Honky tonk

A Honky tonk was originally a type of bar common throughout the southern United States, also called honkatonks, honkey-tonks, tonks or tunks. The term has also been attached to various styles of 20th-century American music.

Honky tonk music

The first genre of music to be commonly known as honky tonk music was a style of piano playing related to ragtime, but emphasizing rhythm more than melody or harmony, since the style evolved in response to a humid environment where the pianos were often poorly cared for, tending to be out of tune and having some nonfunctioning keys. (Hence an out-of-tune upright piano is sometimes called a honky-tonk piano, e.g. in the General MIDI set of standard electronic music sounds.)

Related Topics:
Genre - Music - Piano - Ragtime - Rhythm - Melody - Harmony - General MIDI

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Such honky tonk music was an important influence on the formation of the boogie woogie piano style, as indicated by Jelly Roll Morton's 1938 record "Honky Tonk Music" (recalling the music of his youth, see quotation below), and Meade "Lux" Lewis's big hit "Honky Tonk Train Blues" which Lewis recorded many times from 1927 into the 1950s and was covered by many other musicians from the 1930s on, including Keith Emerson and Oscar Peterson.

Related Topics:
Boogie woogie - Jelly Roll Morton - 1938 - Meade "Lux" Lewis's - 1927 - 1950s - 1930s - Keith Emerson - Oscar Peterson

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The instrumental "Honky Tonk" by the Bill Doggett Combo with a sinuous saxophone line and driving, slow beat, was an early rock and roll hit. New Orleans native Antoine "Fats" Domino was another legendary honky tonk piano man, whose "Blueberry Hill" and "Walkin' to New Orleans" became hits on the popular music charts.

Related Topics:
Instrumental - Bill Doggett - Saxophone - Rock and roll - Antoine "Fats" Domino

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In the last third of the 20th century the term Honky Tonk started to sometimes be used to refer to what had previously been known as Hillbilly music. More recently it has come to refer primarily to the primary sound in country music, which developed among rural populations relocated to urban environments in the southern US in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Originally, it featured the guitar, fiddle, string bass and steel guitar (an importation from Hawaiian folk music). The vocals were originally rough and nasal, like Hank Williams, but later developed a clear and sharp sound with singers like George Jones. Lyrics tended to focus on rural life, with frequently tragic themes of lost love, adultery, loneliness and alcoholism.

Related Topics:
20th century - Hillbilly music - Country music - 1800s - 1900s - Guitar - Fiddle - String bass - Steel guitar - Hawaiian folk music - Hank Williams - George Jones

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During World War II, honky tonk country was popularized by Ernest Tubb. In the 1950s, though, honky tonk entered its golden age with the massive popularity of Hank Locklin, Lefty Frizzell, George Jones and Hank Williams. In the mid to late 1950s, rockabilly, which melded honky tonk country to rock and roll, and the slick country music of the Nashville sound ended honky tonk's initial period of dominance.

Related Topics:
World War II - Ernest Tubb - 1950s - Hank Locklin - Lefty Frizzell - George Jones - Hank Williams - Rockabilly - Rock and roll - Nashville sound

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In the 1970s, outlaw country music was the most popular genre, and its brand of rough honky tonk gradually influenced the rock-influenced alternative country in the 1990s. During the 1980s, a revival of slicker honky tonk took over the charts. Beginning with Dwight Yoakam and George Strait in the middle of the decade, a more pop-oriented version of honky tonk became massively popular. It crossed over into the mainstream in the early 1990s with singers like Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson and Clint Black. Later in the 90s, the sound of honky tonk became even farther removed from its rough roots with the mainstream success of slickly produced female singers like Shania Twain and Faith Hill.

Related Topics:
1970s - Outlaw country - Alternative country - 1990s - 1980s - Dwight Yoakam - George Strait - Garth Brooks - Alan Jackson - Clint Black - Shania Twain - Faith Hill

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