Bristol, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
REPLACED
CHECK OTHERS NEARBY
The Crooked Road
Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail
⎯⎯⎯ Bristol
Photographed by Tom Bosse, September 4, 2022
1. The Crooked Road / Bristol Marker
Inscription.
The Crooked Road, also, Bristol. Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail /.
The Crooked Road Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail. From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Coalfields region, southwest Virginia is blessed with historic and contemporary music venues, musicians, and fretted instrument makers. Historically isolated, the region retained its strong musical legacy by passing traditions down through musical families to an appreciative community., Old time mountain music, bluegrass, and gospel can be enjoyed all year long and several museums are devoted to showcasing the area’s rich musical heritage., The Crooked Road winds through the ruggedly beautiful Appalachian Mountains and leads you to the major hotspots of old time mountain music country music, and bluegrass. Alive and kickin’ for today’s fans, these venues preserve and celebrate musical traditions passed down through generations. Annual festivals, weekly concerts, radio shows, and jam sessions ring out to large audiences and intimate gatherings. Please visit the Crooked Road website to plan your trip to coincide with the current entertainment events., (captions) The Carter Family Dr. Ralph Stanley,
Bristol. In 1927 the Victor Talking Machine Company sent a portable studio to Bristol, and music publisher Ralph Peer advertised for traditional musicians wishing to try their hand at recording. The test pressings of the resulting “Bristol Sessions” involved mountain string bands, gospel singers, blues artists, and vaudeville performers. Among those that sold best were recordings by Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family. In the 1940s and 1950s the live radio broadcast “Farm and Fun Time” originating on a Bristol station and heard in five states was linked to the development of bluegrass music. Among those on the program were: the Stanley Brothers, Flatt and Scruggs, Jim and Jesse, and Mac Wiseman. But the most popular band was Curly King and the Tennessee Hilltoppers, led by local singer Cecil Crusenberry, who used King as a stage name., The rich history is well kept by the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance, which has its offices near fabled State Street, where Virginia and Tennessee meet in the middle of a street. For the past 50 years musicians have gathered at the Star Barbershop on State Street for a weekly jam session. State Street is also the location of the Paramount Center for Arts, a historic theater that presents a variety of cultural events and performances., (captions) 1927 Advertisement for the Bristol Sessions Curly King and the Tennessee Hilltoppers Rhythm and Roots Festival
The Crooked Road
Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail
From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Coalfields region, southwest Virginia is blessed with historic and contemporary music venues, musicians, and fretted instrument makers. Historically isolated, the region retained its strong musical legacy by passing traditions down through musical families to an appreciative community.
Old time mountain music, bluegrass, and gospel can be enjoyed all year long and several museums are devoted to showcasing the area’s rich musical heritage.
The Crooked Road winds through the ruggedly beautiful Appalachian Mountains and leads you to the major hotspots of old time mountain music country music, and bluegrass. Alive and kickin’ for today’s fans, these venues preserve and celebrate musical traditions passed down through generations. Annual festivals, weekly concerts, radio shows, and jam sessions ring out to large audiences and intimate gatherings. Please visit the Crooked Road website to plan your trip to coincide with the current entertainment events.
(captions)
The Carter Family
Dr. Ralph Stanley
Bristol
In 1927 the Victor
Click or scan to see this page online
Talking Machine Company sent a portable studio to Bristol, and music publisher Ralph Peer advertised for traditional musicians wishing to try their hand at recording. The test pressings of the resulting “Bristol Sessions” involved mountain string bands, gospel singers, blues artists, and vaudeville performers. Among those that sold best were recordings by Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family. In the 1940s and 1950s the live radio broadcast “Farm and Fun Time” originating on a Bristol station and heard in five states was linked to the development of bluegrass music. Among those on the program were: the Stanley Brothers, Flatt and Scruggs, Jim and Jesse, and Mac Wiseman. But the most popular band was Curly King and the Tennessee Hilltoppers, led by local singer Cecil Crusenberry, who used King as a stage name.
The rich history is well kept by the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance, which has its offices near fabled State Street, where Virginia and Tennessee meet in the middle of a street. For the past 50 years musicians have gathered at the Star Barbershop on State Street for a weekly jam session. State Street is also the location
Photographed by Tom Bosse, September 4, 2022
2. The Crooked Road / Bristol Marker
of the Paramount Center for Arts, a historic theater that presents a variety of cultural events and performances.
(captions)
1927 Advertisement for the Bristol Sessions
Curly King and the Tennessee Hilltoppers
Rhythm and Roots Festival
Location. This marker has been replaced by another marker nearby. It was located near 36° 35.845′ N, 82° 10.887′ W. Marker was in Bristol, Virginia. It was on Lee Street north of Cumberland Street, on the left when traveling north. Marker located in Cumberland Square Park. Touch for map. Marker was at or near this postal address: 200 Lee St, Bristol VA 24201, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker was in Virginia’s Tri-Cities Area, in Southwest Virginia, and in the Blue Ridge Highlands. It was also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it was in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it found itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Credits. This page was last revised on July 7, 2026. It was originally submitted on November 22, 2022, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 351 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on November 22, 2022, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
