Honky Tonks, Hymns, and the Blues

November 20, 2003 9:18 PM

"In the early 1900's, every music production company had a piano in the office, and from the street you could hear people banging away. Many of these pianos were made by William Tonk & Brothers at 10th Avenue and 35th Street. The pianos and the sounds they made soon became known as honky tonk." (An education in American roots music from NPR, with lots of lovely audio. There's an awful lot on this site to explore, so if you're looking for a place to start, well, it was this segment on Bob Wills that hooked me. Alternatively, the segment on Norteña accordion music or the introductory segment on the changing role of women in country music are also worth highlighting.) [real audio]
posted by .kobayashi. (4 comments total)

great site--thanks (and that's my block--i wonder if the building was torn down--2 of the 4 corners are parking lots now) : >
posted by amberglow at 5:00 AM on November 21, 2003

...honky tonk...

I believe the politically correct expression is now "cracker tonk."
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:50 AM on November 21, 2003

Great stuff—thanks, .kobayashi.!
posted by languagehat at 7:30 AM on November 21, 2003

A new book of honky tonk photographs was recently published in the US.
posted by liam at 8:02 AM on November 23, 2003