Music of Missouri
Encyclopedia
St. Louis, Missouri was an important center of jazz
and blues
, as well as country and bluegrass
. Kansas City
was also one of jazz's major centers, with performers such as Charlie Parker
, Count Basie
and Lester Young
, and its own jazz style
. Ragtime
got its influential hold at the city of Sedalia
thanks to Scott Joplin
and his publisher John Stark
, and through another Missouri native, James Scott
. In the Ozarks, hillbilly music developed, and from 1955–1961, Springfield
was home to some of the first national country music programs
on American television. Chuck Berry
and Porter Wagoner
were both born in Missouri. More recently Branson has become a country music tourist mecca.
Missouri played a major role in the evolution of country music
, and originated a vibrant style of fiddling characterized by a driving bow. In the pre-grunge days of the 1990s, up-and-coming local St. Louis
area bands Uncle Tupelo
blended punk
, rock
, country-influenced music styles with raucous performances and became the modern day pioneers of the genre known as Alt-country.
area (and nearby southern Illinois) was home to garage band the Primatives and rock band the Blue Moons. The Blue Moons featured Festus native Mark Ortmann on drums and Brian Henneman
.
in the early 1990s. At the same time, Chicken Truck, an original outlaw country
rock
band, featuring Brian Henneman
and drummer Mark Ortmann, was giving memorable performances in clubs such as Cicero's. Chicken Truck reorganized and became the indie roots rock band the Bottle Rockets
in 1992. A country cover band called Coffee Creek linked all of these upstart bands. Coffee Creek was composed of Jay Farrar
, Brian Henneman, Mike Heidorn
, and Jeff Tweedy
.
Uncle Tupelo disbanded in 1994. Founding members of Uncle Tupelo formed Son Volt
and Wilco
after the split.
Bottle Rockets became known for their hit songs, "Radar Gun", "$1,000 Car", and "I'll Be Comin' Around". Their success led to appearances on the television show Late Night with Conan O'Brien
performing one of their original songs as well as being featured in a comedic skit.
performs there monthly, as do national touring rock music artists.
is a tourist area, especially associated with mainstream country music
. The town's popularity grew in the 1980s when a number of prominent country stars moved to the area, including Boxcar Willie
, Sons of the Pioneers
and Roy Clark
. Two major attractions had roots in the 1950s, the Shepherd of the Hills Theatre and Park and Silver Dollar City
. Modern music festivals in Branson include the Old-Time Fiddle Festival, Branson Jam and the State of the Ozarks Fiddlers Convention. The largest music venue in Branson is the Grand Palace, which seats upwards of 4,000 people.
Prominent local attractions in Branson include the entrepreneur and performer Jennifer Wilson
, a regional celebrity known for her show the Americana Theatre, the Mabe family's Baldknobbers, which has been running for three generations, and Jim Owen, of the Jim Owen Morning Show.
The area's country music broadcasting history, however, can be traced to Springfield in the mid-1930s, when Ralph D. Foster
's KWTO-AM
began carrying live performances and syndicating them to other stations across the country. The station's most famous program was Ozark Jubilee
, which starting in 1955 was carried live on ABC-TV across the country. Foster became a major figure in the region's music history; there is a museum named after him on the campus of the College of the Ozarks
.
Other national country music TV programs originating from Springfield included Five Star Jubilee and Talent Varieties.
had a vibrant New Wave
scene, including Trained Animals, The Ooze Kicks, The Strikers
and Zany Misfits. The most famous hardcore band though was St. Louis' White Pride, whose parody of racist attitudes was often lost on their audiences. Also Joplin
was home to two of the toughest bands in Missouri
, While I Breathe and This Above All
. The University of Missouri
in Columbia
had an influential annual Thrash Bash, inaguarated in 1983 with Causes of Tragedy and The Croppy Boys. Joplin
native Christofer Drew and his acoustic rock band Never Shout Never are also all from Joplin. Kansas City, Missouri
was also part of a vibrant scene along with Lawrence
and Topeka
, Kansas
; this scene is more commonly associated with the music of Kansas
rather than Missouri. Other bands such as Story of the Year - formally Big Blue Monkey, 360Smile, Blinded Black, So They Say, and Cavo
emerged from St. Louis. Shaman's Harvest
is from Jefferson City
.
The most popular metal band of St. Louis
is the prog metal band Anacrusis (band)
. They´re considered as the first band who combined melodic thrash metal with progressive elements and clean vocal parts. Their albums are seen as classics of the prog metal genre.
In 2005 the rock band, Living Things
, gained national attention after the release of their album, Ahead of the Lions
.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, as well as country and bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
. Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
was also one of jazz's major centers, with performers such as Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
, Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
and Lester Young
Lester Young
Lester Willis Young , nicknamed "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He also played trumpet, violin, and drums....
, and its own jazz style
Kansas City Jazz
Kansas City Jazz is a style of jazz that developed in Kansas City, Missouri and the surrounding Kansas City Metropolitan Area during the 1930s and marked the transition from the structured big band style to the musical improvisation style of Bebop...
. Ragtime
Ragtime
Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
got its influential hold at the city of Sedalia
Sedalia, Missouri
Sedalia is a city located about south of the Missouri River in Pettis County, Missouri. U.S. Highway 50 and U.S. Highway 65 intersect in the city. As of 2006, the city had a total population of 20,669. It is the county seat of Pettis County. The Sedalia Micropolitan Statistical Area consists of...
thanks to Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin was an American composer and pianist. Joplin achieved fame for his ragtime compositions, and was later dubbed "The King of Ragtime". During his brief career, Joplin wrote 44 original ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas...
and his publisher John Stark
John Stillwell Stark
John Stillwell Stark was a United States publisher of ragtime music. He is best known for publishing and promoting the music of Scott Joplin....
, and through another Missouri native, James Scott
James Scott (musician)
James Sylvester Scott was an African-American ragtime composer, regarded as one of the three most important composers of classic ragtime, along with Scott Joplin and Joseph Lamb....
. In the Ozarks, hillbilly music developed, and from 1955–1961, Springfield
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. According to the 2010 census data, the population was 159,498, an increase of 5.2% since the 2000 census. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 436,712, includes the counties of...
was home to some of the first national country music programs
Ozark Jubilee
Ozark Jubilee is the first U.S. network television program to feature country music's top stars, and was the centerpiece of a strategy for Springfield, Missouri to challenge Nashville, Tennessee as America's country music capital...
on American television. Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
and Porter Wagoner
Porter Wagoner
Porter Wayne Wagoner was a popular American country music singer known for his flashy Nudie and Manuel suits and blond pompadour. He introduced the young Dolly Parton near the beginning of her career on his long-running television show, and they were a well-known duet throughout the late 1960s and...
were both born in Missouri. More recently Branson has become a country music tourist mecca.
Missouri played a major role in the evolution of country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, and originated a vibrant style of fiddling characterized by a driving bow. In the pre-grunge days of the 1990s, up-and-coming local St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
area bands Uncle Tupelo
Uncle Tupelo
Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend college. The trio recorded three albums for Rockville...
blended punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, country-influenced music styles with raucous performances and became the modern day pioneers of the genre known as Alt-country.
Mid-1980s
In the mid-1980s, the Saint LouisSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
area (and nearby southern Illinois) was home to garage band the Primatives and rock band the Blue Moons. The Blue Moons featured Festus native Mark Ortmann on drums and Brian Henneman
Brian Henneman
Brian Henneman is an alt-country/roots rock musician best known as the frontman for the Bottle Rockets, as a songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist. Artists such as John Prine, Neil Young and Merle Haggard have influenced his songwriting style. Henneman began his musical career in the mid-1980s...
.
1990s
The Primatives reorganized and transformed into Uncle TupeloUncle Tupelo
Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend college. The trio recorded three albums for Rockville...
in the early 1990s. At the same time, Chicken Truck, an original outlaw country
Outlaw country
Outlaw country is a subgenre of country music, most popular during the late 1960s and the 1970s , sometimes referred to as the outlaw movement or simply outlaw music...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band, featuring Brian Henneman
Brian Henneman
Brian Henneman is an alt-country/roots rock musician best known as the frontman for the Bottle Rockets, as a songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist. Artists such as John Prine, Neil Young and Merle Haggard have influenced his songwriting style. Henneman began his musical career in the mid-1980s...
and drummer Mark Ortmann, was giving memorable performances in clubs such as Cicero's. Chicken Truck reorganized and became the indie roots rock band the Bottle Rockets
The Bottle Rockets
The Bottle Rockets are an American rock band formed in 1992, currently based in St. Louis, Missouri. The founding members are Brian Henneman , Mark Ortmann , Tom Parr and Tom Ray . Current members are Henneman, Ortmann, John Horton and Keith Voegele...
in 1992. A country cover band called Coffee Creek linked all of these upstart bands. Coffee Creek was composed of Jay Farrar
Jay Farrar
Jay Farrar is an American songwriter and musician currently based in St. Louis, Missouri. A veteran of two critically acclaimed music groups, Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt, he began his solo music career in 2001...
, Brian Henneman, Mike Heidorn
Mike Heidorn
Mike Heidorn, born 1967 in Belleville, Illinois, is the former drummer and founding member of alternative country bands Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt. Heidorn also played with the Uncle Tupelo precursors the Primitives and the one-off band Coffee Creek with Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy of Uncle Tupelo...
, and Jeff Tweedy
Jeff Tweedy
Jeffrey Scot "Jeff" Tweedy is an American songwriter, musician and leader of the band Wilco. Tweedy joined rockabilly band The Plebes with high school friend Jay Farrar in the early 1980s, but Tweedy's musical interests caused one of Farrar's brothers to quit...
.
Uncle Tupelo disbanded in 1994. Founding members of Uncle Tupelo formed Son Volt
Son Volt
Son Volt is an alternative country group formed by Jay Farrar in 1994 after the breakup of the band Uncle Tupelo.-History:The group formed after Farrar met Jim and Dave Boquist during the final Uncle Tupelo tour. Together with former Uncle Tupelo drummer Mike Heidorn, the band rehearsed and...
and Wilco
Wilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John...
after the split.
Bottle Rockets became known for their hit songs, "Radar Gun", "$1,000 Car", and "I'll Be Comin' Around". Their success led to appearances on the television show Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
performing one of their original songs as well as being featured in a comedic skit.
2000s
After extensive remodeling, Cicero's became what is currently known as Blueberry Hill's Duck Room, and Chuck BerryChuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
performs there monthly, as do national touring rock music artists.
Music of Branson
Branson, MissouriBranson, Missouri
Branson is a city in Taney County in the U.S. state of Missouri. It was named after Reuben Branson, postmaster and operator of a general store in the area in the 1880s....
is a tourist area, especially associated with mainstream country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
. The town's popularity grew in the 1980s when a number of prominent country stars moved to the area, including Boxcar Willie
Boxcar Willie
Boxcar Willie, born as Lecil Travis Martin was an American country music singer, who sang in the "old-time hobo" music style, complete with dirty face, overalls, and a floppy hat...
, Sons of the Pioneers
Sons of the Pioneers
The Sons of the Pioneers are one of America's earliest Western singing groups whose classic recordings set a new standard for performers of Western music. Known for the high quality of their vocal performances, musicianship, and songwriting, they produced finely-crafted and innovative recordings...
and Roy Clark
Roy Clark
Roy Linwood Clark is an American country music musician and performer. He is best known for hosting Hee Haw, a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969–1992. Clark has been an important and influential figure in country music, both as a performer and helping to popularize the genre...
. Two major attractions had roots in the 1950s, the Shepherd of the Hills Theatre and Park and Silver Dollar City
Silver Dollar City
Silver Dollar City is a theme park in the state of Missouri. Opened on May 1, 1960, the park is located between Branson and Branson West, Missouri, on Highway 76...
. Modern music festivals in Branson include the Old-Time Fiddle Festival, Branson Jam and the State of the Ozarks Fiddlers Convention. The largest music venue in Branson is the Grand Palace, which seats upwards of 4,000 people.
Prominent local attractions in Branson include the entrepreneur and performer Jennifer Wilson
Jennifer Wilson
Jennifer Wilson is an American soprano known especially for her Wagnerian opera roles. She is the daughter of Newton Wilson and Katherine Still...
, a regional celebrity known for her show the Americana Theatre, the Mabe family's Baldknobbers, which has been running for three generations, and Jim Owen, of the Jim Owen Morning Show.
The area's country music broadcasting history, however, can be traced to Springfield in the mid-1930s, when Ralph D. Foster
Ralph D. Foster
Ralph David Foster , was an American broadcasting pioneer and philanthropist who created the framework for Springfield, Missouri to challenge Nashville, Tennessee as the nation's country music capital during the 1950s...
's KWTO-AM
KWTO
KWTO refers to two radio stations in Springfield, Missouri, USA. On AM, KWTO can be found at 560 kHz, where it airs a news-talk format. On FM, KWTO operates at 98.7 MHz and carries a sports talk format....
began carrying live performances and syndicating them to other stations across the country. The station's most famous program was Ozark Jubilee
Ozark Jubilee
Ozark Jubilee is the first U.S. network television program to feature country music's top stars, and was the centerpiece of a strategy for Springfield, Missouri to challenge Nashville, Tennessee as America's country music capital...
, which starting in 1955 was carried live on ABC-TV across the country. Foster became a major figure in the region's music history; there is a museum named after him on the campus of the College of the Ozarks
College of the Ozarks
College of the Ozarks is a private, Christian liberal-arts college, with its campus at Point Lookout near Branson and Hollister, Missouri, United States. It is south of Springfield on a campus, overlooking Lake Taneycomo...
.
Other national country music TV programs originating from Springfield included Five Star Jubilee and Talent Varieties.
Rock and metal
St. LouisSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
had a vibrant New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
scene, including Trained Animals, The Ooze Kicks, The Strikers
The Strikers
The Strikers are a rock n' roll band from San Diego, California. Consisting of band members Joey , Rob , and Donovan , their sound is a mixture of musical genres including rockabilly, psychobilly, and metal....
and Zany Misfits. The most famous hardcore band though was St. Louis' White Pride, whose parody of racist attitudes was often lost on their audiences. Also Joplin
Joplin, Missouri
Joplin is a city in southern Jasper County and northern Newton County in the southwestern corner of the US state of Missouri. Joplin is the largest city in Jasper County, though it is not the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 50,150...
was home to two of the toughest bands in Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, While I Breathe and This Above All
This Above All
This Above All is a 1942 American romance film set in World War II adapted from the Eric Knight novel of the same name and directed by Anatole Litvak...
. The University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
in Columbia
Columbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...
had an influential annual Thrash Bash, inaguarated in 1983 with Causes of Tragedy and The Croppy Boys. Joplin
Joplin, Missouri
Joplin is a city in southern Jasper County and northern Newton County in the southwestern corner of the US state of Missouri. Joplin is the largest city in Jasper County, though it is not the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 50,150...
native Christofer Drew and his acoustic rock band Never Shout Never are also all from Joplin. Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
was also part of a vibrant scene along with Lawrence
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
and Topeka
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
; this scene is more commonly associated with the music of Kansas
Music of Kansas
For many decades, Kansas has had a vibrant country and bluegrass scene. The Country Stampede Music Festival – one of the largest music festivals in the country – and the bluegrass/acoustic Walnut Valley Festival are testament to the continued popularity of these music genres in the state...
rather than Missouri. Other bands such as Story of the Year - formally Big Blue Monkey, 360Smile, Blinded Black, So They Say, and Cavo
Cavo
Cavo is an American hard rock band from St. Louis, Missouri. Because of their sound and musical influences, they are sometimes classified as post-grunge.-Band history:...
emerged from St. Louis. Shaman's Harvest
Shaman's Harvest
Shaman's Harvest is a rock band from Jefferson City, Missouri, best known for their single "Dragonfly" from the album "Shine". The single peaked at #34 on Billboard's Rock Songs chart....
is from Jefferson City
Jefferson City, Missouri
Jefferson City is the capital of the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Cole County. Located in Callaway and Cole counties, it is the principal city of the Jefferson City metropolitan area, which encompasses the entirety of both counties. As of the 2010 census, the population was 43,079...
.
The most popular metal band of St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
is the prog metal band Anacrusis (band)
Anacrusis (band)
Anacrusis is a progressive/thrash metal band from St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Anacrusis was one of the first bands to attempt to blend thrash and progressive metal...
. They´re considered as the first band who combined melodic thrash metal with progressive elements and clean vocal parts. Their albums are seen as classics of the prog metal genre.
In 2005 the rock band, Living Things
Living Things (band)
Living Things are an American indie rock band from St. Louis, Missouri. The band, consist of chief provocateur singer/songwriter/guitarist Lillian Berlin and his two siblings Yves Berlin and Joshua "Bosh" Berlin , . Singer Lillian Berlin lyrics and songwriting has been described as " fiercely...
, gained national attention after the release of their album, Ahead of the Lions
Ahead of the Lions
Ahead of the Lions is an album by rock band Living Things, released on October 4, 2005. The first single is the song "Bom Bom Bom" was featured in a Cingular commercial promoting an iTunes-compatible phone....
.
See also
- Uncle TupeloUncle TupeloUncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend college. The trio recorded three albums for Rockville...
- Scott JoplinScott JoplinScott Joplin was an American composer and pianist. Joplin achieved fame for his ragtime compositions, and was later dubbed "The King of Ragtime". During his brief career, Joplin wrote 44 original ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas...
- Chuck BerryChuck BerryCharles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
- NellyNellyCornell Iral Haynes, Jr. , better known by his stage name Nelly, is an Grammy Award winning American rapper and actor. He has performed with the rap group St. Lunatics since 1993 and signed to Universal Records in 1999. Under Universal, Nelly began his solo career in 2000 with his debut album...
- Anacrusis (band)Anacrusis (band)Anacrusis is a progressive/thrash metal band from St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Anacrusis was one of the first bands to attempt to blend thrash and progressive metal...
- Midwestern United StatesMidwestern United StatesThe Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
- American folk musicAmerican folk musicAmerican folk music is a musical term that encompasses numerous genres, many of which are known as traditional music or roots music. Roots music is a broad category of music including bluegrass, country music, gospel, old time music, jug bands, Appalachian folk, blues, Cajun and Native American...
- Alternative countryAlternative countryAlternative country is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music...