Bristol has long been a hub for traditional mountain music. In the summer of 1927, Ralph Peer, a record producer from Victor Talking Machine Company, traveled to Bristol and set up a portable recording studio four blocks east of this location. During his twelve days in Bristol, Peer recorded seventy-six songs by nineteen different acts, capturing a wide cross section of traditional Appalachian music, including old time dance tunes, ballads, gospel songs, blues, and others. These sessions also produced the first recordings of the Carter Family from nearby Maces Spring, Virginia, "the First Family of Country Music," and Jimmie Rodgers, "the Father of Country Music." Music historians consider these recordings to be the beginnings of the commercial country music industry, and in 1998 the United States Congress declared Bristol the "Birthplace of County Music." While Peer's 1927 recordings stand as a milestone in the development of country music, Bristol's musical heritage continued afterward. In the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, radio programs in Bristol, most notably WCBY's Farm and Fun Time, became popular and assisted in the development of bluegrass. Today, Bristol's rich musical heritage remains vibrant, with its place on Virginia's Heritage Music Trail, The Crooked Road, and with dozens of musical venues in and near downtown offering traditional Appalachian music year round.
