TCBCast 287: Elvis and Country Music Part 2: The Hillbilly Cat Changes Country Forever

Part 2 of the Elvis and Country Music saga picks up right where Justin and guest host Garrett Cash left off, with a deconstruction of both sides of Elvis' first Sun single. Elvis's country career is traced through his time at Sun and on the Louisiana Hayride, dedicating time to sidebar the realities of how flawed the way we discuss and understand country music as a genre during this period will always be due to the historical omission of the countless non-white artists who loved performing country music, but were disincentivized from recording in that genre by A&R reps and studio execs, and rarely allowed a welcome presence with country audiences. And to that end, was Chuck Berry just a country music artist hiding in plain sight all along? We also begin to see the beginnings of the development of the Nashville Sound as Elvis joins RCA and single-handedly popularizes the gospel backing group sound in country music by demanding to work with The Jordanaires. Zig-zagging between the "traditional" country songs Elvis dabbled in during the 1950s and the actual charting country hits he had between 1956-1958, like, you know, All Shook Up, Jailhouse Rock and Hard Headed Woman, we land on the popular notion held in country lore that Elvis simply outgrew country by the late 1950s... but what if the truth was more complicated - and malicious - than how the Nashville establishment, and even more contemporary retrospectives like Ken Burns' Country Music, has told it? You can find more of Garrett on "The Beat! With Garrett Cash" on SoundCloud at: https://soundcloud.com/garrett-cash-635212819 As well as on the Let It Roll Podcast miniseries "Holy Roll" at: https://letitrollpodcast.substack.com/p/let-it-roll-with-garrett-cash In late October we will be releasing a YouTube and Spotify playlist with as many songs featured on this series as possible. Stay tuned to our social media pages for details. This series would not be possible without the support of TCBCast Patreon backers, thank you to all of our patrons! This is not remotely comprehensive or in any order whatsoever but among some of the key resources that we found useful for this 2nd episode are: Ken Burns' Country Music - Documentary, Book & Soundtrack The Birth of Rock and Roll: The Illustrated Story of Sun Records by Colin Escott and Peter Guralnick Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick Walk A Lonely Street: Elvis Presley, Country Music and the True Story of Heartbreak Hotel by Tony Plews Cocaine and Rhinestones by Tyler Mahan Coe The Nashville Sound by Paul Hemphill How Nashville Became Music City, USA by Michael Kosser TheMusicalDivide.com: "Pop Goes the Country" Blog