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Like bluegrass and old-time music, country & western music emerged, in part, from Appalachia, with roots in Europe and Africa, not to mention its share of western cowboy music. Here are some of West Virginia's notable country stars.
Reed was a blind street musician and fiddler from Pipestem (Summers County). He wrote and recorded songs in the late 1920s about real-life events and issues. Even though he was born in Virginia, he spent most of his life in West Virginia.In 1927, ...
The group included Warren Caplinger from West Virginia, Andrew Patterson from Tennessee, and William “Flip” Strickland from Alabama. They formed the group in Akron, Ohio, in 1930. Cap led the band, played guitar, and sang bass; Andy sang lead and ...
This Raleigh County native was known for blending country and blues. His music was strongly influenced by African American blues he'd learned in the southern coalfields. He played slide guitar and harmonica. He worked in the coal mines before movi...
Born near Charleston, Cox learned guitar and harmonica as a boy and began performing on local radio in 1928. He recorded around 150 songs, including hits like "Sparkling Brown Eyes" and "Filipino Baby," which became country music classics.Cox ofte...
Born near Ripley, Starcher learned to play guitar from his father and began performing on the radio in the 1930s on stations like WCHS in Charleston, WMMN in Fairmont, and WPDX in ClarksburgIn the 1950s and 1960s, Starcher appeared on TV in Florid...
Born Andrew John Smik in Cleveland, Williams had a long career with the Wheeling Jamboree radio show. He grew up in Pennsylvania and began performing on radio in Pittsburgh before moving to WWVA in Wheeling in 1937 with his band, the Border Riders...
The Bailes Brothers were one of the top country music groups of the 1940s and the first West Virginians to become stars on the Grand Ole Opry. Kyle, Johnnie, Walter, and Homer Bailes grew up in Kanawha County, raised by their widowed mother during...
Born Woodrow Wilson Sovine in Charleston, he was inspired by local radio musicians who told emotional stories in their songs. At first, Sovine struggled to find success and worked in a factory in Eleanor (Putnam County) while performing on the rad...
This Bolt (Raleigh County) native began performing in the 1930s while attending West Virginia University but left school to focus on his music. He got his start on West Virginia radio stations WJLS in Beckley and WMMN in Fairmont before joining th...
This Huntington native got his first guitar by trading five rabbits and performing on local radio and in traveling shows. During World War II, he entertained troops in the Philippines.From 1946 to 1954, he was part of the Wheeling Jamboree, then j...
Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper were one of West Virginia’s most popular husband-and-wife country music teams. Both from Randolph County, Wilma Lee married Stoney Cooper in 1941. Known for their mountain sound, their band—the Clinch Mountain Clan—feat...
Rex and Eleanor Parker played country and gospel music for over 50 years. They started performing together right after their 1941 marriage, appearing on radio and later TV.In 1959, they decided to sing only sacred music and included their two daug...
Though not a performer, this Lundale (Logan County) native had a major impact on country music for over 50 years and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2004.After serving in World War II, he studied music and started in the record...
Molly O'Day, born Lois LaVerne Williamson in Kentucky, started performing with her brothers. She moved to West Virginia and met Leonard "Lynn" Davis, who she married in 1941. She took the stage name Molly O’Day and became one of the first solo fem...
This Whitesville (Boone County) native was a songwriter, musician, poet, and playwright. After high school, he studied English and later went to Yale to study playwriting.He performed twice at Carnegie Hall and wrote more than 500 songs, including...
Born near Grundy, Virginia, he got his start performing on radio and TV at WHIS in Bluefield. His first big hit, "Borrowed Angel," came out in 1972. After moving to Nashville, he had 22 more hits, including "Lovin' On Back Streets," "Smokey Mounta...
McCoy is one of the most important harmonica players in country music history. Born in Oak Hill (Fayette County), he moved to Florida as a child but stayed connected to his home. He moved to Nashville in 1959 and played on numerous recordings, inc...
Connie Smith was the first solo female country artist to have a number one hit for eight weeks straight—a record not broken until Taylor Swift in 2015. She joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1971. Dolly Parton once said, “There are only three great sing...
Mattea is one of West Virginia’s most successful country singers, with at least 30 Top 40 hits. Raised in Cross Lanes (Kanawha County), she began singing in school and later joined a band at West Virginia University. In 1978, she moved to Nashvill...
This Glen Dale (Marshall County) native started playing guitar as a child and by age 14 was on the Jamboree USA radio show in Wheeling. He moved to Nashville in the 1990s and released his first album in 1999, with hits like "He Didn't Have to Be."...
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Music: Blues and Jazz Performers
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