A while back, some of the folks at Abbeville Institute turned out a fine anthology…
John MarquardtSeptember 19, 2022
The Baz Luhrmann Elvis movie is as good as it is frustrating. The movie might…
Aaron N. ColemanJune 29, 2022
I started playing the piano when I was 11. My family wasn’t musical and didn’t…
Brandon MeeksMarch 16, 2022
The flourishing of art is necessary for the preservation of any people or tradition. Over-reliance…
Robert HoyleDecember 6, 2021
In a significant departure for this series, the 9th installment of What Makes This Musician…
Tom DanielSeptember 22, 2021
Freddy Fender? You mean that Mexican fella? No, I mean the Southern musical pioneer from…
Tom DanielSeptember 15, 2021
As I talk to people about American music and Southern music, I’ve noticed that many…
Tom DanielSeptember 8, 2021
The sixth Southern musician to be examined in this series of What Makes This Musician…
Tom DanielAugust 31, 2021
In this fifth installment of the series “What Makes This Musician Great,” we will travel…
Tom DanielAugust 25, 2021
In this third installment of the series “What Makes this Musician Great,” I will try…
Tom DanielAugust 11, 2021
This is the second installment of the series ‘What Makes this Musician Great,” and will…
Tom DanielAugust 4, 2021
Recently, I started looking into the connections between musical preferences and personality types. In the…
Tom DanielJuly 27, 2021
In past columns I have written about some classic films, some of which have been…
Boyd CatheyJune 30, 2021
In the early 1870s, a young pre-law student at Howard College was inspired by classmate…
James W. Whitehead VMay 11, 2021
Sometimes, you need to go halfway around the world in order to make a point,…
Tom DanielMarch 31, 2021
If these were normal times, we’d all be unpacking our Mardi Gras gear right about…
Tom DanielFebruary 16, 2021
What would you give in exchange for your soul? Bluegrass greats Bill Monroe and Doc…
Casey ChalkFebruary 8, 2021
The Week in Review at the Abbeville Institute, Jan 25-29, 2021 Topics: Southern Tradition, Slavery,…
Brion McClanahanJanuary 30, 2021
Rock ‘n Roll may be the most significant cultural export in American history. There is…
Tom DanielJanuary 27, 2021
In the late 19th century, Romantic composers were driven by nationalism as a means to…
Tom DanielDecember 4, 2020
When you hear the word “jazz,” what type of music pops into your head? What…
Tom DanielNovember 27, 2020
“The blues ain’t nothin’ but a good man feelin’ bad,” according to “Negro Blues,” penned…
Casey ChalkSeptember 9, 2020
I have written here before about the history and mechanics of Sacred Harp singing, shape-notes,…
Tom DanielJuly 29, 2020
The Orwellian nightmare known as 2020 continues. Not only are Confederate monuments and symbols under…
Brion McClanahanJuly 3, 2020
Ramblin’ Man - Allman Bros https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1xjl00sbao This was the biggest hit for the Allman Brothers…
Brion McClanahanMay 29, 2020
Hot 'Lanta - Allman Brothers Band https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWSoo3bLhIc The typical standard jazz composition that would be…
Tom DanielMay 15, 2020
A series by Brion McClanahan, Tom Daniel, and Jeff Rogers Loan Me a Dime -…
Brion McClanahanMay 8, 2020
A list compiled by Brion McClanahan, Tom Daniel, and Jeff Rogers Good Time Feelin' -…
Brion McClanahanMay 1, 2020
A list compiled by Brion McClanahan, Tom Daniel, and Jeff Rogers Goin' Down Slow -…
Brion McClanahanApril 24, 2020
A list compiled by Brion McClanahan, Tom Daniel, and Jeff Rogers Blood in the Water…
Brion McClanahanApril 17, 2020
A list compiled by Brion McClanahan, Tom Daniel, and Jeff Rogers Almost everyone in the…
Brion McClanahanApril 10, 2020
12. Southerners in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries **The Yearling (1946). This is…
Clyde WilsonFebruary 20, 2020
There are few Southern hearts that still fail to skip a beat or two when…
John MarquardtDecember 13, 2019
There’s a Southern accentWhere I come from.The young un’s call it country,And the Yankees call…
Brion McClanahanDecember 11, 2019
Southerners love home. This is true of many people throughout history, but place has, in…
Brion McClanahanSeptember 20, 2019
Illinois’ Governor J.B. Pritzer has banned the Southern rock band Confederate Railroad from the Illinois…
Paul H. YarbroughJuly 17, 2019
As someone who grew up during the decade of the 1960’s, I am paying attention…
Timothy A. DuskinJuly 8, 2019
If you’ve come across some of the other things I’ve written for Abbeville, you might…
Tom DanielApril 24, 2019
I need to tell you one story in order to tell you another. The Czechoslovakian…
Tom DanielMarch 22, 2019
Why do Southerners continue to fall into that trap where we only talk about the…
Tom DanielDecember 14, 2018
The King of Rock and Roll brought himself up by his bootstraps, served Uncle Sam…
Paul H. YarbroughNovember 30, 2018
The news came Thursday, November 15, that country music legend, Virginia-born Roy Clark had passed…
Boyd CatheyNovember 28, 2018
Because we live in such a hurried time, we hear countless “noises” but have little…
Michael MartinAugust 16, 2018
In October 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt invited Booker T. Washington to dine at the executive…
Brion McClanahanAugust 15, 2018
The 1970’s were an interesting time in the South. The 1970's were the last time…
Jeff RogersAugust 13, 2018
Sometime around 1939, Lead Belly sang the song Daddy I’m Coming Back to You, which…
Michael MartinAugust 3, 2018
Sound was the first victim of the attack on southern heritage. In October 1971, the…
Michael MartinJune 22, 2018
When you think of America’s so-called “Civil War”, rock music may not be one of…
Matthew SilberJune 19, 2018
As the 2018 legislative session was winding down in Annapolis, the Senate passed a bill…
J.L. BennettApril 19, 2018
This piece was originally printed in Southern Partisan magazine in 1985. Hank Williams has now…
Bill KoonMarch 28, 2018
Once upon a time in America, in a far different and far more gentle age,…
John MarquardtFebruary 5, 2018
A review of George William Koon, Hank Williams: A Bio-Bibliography, Greenwood Press, 1983. Like it…
Warren LeamonMay 30, 2017
For as long as people have been writing about Southern character—and that's getting to be…
John Shelton ReedMarch 3, 2017
Charlie Daniels turns 80 today. He is still producing top quality music and is still…
Brion McClanahanOctober 28, 2016
The late 1970s represented the heyday of popular Southern music. Southern rock and "outlaw country" dominated the…
Brion McClanahanSeptember 16, 2016
What makes the South, the South? Most modern Americans would say football and grits sprinkled…
Brion McClanahanMay 23, 2016
“American Idol,” a reality-based music singing competition on the Fox Network, has come to an…
Tom DanielApril 11, 2016
Benjamin Franklin White, born 1800 in South Carolina, was a Southern music pioneer. His collection…
Brion McClanahanMarch 25, 2016
Chris Stapleton is now a household name. This should have happened a long time ago. …
Brion McClanahanNovember 27, 2015
Southern contributions to American music are so abundant that they can be considered as the…
Carl JonesMarch 24, 2015
Country music singer Travis Tritt recently tweeted a controversial comment in the wake of the…
Dan E. PhillipsJanuary 16, 2015
I have written before here at Abbeville about the legendary music that came out of…
Tom DanielNovember 26, 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yKesnaFYUw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DkcQ09h2Vo That is Bobby Bare on Detroit and Dwight Yoakam on Los Angeles. Sometimes…
Clyde WilsonNovember 10, 2014
On April 4, 1964, The Beatles achieved American chart success that will almost certainly never…
Tom DanielJuly 7, 2014
Many music fans believe Southern rock died in 1977 when Lynyrd Skynyrd’s plane crashed in…
Brion McClanahanMay 30, 2014
Many music fans believe Southern rock died in 1977 when Lynyrd Skynyrd’s plane crashed in…
Brion McClanahanMay 30, 2014
Excerpted from “The Banjo Entertainers, Roots to Ragtime, A Banjo History,” by Lowell H. Schreyer,…
Lowell H. SchreyerMay 21, 2014
Excerpted from “The Banjo Entertainers, Roots to Ragtime, A Banjo History,” by Lowell H. Schreyer,…
Lowell H. SchreyerMay 21, 2014
About ten years ago, one of my colleagues suggested to me that Americans listen to…
Tom DanielMay 19, 2014
About ten years ago, one of my colleagues suggested to me that Americans listen to…
Tom DanielMay 19, 2014
We Southerners know a little bit about music. “American Idol,” for those who haven’t watched,…
Tom DanielApril 8, 2014
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