Bristol in Sullivan County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

REMOVED

SEE LOCATION SECTION

Birthplace of Country Music

Bristol, Tennessee • Virginia

— Historic Downtown Bristol —

Photographed by Kathy Walker, October 19, 2009

1. Historic Downtown Bristol Marker

Inscription.

Birthplace of Country Music. Bristol, Tennessee . Virginia. , Bristol has long been known as a hub for traditional mountain music. In the summer of 1927, Ralph Peer, a record producer from Victor Talking Machine Company, traveled to Bristol and set up a portable recording studio four blocks east of this location. During his twelve days in Bristol, Mr. Peer recorded seventy-six songs by nineteen different acts capturing a wide cross section of traditional Appalachian music, including old time dance tunes, ballads, gospel songs, blues, and others. These sessions also produced the first recordings of the Carter Family from nearby Maces Spring, Virginia - "the First Family of Country Music" - and Jimmie Rodgers - "the Father of Country Music." , , Music Historians consider these recordings to be the beginnings of the commercial country music industry and in 1998 the United States Congress declared Bristol the "Birthplace of County Music." , , While Peer's 1927 recordings stand as a milestone in the development of country music, the musical heritage of Bristol continued after those recordings. In the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, radio programs in Bristol, most notably WCBY's Farm and Fun Time, became popular and assisted in the development of a new genre of music - bluegrass. , , Today, the rich musical heritage of Bristol remains vibrant. Bristol sits in the middle of Virginia's Heritage Music Trail The Crooked Road, with the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance as a major venue along the trail. Dozens of musical venues in Bristol or nearby offer tradtitional Appalachian music on a regular year round basis with many of these concentrated in downtown Bristol. , , The area in front of this mural has become a center for many of those community events. The stage in front of this mural plays host to a variety of weekly musical events from May through October. The area houses one of the main stages from the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion festival, held annually the third weekend of September. From April through October, a local Farmer's Market operated twice weekly. It is also a stop on the downtown audio walking tour. , For more information about our region's musical heritage, visit www.birthplaceofcountrymusic.org

Bristol has long been known as a hub for traditional mountain music. In the summer of 1927, Ralph Peer, a record producer from Victor Talking Machine Company, traveled to Bristol and set up a portable recording studio four blocks east of this location. During his twelve days in Bristol, Mr. Peer recorded seventy-six songs by nineteen different acts capturing a wide cross section of traditional Appalachian music, including old time dance tunes, ballads, gospel songs, blues, and others. These sessions also produced the first recordings of the Carter Family from nearby Maces Spring, Virginia - "the First Family of Country Music" - and Jimmie Rodgers - "the Father of Country Music."

Music Historians consider these recordings to be the beginnings of the commercial country music industry and in 1998 the United States Congress declared Bristol the "Birthplace of County Music."

While Peer's 1927 recordings stand as a milestone in the development of country music, the musical heritage of Bristol continued after those recordings. In the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, radio programs in Bristol, most notably WCBY's Farm and Fun Time,

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became popular and assisted in the development of a new genre of music - bluegrass.

Today, the rich musical heritage of Bristol remains vibrant. Bristol sits in the middle of Virginia's Heritage Music Trail The Crooked Road, with the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance as a major venue along the trail. Dozens of musical venues in Bristol or nearby offer tradtitional Appalachian music on a regular year round basis with many of these concentrated in downtown Bristol.

The area in front of this mural has become a center for many of those community events. The stage in front of this mural plays host to a variety of weekly musical events from May through October. The area houses one of the main stages from the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion festival, held annually the third weekend of September. From April through October, a local Farmer's Market operated twice weekly. It is also a stop on the downtown audio walking tour.
For more information about our region's musical heritage, visit www.birthplaceofcountrymusic.org

Erected by Tennessee Arts Commission an the National Endowment of the Arts.

Topics. This historical marker

Birthplace of Country Music Marker has been replaced at the kiosk image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Parker, October 4, 2024

2. Birthplace of Country Music Marker has been replaced at the kiosk

The replacement marker is different at the kiosk.

is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Communications • Entertainment • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1927.

Location. Marker has been permanently removed. It was located near 36° 35.7′ N, 82° 11.218′ W. Marker was in Bristol, Tennessee, in Sullivan County. It was on State Street (Tennessee Route 34), on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker was at or near this postal address: 810 State Street, Bristol TN 37620, United States of America.

We have been informed that this marker is no longer there and will not be replaced. This page is an archival view of what was.

Regionally, this marker was in East Tennessee

and in the Tri-Cities Area.

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 original Cherokee Nation,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

the State of Franklin,

and

Mural and Stage image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Kathy Walker, October 19, 2009

3. Mural and Stage

Mural and Stage on the side of the building to the west of the marker

the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location: Bristol, Tenn-VA/Birthplace/Country Music (within shouting distance of this marker); Ralph S. Peer (within shouting distance of this marker); Ernest V. "Pop" Stoneman (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line in Virginia); 629 State Street (about 700 feet away in Virginia); Evan Shelby's Fort (about 700 feet away); The E.W. King Building (about 700 feet away); King/Lancaster/McCoy/Mitchell House (about 800 feet away in Virginia); WCYB's "Farm and Fun Time" (approx. 0.2 miles away in Virginia). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Bristol.

Also see . . . Birth Place of Country Music. (Submitted on January 24, 2013, by Byron Hooks of Sandy Springs, Georgia.)

Credits. This page was last revised on July 5, 2026. It was originally submitted on November 3, 2009, by Kathy Walker of Stafford, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,619 times since then and 23 times this year. Last updated on October 4, 2024, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina. Photos: 1. submitted on November 3, 2009, by Kathy Walker of Stafford, Virginia. 2. submitted on October 4, 2024, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina. 3. submitted on November 3, 2009, by Kathy Walker of Stafford, Virginia. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.