardless of party affiliation. This practice was in violation of a Rule of the Texas Legislature, however
Texas State Legislature
Texas State Legislature
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Texas State Legislature
18.
Merle Haggard
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Merle Ronald Haggard was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggards childhood was troubled after the death of his father, between the 1960s and the 1980s, he had 38 number-one hits on the US country charts, several of which also made the Billboard all-genre singles chart. Haggard continued to release albums into the 2000s. He died on April 6,2016 — his 79th birthday — at his ranch in Northern California, Haggards last recording, a song called Kern River Blues, described his departure from Bakersfield in the late 1970s and his displeasure with politicians. The song was recorded February 9,2016, and features his son Ben on guitar and this record was released on May 12,2016, marking the end of Haggards music career. Haggards parents, Flossie Mae and James Francis Haggard, moved to California from their home in Checotah, Oklahoma, during the Great Depression, after their barn burned in 1934. They settled with their two children, Lowell and Lillian, in an apartment in Bakersfield, while James started working for the Santa Fe Railroad. A woman, who owned a boxcar placed in Oildale, a nearby town and he remodeled the boxcar, and soon after moved in, also purchasing the lot, where Merle Ronald Haggard was born on April 6,1937. The property was expanded by building a bathroom, a second bedroom, a kitchen. His father died of a hemorrhage in 1945, an event that deeply affected Haggard during his childhood. To support the family, his mother worked as a bookkeeper, at 12, his brother, Lowell, gave him his used guitar. Haggard learned to play alone, with the records he had at home, influenced by Bob Wills, Lefty Frizzell, as his mother was absent due to work, Haggard became progressively rebellious. His mother sent him for a weekend to a detention center to change his attitude. Haggard committed a number of offenses, such as thefts. He was sent to a detention center for shoplifting in 1950. When he was 14, Haggard ran away to Texas with his friend Bob Teague and he rode freight trains and hitchhiked throughout the state. When he returned the year, he and his friend were arrested for robbery. Haggard and Teague were released when the robbers were found
Merle Haggard
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Merle Haggard in concert in
Athens, Georgia, in 2013
Merle Haggard
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Haggard depicted on a publicity portrait for Tally Records
Merle Haggard
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Haggard in 1975
Merle Haggard
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Haggard performing in June 2009
19.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
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The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a hall of fame and museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In 1986, Cleveland was chosen as the hall of fames permanent home.8 billion, the Foundation began inducting artists in 1986, but the Hall of Fame still had no home. The search committee considered several cities, including Philadelphia, Memphis, Detroit, Cincinnati, New York City, Cleveland was also one of the premier tour stops for most rock bands. Civic leaders in Cleveland pledged $65 million in money to fund the construction. A petition drive was signed by 600,000 fans favoring Cleveland over Memphis, on May 5,1986, the Hall of Fame Foundation chose Cleveland as the permanent home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Sam Phillips of Sun Studios fame and many others were stunned and disappointed that it ended up in Cleveland, the hall of fame shouldve been in Memphis, certainly, wrote Peter Guralnick, author of an acclaimed two-volume Elvis Presley biography. Cleveland may also have chosen as the organizations site because the city offered the best financial package. As The Plain Dealer music critic Michael Norman noted, It was $65 million, Cleveland wanted it here and put up the money. During early discussions on where to build the Hall of Fame and Museum, ultimately, the chosen location was along East Ninth Street in downtown Cleveland by Lake Erie, east of Cleveland Stadium. Initial CEO Dr. Larry R. Thompson facilitated I. M. Pei in designs for the site, Pei came up with the idea of a tower with a glass pyramid protruding from it. The museum tower was planned to stand 200 ft high. The buildings base is approximately 150,000 square feet, the groundbreaking ceremony took place on June 7,1993. Pete Townshend, Chuck Berry, Billy Joel, Sam Phillips, Ruth Brown, Sam Moore of Sam and Dave, Carl Gardner of the Coasters and Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum all appeared at the groundbreaking. The museum was dedicated on September 1,1995, with the ribbon being cut by an ensemble that included Yoko Ono and Little Richard, among others, the following night an all-star concert was held at the stadium. It featured Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan, Al Green, Jerry Lee Lewis, Aretha Franklin, Bruce Springsteen, Iggy Pop, John Fogerty, John Mellencamp, and many others. In addition to the Hall of Fame inductees, the documents the entire history of rock and roll. Hall of Fame inductees are honored in an exhibit located in a wing that juts out over Lake Erie. Since 1986, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has selected new inductees, the formal induction ceremony has been held in New York City 25 times, twice in Los Angeles, and four times in the Hall of Fames home in Cleveland
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
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The former Annex in Soho in New York City (now closed)
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
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The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (left) sits on the
Lake Erie shore next to the
Great Lakes Science Center (right) in Cleveland's
North Coast Harbor.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
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The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, showing
Lake Erie in the foreground
20.
Kosse, Texas
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Kosse is a town in Limestone County, Texas, United States. The population was 497 at the 2000 census, a July 1,2009 U. S. Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 507. Kosse calls itself A Little Town with a Big Heart, Kosse is located at 31°18′27″N 96°37′49″W. It is situated at the junction of State Highways 7 and 14 in southwestern Limestone County, the closest large cities are Waco,42 miles to the northwest, and Bryan/College Station,52 miles south of Kosse. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has an area of 1.3 square miles. Initial settlement of the dates back to the mid 1840s. Settlers built homes near Duck Creek and ran a stop for the Franklin-Springfield. Following the Civil War, the area was chosen as the destination for the Houston, the community that sprang up around the site was named Kosse, after H&TC chief engineer Theodore Kosse. Eutaw, a larger settlement two miles east of Kosse, began to decline when the railroad bypassed the community in favor of its smaller neighbor. The post office moved from Eutaw to Kosse in 1870, in 1871, the town of Kosse was chartered and a municipal government was organized. By 1880, the town had a population of 476 and four churches, five years later, Kosse had multiple cotton gins, two sawmills, and three gristmills. An acre of land was granted for the construction of a school on October 1,1884. Kosse became an independent school district in 1893, with J. Thomas Hall as its first superintendent, the district had a total of 225 students. A separate school with 80 students and two teachers served the black community. By 1890 there were 647 residents, Kosse was home to 700 residents in 1914. A local Chamber of Commerce was formed in 1921, the Great Depression severely impacted Kosse as businesses closed and people left in search of greater employment opportunities. Declining student enrollment caused the Kosse School Board to vote in favor of consolidation with Groesbeck in 1968, Kosse had eleven businesses in 1989. The 1990 census put the number of inhabitants at 505 and that figure had dropped to 497 in 2000
Kosse, Texas
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Kosse City Office
Kosse, Texas
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Downtown Kosse
Kosse, Texas
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Kosse Cafe is located at the intersection of
Texas Highways 7 and
14
Kosse, Texas
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First
Baptist Church of Kosse; pastor John Free (2012)
21.
Groesbeck, Texas
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Groesbeck is a city in and the county seat of Limestone County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,328 at the 2010 census, the community is named after a railroad employee. The city of Groesbeck was dedicated as a township by Houston and it was named for Abram Groesbeeck, a railroad director. The difference in spelling between the person and town is a result of the Post Office directives for simpler spelling, development of its city government began in 1871. Groesbeck became the county seat of Limestone county in 1873 and is home to the Million Dollar Courthouse, Groesbeck is located at 31°31′22″N 96°31′56″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 3.8 square miles. The community is located at the junction of State Highways 14 and 164, Groesbeck is the closest town to historic Old Fort Parker. The Fort holds an annual Christmas event at the site of old Fort Parker every December, the original fort has been re-built on the original site to exact specifications. As of the census of 2010, there were 4,328 people,1,286 households, the population density was 989 people per square mile. There were 1,473 housing units at a density of 336.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 65. 36% White,20. 2% African American,0. 3% Native American,0. 03% Asian, 0% Pacific Islander,11. 3% from other races, and 2. 7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 20. 9% of the population,29. 2% of all households were made up of individuals and 13% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.6 and the family size was 3.25. In the city, the population was out with 24. 6% under the age of 18,8. 4% from 19 to 24,32. 6% from 25 to 44,21. 1% from 45 to 64. The median age was 34.4 years, City of Groesbeck is a Type A General Law City. Melvin ODocharty has served the City of Groesbeck as Mayor since 2014, there are five City Council members, David Hernandez. Arleen Taveras, Bob Zeman, Kim Harris and Matthew Daley, the main source of water is the Navasota River. The city of Groesbeck has one library, Maffett Memorial Library
Groesbeck, Texas
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Location of Groesbeck, Texas
22.
Musical styles (violin)
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Since the Baroque era, the violin has been one of the most important of all instruments in classical music, for several reasons. The tone of the violin stands out above other instruments, making it appropriate for playing a melody line, in the hands of a good player, the violin is extremely agile, and can execute rapid and difficult sequences of notes. Indeed, the violin seems to itself to virtuosity more than any other instrument. The violin is also considered a very expressive instrument, which is felt to approximate the human voice. This may be due to the possibility of vibrato and of slight expressive adjustments in pitch, many leading composers have contributed to the violin concerto and violin sonata repertories. Violins make up a part of an orchestra, and are usually divided into two sections, known as the first and second violins. Composers often assign the melody to the first violins, while second violins play harmony, a string quartet similarly has parts for first and second violins, as well as a viola part, and a bass instrument, such as the cello or, rarely, the double bass. During the 1920s and early-1930s, violins were a part of popular music. Dances orchestras typically had at least 2 or 3 violins, although high class society orchestras would often include as many as 6 or 7. With the introduction of swing music in 1935, the violin, along with string instruments. Violins would only re-emerge in popular music in the late-1960s, while the violin has had very little usage in rock music compared to its brethren the guitar and bass guitar, it is being increasingly absorbed into mainstream pop. Independent artists such as Final Fantasy and Andrew Bird have increased interest as well, the violin is also a part of the huge phenomenon called cello rock. The hugely popular Motown recordings of the 1960s and 1970s relied heavily on strings as part of the trademark texture, the 1980s saw an insurgence of electronic music mimicking strings with little or no use of traditional strings in music compositions. Now strings are making a comeback in pop music, Indian, Pakistani, Turkish and Arabic pop music is filled with the sound of violins, both soloists and ensembles. The earliest references to jazz performance using the violin as an instrument are documented during the first decades of the 20th century. The first great jazz violinist was Eddie South who is best known as the Dark Angel Of Violin, in the swing and post-war eras there were many superb improvising violinists including Stéphane Grappelli, Stuff Smith, Ray Perry, Ray Nance and Claude Fiddler Williams. Younger performers include Mat Maneri, Katt Hernandez and Regina Carter, jazz fusion violinists include Jean-Luc Ponty and Michal Urbaniak. Like many other instruments of music, the violin descends from remote ancestors, cruder in form
Musical styles (violin)
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A girl playing a violin in Dublin
23.
Mandolin
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A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family and is usually plucked with a plectrum or pick. It commonly has four courses of doubled metal strings tuned in unison, although five, the courses are normally tuned in a succession of perfect fifths. It is the member of a family that includes the mandola, octave mandolin, mandocello. There are many styles of mandolin, but three are common, the Neapolitan or round-backed mandolin, the mandolin and the flat-backed mandolin. The round-back has a bottom, constructed of strips of wood. The carved-top or arch-top mandolin has a shallower, arched back. The flat-backed mandolin uses thin sheets of wood for the body, each style of instrument has its own sound quality and is associated with particular forms of music. Neapolitan mandolins feature prominently in European classical music and traditional music, carved-top instruments are common in American folk music and bluegrass music. Flat-backed instruments are used in Irish, British and Brazilian folk music. Some modern Brazilian instruments feature a fifth course tuned a fifth lower than the standard fourth course. There has also been a type and an instrument with sixteen-strings. Much of mandolin development revolved around the soundboard, pre-mandolin instruments were quiet instruments, strung with as many as six courses of gut strings, and were plucked with the fingers or with a quill. However, modern instruments are louder—using four courses of metal strings, the modern soundboard is designed to withstand the pressure of metal strings that would break earlier instruments. The soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections, there is usually one or more sound holes in the soundboard, either round, oval, or shaped like a calligraphic f. A round or oval sound hole may be covered or bordered with decorative rosettes or purfling, Mandolins evolved from the lute family in Italy during the 17th and 18th centuries, and the deep bowled mandolin, produced particularly in Naples, became common in the 19th century. Dating to around c.13,000 BC, a painting in the Trois Frères cave in France depicts what some believe is a musical bow. From the musical bow, families of stringed instruments developed, since each string played a note, adding strings added new notes, creating bow harps, harps. In turn, this led to being able to play dyads and chords, another innovation occurred when the bow harp was straightened out and a bridge used to lift the strings off the stick-neck, creating the lute
Mandolin
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An American A-style left-handed mandolin, with F-holes
Mandolin
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Modern Neapolitan bowlback mandolin manufactured by the
Calace family workshop.
Mandolin
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Mandolin with six courses of strings (2 strings per course), labeled Milanese at the museum.
Mandolin
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Advertisement for a Lyon and Healy made, Washburn brand mandolin from an 1897 short-stories magazine, The Black Cat.
24.
Hall County, Texas
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Hall County is a county located in the U. S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the population is 3,353, the county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1890. It is named for Warren D. C, Hall, a secretary of war for the Republic of Texas. Republican Drew Springer, Jr. a businessman from Muenster in Cooke County, has since January 2013 represented Hall County in the Texas House of Representatives and he succeeded Rick Hardcastle of Vernon, who retired after fourteen years in the position. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 904 square miles. The population density was 4 people per square mile, there were 1,988 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 71. 97% White,8. 22% Black or African American,0. 53% Native American,0. 16% Asian,17. 90% from other races,27. 50% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 32. 40% of all households were made up of individuals and 19. 60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.06. In the county, the population was out with 27. 20% under the age of 18,6. 80% from 18 to 24,22. 10% from 25 to 44,22. 40% from 45 to 64. The median age was 40 years, for every 100 females there were 91.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.50 males, the median income for a household in the county was $23,016, and the median income for a family was $27,325. Males had an income of $22,167 versus $19,050 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,210. About 21. 60% of families and 26. 30% of the population were below the poverty line, minnie Lou Bradley, matriarch of the Bradley 3 Ranch in nearby Childress County, claims a Hall County address
Hall County, Texas
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The Hall County
Courthouse in Memphis
25.
Texas Panhandle
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The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U. S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost twenty-six counties in the state. The panhandle is an area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north. The Handbook of Texas defines the border of Swisher County as the southern boundary of the Texas Panhandle region. Its land area is 25,823.89 sq mi, the Texas Panhandle is slightly larger in size than the US State of West Virginia. There is an additional 62.75 sq mi of water area and its population as of the 2010 census was 427,927 residents, or 1.7 percent of the states total population. As of the 2010 census, the density for the region was 16.6 per square mile. The Panhandle is distinct from North Texas, which is farther southeast, West of the Caprock Escarpment and north and south of the Canadian River breaks, the surface of the Llano Estacado is rather flat. South of the city of Amarillo, the level terrain gives way to Palo Duro Canyon and this colorful canyon was carved by the Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River. North of Amarillo lies Lake Meredith, a reservoir created by Sanford Dam on the Canadian River, the lake, along with the Ogallala Aquifer, provides drinking water and irrigation for this moderately dry area of the high plains. Interstate Highway 40 passes through the panhandle, and also passes through Amarillo, the highway passes through Deaf Smith, Oldham, Potter, Carson, Gray, Donley, and Wheeler Counties. The Texas Panhandle has been identified in the early 21st century as one of the fastest-growing windpower-producing regions in the nation because of its strong, steady winds. Before the rise of Amarillo, the three towns of the Panhandle were Clarendon in Donley County, Mobeetie in Wheeler County. Clarendon moved itself after it was overlooked by the Fort Worth, Mobeetie was reduced even below its original small size with the closure of the United States Armys Fort Elliott in 1890. Tascosa was ruined by the location of the railroad too far north of the town, as of the census of 2000, approximately 402,862 people lived in the panhandle. Of these,68. 9% were non-Hispanic White,23. 8% were Hispanic, only 2. 7% were of some other ethnicity. 92. 3% of inhabitants claimed native birth, and 8. 9% were veterans of the United States armed forces,49. 9% of the population was male, and 50. 1% was female. 13. 2% of the population were 65 years of age or older and it was one of the first regions of the state to break away from its Democratic roots, though Democrats continued to do well at the local level well into the 1980s. However, Republicans now dominate every level of government, holding nearly every elected post above the county level, in the 2008 Presidential Election, John McCain received 78. 82% of the vote, as compared with Barack Obamas 20. 48% share of the vote
Texas Panhandle
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Windpump on the level plains of the Texas Panhandle
Texas Panhandle
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Caprock Canyons of
Briscoe County.
Texas Panhandle
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A canyon formed by
Tierra Blanca Creek.
Texas Panhandle
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The rugged country of
Palo Duro Canyon.
26.
Lakeview, Texas
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For the Port Arthur, Texas neighborhood see Lakeview, Port Arthur, Texas Lakeview is a town in Hall County, Texas, United States. The population was 152 at the 2000 census, a July 1,2008 U. S. Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 140. Lakeview is located at 34°40′22″N 100°41′51″W and it is situated along State Highway 256 in north central Hall County, approximately 9 miles southwest of Memphis and 26 miles southeast of Clarendon. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 0.2 square miles. Lakeviews beginnings are unique as it has occupied two different sites in Hall County, the first site was located near the geographic center of the county on a section of the Southern Pacific Railroad survey in May 1890. A post office and several businesses sprang up at the site, after a failed attempt to become the county seat, most of the homes were sold to farmers and the land reverted to the family of S. L. The post office was relocated to the homestead of David H. Davenport. Three years later, Davenport purchased land north of his farm that had a supply of soft water, on June 11,1908, he moved his store and post office and platted the second Lakeview site at its present-day location. Prospects for a new railroad grew in 1910, when the Altus, Roswell, and El Paso Company constructed a roadbed through Lakeview, despite this and two disastrous fires in 1918 and 1919, the community survived. By the late 1920s, the town had stores and a population exceeding 1,000. A third fire in 1930 destroyed the district and the impact of the Great Depression contributed to Lakeviews decline. A short-lived boom in the late 1940s occurred, but it wasnt enough to revive the town, the First State Bank of Lakeview, in operation since 1908, merged with the First National Bank of Memphis in 1953. By 1980, the population had fallen to 244 and that figure declined to 202 in 1990 and 152 in 2000. As of the census of 2000, there were 152 people,51 households, the population density was 730.1 people per square mile. There were 74 housing units at a density of 355.4 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 45. 39% White,9. 21% African American,43. 42% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 55. 26% of the population. 25. 5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9. 8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.98 and the average family size was 3.70. In the town, the population was out with 39. 5% under the age of 18,5. 3% from 18 to 24,24. 3% from 25 to 44,19. 1% from 45 to 64
Lakeview, Texas
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Location of Lakeview, Texas
27.
Turkey, Texas
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Turkey is a city in Hall County, Texas, United States. The population was 421 at the 2010 census, Turkey is located at 34°23′39″N 100°53′41″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 0.8 square miles. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Turkey has a semi-arid climate, as of the census of 2000, there were 494 people,207 households, and 127 families residing in the city. The population density was 598.9 people per square mile, there were 274 housing units at an average density of 332.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 71. 86% White,5. 67% African American,0. 40% Native American,0. 40% Asian,21. 26% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 31. 17% of the population. 36. 7% of all households were made up of individuals and 22. 7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.20. In the city, the population was out with 28. 3% under the age of 18,6. 1% from 18 to 24,21. 9% from 25 to 44,20. 6% from 45 to 64. The median age was 40 years, for every 100 females there were 98.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males, the median income for a household in the city was $19,833, and the median income for a family was $24,423. Males had an income of $20,125 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income for the city was $9,809, about 28. 4% of families and 32. 4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 42. 5% of those under age 18 and 22. 4% of those age 65 or over. According to an ESPN broadcast on Thanksgiving Day 2007, Turkey is one of three towns in the United States so named. Bob Wills, Western Swing musician The City of Turkey is served by the Turkey-Quitaque Independent School District, in November 2011, animal rights organization PETA petitioned the town to temporarily change its name to Tofurkey
Turkey, Texas
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Turkey, Texas
28.
Roy, New Mexico
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Roy is a village in Harding County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 234 at the 2010 census, the village has massively been losing population, but is still a major center for Northeastern New Mexico. McDonald attended Roy High School his freshman year and then moved to Albuquerque, McDonald had an outstanding season in 1961. - See more at, http, //www. profootballhof. com/hof/member. aspx. PlayerId=147#sthash. 6n2MRxwg. dpuf Roy is also one filming location for the movie Did You Hear About the Morgans. The population is expected to increase with the city planning board recently approving the CP correctional facility, ground breaking occurred on September 5,2016, and construction is expected to complete by 2020. Roy is located at 35°56′38″N 104°11′35″W, according to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.0 square miles, all of it land. Tommy McDonald, American football wide receiver As of the census of 2000, there were 304 people,150 households, the population density was 148.8 people per square mile. There were 206 housing units at a density of 100.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the village was 83. 22% White,1. 97% Native American,12. 17% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 52. 63% of the population. 38. 0% of all households were made up of individuals and 24. 0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.03 and the average family size was 2.67. In the village, the population was out with 17. 8% under the age of 18,5. 3% from 18 to 24,15. 1% from 25 to 44,27. 3% from 45 to 64. The median age was 52 years, for every 100 females there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.4 males, the median income for a household in the village was $21,111, and the median income for a family was $41,667. Males had an income of $31,250 versus $20,179 for females. The per capita income for the village was $17,651. About 11. 7% of families and 15. 2% of the population were below the poverty line, U. S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System, Roy, NM Photos of Eastern New Mexico
Roy, New Mexico
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Roy, New Mexico
Roy, New Mexico
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First Baptist Church - Roy
Roy, New Mexico
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Hwy 39 - Richelieu St
Roy, New Mexico
29.
Minstrel show
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The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American form of entertainment developed in the post-Civil War 19th century. Each show consisted of skits, variety acts, dancing. The shows were performed by people in make-up or blackface for the purpose of playing the role of black people. There were also some African-American performers and all-black minstrel groups that formed and toured, Minstrel shows lampooned black people as dim-witted, lazy, buffoonish, superstitious and happy-go-lucky. Minstrel shows emerged as brief burlesques and comic entractes in the early 1830s and were developed into full-fledged form in the next decade, by 1848, blackface minstrel shows were the national artform, translating formal art such as opera into popular terms for a general audience. By the turn of the 20th century, the show enjoyed but a shadow of its former popularity. The form survived as professional entertainment until about 1910, amateur performances continued until the 1960s in high schools, the genre has had a lasting legacy and influence and was featured in a television series as recently as the late 1970s. Generally, as the civil rights movement progressed and gained acceptance, the typical minstrel performance followed a three-act structure. The troupe first danced onto stage then exchanged wisecracks and sang songs, the second part featured a variety of entertainments, including the pun-filled stump speech. The final act consisted of a slapstick musical plantation skit or a send-up of a popular play, Minstrel songs and sketches featured several stock characters, most popularly the slave and the dandy. These were further divided into such as the mammy, her counterpart the old darky, the provocative mulatto wench. Minstrels claimed that their songs and dances were authentically black, although the extent of the black influence remains debated, spirituals entered the repertoire in the 1870s, marking the first undeniably black music to be used in minstrelsy. Blackface minstrelsy was the first theatrical form that was distinctly American, during the 1830s and 1840s at the height of its popularity, it was at the epicenter of the American music industry. For several decades it provided the means through which American whites viewed black people, on the one hand, it had strong racist aspects, on the other, it afforded white Americans a singular and broad awareness of what some whites considered significant aspects of black culture in America. Although the minstrel shows were popular, being consistently packed with families from all walks of life and every ethnic group. Although white theatrical portrayals of black characters date back to as early as 1604, by the late 18th century, blackface characters began appearing on the American stage, usually as servant types whose roles did little more than provide some element of comic relief. Eventually, similar performers appeared in entractes in New York theaters and other such as taverns. Author Constance Rourke even claimed that Forrests impression was so good he could fool blacks when he mingled with them in the streets, Thomas Dartmouth Rices successful song-and-dance number, Jump Jim Crow, brought blackface performance to a new level of prominence in the early 1830s
Minstrel show
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Detail from cover of The Celebrated Negro Melodies, as Sung by the Virginia Minstrels, 1843
Minstrel show
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Thomas D. Rice from sheet music cover of "Sich a Getting Up Stairs", 1830s
Minstrel show
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Sheet music cover for "Dandy Jim from Caroline", featuring
Dan Emmett (center) and the other
Virginia Minstrels, c. 1844
Minstrel show
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Poster for
Haverly's United Mastodon Minstrels
30.
Medicine show
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Medicine shows were touring acts which peddled miracle cure patent medicines and other products between various entertainments. They developed from European mountebank shows and were common in the United States in the nineteenth century, especially in the Old West. They usually promoted miracle elixirs, which, it was claimed, had the ability to any disease, smooth wrinkles, remove stains. Most shows had their own patent medicine, entertainments often included a freak show, a flea circus, musical acts, magic tricks, jokes, or storytelling. Each show was run by a man posing as a doctor who drew the crowd with a monologue, the entertainers, such as acrobats, musclemen, magicians, dancers, ventriloquists, exotic performers, and trick shots, kept the audience engaged until the salesman sold his medicine. Mountebanks traveled through small towns and large cities, selling miraculous elixirs by offering small street shows, itinerant peddlers of dubious medicines appeared in the American colonies before 1772, when legislation prohibiting their activities was enacted. Increasingly elaborate performances were developed to appeal to a rural population. Over the course of the century, traveling mountebanks gave way to more polished medicine shows. At least 1,500 patent medicines were recorded by 1858 and these medicines seldom treated the specific symptoms of an illness, instead relying on stimulants or other drugs to produce a pleasurable effect. By 1900, the patent medicine industry was an $80 million business, Other forms of advertising included the use of memorable jingles, sensational testimonials, and scare tactics. Medicine shows combined various forms of entertainment with sales pitches from a self-proclaimed doctor who sold an astounding cure-all medicine or device. Shows played either outdoors from a wagon, platform or tent, admission was usually free or nominal. Pitchmen would make claims about their product’s efficacy, sometimes planting testimonials in the audience. The speakers goal was to create a need, or fear, alternating entertainment with sales pitches wore down the audiences resistance, until the crowd was saturated with a desire for the product. The show would continue to run as many days as possible, a show might remain in a given location between one night and six weeks, depending on how the troupe behaved itself. Medicine shows often brought entertainment to rural communities that might not have any sort of performances for years at a time. Whatever the quality of the advice, spectators got their moneys worth from the free entertainment. Some shows followed circuits covering the entire United States, though most shows focused on the rural midwest and south, hamlin’s Wizard Oil Company troupes travelled in specially designed wagons, with built-in organs and space for musical performers
Medicine show
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