HONKY-TONK MUSIC

HONKY-TONK MUSIC (c. 1935–1955) In the days before the jukebox, the honky-tonk—a small bar often located on the outskirts of town—became a center of musical creation. Employing hundreds of small-time performers (many of whom would later become big-time stars), these local watering holes nurtured a new style of music that would become, in the late 1940s and early 1950s, country music's mainstream voice. Previously country musicians had performed at local gatherings, often sponsored by schools or…