Hollywood films of the 1930s and 1940s popularized cowboy songs or Western
music, which were already being recorded since the 1920s. Gene Autry, Roy Rogers
and the Sons of the Pioneers were only a few of the more popular singing cowboys
of that era.
Bob Wills is another popular "country" musician who came from the Lower Great
Plains. Wills appeared in several Hollywood Western films and he was highly
popular as the leader of a hot string band. Wills music combined country and
jazz. His music began as dance hall music. It became known as Western Swing
later on. Spade Cooley and Tex Williams are two other country musicians who
belonged in popular bands and appeared in movies. Wills' Western Swing became so
popular that it rivaled the other big band jazz in terms of popularity.
It wasn't until 1939 when country musicians started playing boogie. This was
after Johnny Barfield recorded "Boogie Woogie" and played it at Carnegie Hall.
Boogie, which was originally called Hillbilly Boogie or Okie Boogie, was later
renamed Country Boogie and became extremely popular in 1945. A popular country
boogie in the 1940s was the "Freight Train Boogie" by the Delmore Brothers. This
song is regarded to be a prime example of the evolution of the combination of
country music and the blues into rockabilly. In 1948, "Guitar Boogie" and "Banjo
Boogie" by Arthur Smith landed on the Top 10 US country chart. "Guitar Boogie"
also also managed to cross over to the US pop charts. The period of Hillbilly
Boogie lasted into the 1950s. It still remains as one of the more popular
country music sub genre to date.
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