In this course, we will trace the roles of women in country music’s first half century, from its first interpreters in the 1920s to the 1970s.
Week 1: The 1920s & ‘30s
Women tentatively began making country records in 1924 with solo artists Roba Stanley and cowgirl singer Billie Maxwell leading the way. Others followed, although most supported male partners, including Moonshine Kate, Adelyne Hood, and Zora Layman.
Week 2: The Carter Family
Country music’s first family has featured three generations of female performers, beginning with pioneers Maybelle and Sara Carter, then Maybelle’s daughters: June, Helen, & Anita, and finally, Rosanne Cash and Carlene Carter.
Week 3: The Radio Programs
Female country performers became popular through their appearances on national radio programs like the Grand Ole Opry and the National Barn Dance in the 1930s and ‘40s. We’ll look at pioneering women artists and groups like Linda Parker, the Three Little Maids, The DeZurik Sisters, Cousin Emmy, Molly O’Day, and Kitty Wells.
Week 4: The Cowgirls
Women became more acceptable to audiences as solo performers when they donned leather fringe and ten-gallon hats. This class focuses on girl singers in western swing bands like Laura Lee Owens, Carolina Cotton, and Patsy Montana as well as songwriter Cindy Walker.
Week 5: Rockabilly Women
Women began asserting their equality in the 1950s with a series of rambunctious rockabilly singers like Wanda Jackson, Janis Martin, Lorrie Collins, and a young Patsy Cline.
Week 6: The Nashville Sound & the Outlaw Movement
Women begin to match men in record sales in the 1960s with artists like Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, and Connie Smith. In the 1970s, women joined their male counterparts in rebelling against Nashville’s curls-and-gingham image by becoming more assertive in their image, with Jessi Colter, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt combining country with other popular music forms.
Cary Ginell is a Grammy-nominated writer and author of 12 books on American music. After a 30-year career in radio, he has spent the last 20 years as a public speaker, talking about music in classrooms, at conferences, and on cruise ships. Cary brings a lifelong passion for the recording industry to his work and is one of the world’s foremost authorities on his specialty, western swing. Cary previously served as President of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections, an international organization of music scholars and world-renowned institutions. He holds a master’s degree in Folklore from UCLA and a bachelor’s in Radio/TV/Film from Cal State University Northridge.
Fifty and Better was designed to offer university-level courses and lectures (no tests, no homework) taught by experts in the field, and to host social engagement activities for individuals age 50 and older.
