The United States of America is located in North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico.
Introduction
The United States became a major exporter of entertainment in the 20th century through movies, film and music. Although pop, rock, hip hop, country and jazz are some of its biggest exports, certain genres in the roots music category such as blues, salsa, bluegrass and Celtic music are also a major force in American music.
American Roots Music
The United States is a nation formed primarily by descendants of immigrants from Europe, Asia and Latin America, as well as slaves from Africa. As a consequence, American roots music has its foundation in the musical cultures of these diverse groups of people.
The original inhabitants of what is now the United States of America are known as American Indians or Native Americans. The most common musical instruments used by American Indians are the voice, drums, percussion and flutes. Most of the recordings currently available are powwow performances, popular in “Indian Country’, round dances and peyote songs. There is also rock, jazz, world music and hip hop performed by Native Americans. Canyon Records in Arizona has one of the largest catalogs of recorded traditional and contemporary Native American music. Pow Wows are the Native American people’s way of meeting together, to join in dancing, singing, visiting, renewing old friendships and make new ones.
The music of Hawaii, which is located in the Pacific Ocean, has strong Polynesian and European influences. Portuguese and Spanish sailors and vaqueros (cowboys) brought instruments that are now very popular, such as the guitar and the cavaquinho. The cavaquinho became the ukulele. One of the most popular styles is Hawaiian slack key guitar. Dancing Cat Records specialized in this typically Hawaiian guitar style.
The descendants of African slaves in the United States are known as Black Americans or African Americans. Most African Americans were originally based in the Southern states: Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Internal migrations led many southern blacks to northern and western states, seeking better job opportunities in urban areas. African American culture has spawned some of the richest musical genres found in the United States: Gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, soul, funk, and Zydeco. Combined with other elements, it also gave way to rock and roll and rock.
The numerous waves of immigrants from Europe and other parts of the world brought the sounds of the entire globe to the USA.
The Appalachian mountains encompass eighteen states in the United States of America, reaching from Maine to Georgia, and include, among others, the Berkshires of Connecticut, the Green Mountains of New Hampshire, the Catskills of New York, the Blue Ridge of Virginia and North Carolina, and the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina.
Appalachian music is greatly influenced by English and Celtic (Scottish and Irish) ballads, religious songs and African-American music. Musical genres in the southern Appalachians include old time, bluegrass, Gospel and country music.
The most common musical instruments are the fiddle, which came from the British Isles and Ireland; the banjo, which is of African origin; and more recently the guitar, which is originally from Spain but has become widely used internationally.
Polish, German, Slovak, Czech and Hungarian immigrants who settled in eastern and central Texas during the late 19th century brought their native languages, music and dance traditions and instruments with them. Polkas, waltzes and obereks blended with older reels and quadrilles already popular with Texans. The introduction of the accordion opened up new possibilities and generated the creation of new hybrid musical forms. Polkas are played by Tex-Mex conjunto acts and western swing bands.
Acadians who relocated to Louisiana developed Cajun music.
Central and Eastern European immigrants who set roots in the industrial North brought polkas and other popular dances with them.
Recent immigrants from Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America have arrived with new beats and musical instruments, including Indian classical, bhangra, klezmer, highlife, world beat, etc.
Many states in what is now the Southwest (New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado), as well as Texas and California, were once part of Spain and later Mexico. Many of the descendants of the first European settlers and natives created a new multiracial, mestizo ethnic group when the settlers from Spain and Native Americans intermarried. Hispanics from the southwest and Texas developed styles known as tejano music, norteño and corridos.
Puerto Ricans, along with Cubans and Dominicans, developed New York salsa by bringing together the sounds of Cuban son, Dominican merengue and Puerto Rican bomba and plena to the mainland.