Country music royalty team up on album release on 12 May to honour ‘Big Bang of Country Music’ in Bristol, Virginia/Tennessee
** Click here to watch Orthophonic Joy: The 1927 Bristol Sessions Revisited **
1927’s The Bristol Sessions were legendary recordings by Ralph Peer that changed the face of country music, taking the genre to a new level and producing pioneers including Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family. Considered the ‘Big Bang of Country Music’, Johnny Cash went so far as to label The Bristol Sessions, “the single most important event in the history of country music.”
Just a few years shy of the 90th anniversary of the original event, country music fans across the globe will rejoice at news from The Birthplace of Country Music that the album, ‘Orthophonic Joy: The 1927 Bristol Sessions Revisited’, will be released on 12 May 2015.
‘Orthophonic Joy’ is a modern take on the authentic, legendary music birthed in the foothills of the majestic mountains across Southwest Virginia in the Capital Region USA, and across the border into neighbouring state, Tennessee. The songs, many of which have been passed from generation to generation, are meant to inspire travel to a region which music lovers have long revered as sacred ground.
Celebrating the impact that the 1927 Bristol Sessions had on the country music industry, the new album features re-creations of the original recordings and features performances by country music stars including, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Marty Stuart, Sheryl Crow, The Church Sisters, and Vince Gill. The recording project also includes narration of the 1927 Bristol Sessions history by famed Opry host Eddie Stubbs.
The Smithsonian Institution-affiliated Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol, Virginia, is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the 1927 Bristol Sessions and their lasting influence on American popular music. The museum is part of The Crooked Road, the tie that binds Southwest Virginia’s music heritage to a rich history. The Crooked Road spans more than 300 miles, showcasing the land and its people that inspired legends like the Carter family, the Stoneman family, Dr. Ralph Stanley and Johnny Cash. Its authentic culture continues to inspire musicians today.
Rita McClenny, President and CEO of Virginia Tourism Corporation comments; “The music still comes out of the hills in Virginia as a new generation of performers take mountain music back into the mainstream. This experience is not manufactured. It is unquestionably an authentic Virginia—and American—experience.”
Pre-order the album through Amazon and iTunes
For more information on the Birthplace of Country Music Museum and the Orthophonic Joy Album, visit www.birthplaceofcountrymusic.org
To find out more about the Capital Region USA, visit www.capitalregionusa.co.uk