The standard mythology about the Bristol Sessions has it that Ralph Peer drifted into Bristol on July 22, a stranger in town; that he placed an ad in the local paper and, as a result, hordes of aspiring country musicians came down from the hills to audition; and that among those hordes were Jimmie Rodgers … Continue reading Spreading the Word
Bristol Sessions
Pop Comes to Bristol
Mention the Bristol Sessions, and anyone who’s visited the Country Music Hall of Fame (or, better yet, the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol) will know what you’re talking about. After all, the sessions brought together three iconic members of the Hall of Fame at the beginning of their country careers: producer Ralph Peer, … Continue reading Pop Comes to Bristol
Why Bristol?
Today “the Bristol Sessions” is a portmanteau phrase in its own right, so much a given to country-music aficionados that it hardly seems necessary to ask questions such as “why were there sessions in Bristol?” or, more relevant to this discussion, “Why were the sessions in Bristol?” They didn’t have to be. In the 1910s … Continue reading Why Bristol?
Tennessee Walt 