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Women’s Knowledge Digital Library

Honky Tonk Women: The Changing Role of Women in Country Music

A look at women’s contributions to honky tonk and country music and how women overcame both the sexist society and the sexist music industry.

Description

Honky-tonks: places for music, dancing, drinking, and, sometimes, rowdy behavior which originated in white dance halls of the southwest. They offered a place for hard-working people to unwind at the end of a long, hard day on the job. The music that developed in these dance halls served as country music’s backbone for more than half a century. And the honky tonk dance halls spawned an incredible group of singers.

Women were remarkably important in the evolution of honky tonk music. Patsy Montana, Rose Maddox, and Texas Ruby, among others, helped establish both the honky tonk sound and a new country music sound in which women took the lead and sang laments. The honky tonk sound and esthetic created by women live on today in the music of Lucinda Williams, Tanya Tucker, The Chicks, and many others.

Source

http://www.honkytonks.org/showpages/honkytonkwomen.htm

Language

English

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