Abstract
A largely forgotten and ignored style of country music was created in the 1960s—the Bakersfield Sound. In this poster I explore the style’s contribution to the overall genre of country music and its lasting effects in that genre and its influences in many other genres. I begin with an outline of how the Bakersfield Sound materialized in Bakersfield, CA., maturing in large dance halls through Western Swing music originally brought to the West Coast as a result of the migrations throughout the Great Depression, The Dust Bowl, and World War II. I then discuss the technological, economic, and social backgrounds that made this style possible: the birth and use of the Fender Telecaster guitar, the economic state of Bakersfield, the advent and effects of rock ‘n’ roll music, and the social conditions established by the migrations and historical backgrounds of California’s population in the 1950s–1960s. I also consider the rival Nashville Sound that dominated country