Bakersfield Sound

Nestled at the southern end of California's San Joaquin Valley, the cityof Bakersfield is best known for farming, oil fields, and a unique bran d of country music called the “Bakersfield Sound.” The term is generally used to describe a hard-edged honkytonk sensibility characterized by sharp, twanging Fender Telecaster guitars, crying pedal steel,and straight-ahead country vocals – a sound that thrived in Baker sfield clubs in the 1950s and '60s. The music emanating from these venues was by no means homogeneous. One need only compare Buck Owens's razor-sharp honky-tonk attack with Merle Haggard's western swing and blues-inflected recordings to recognize that there is no single Bakersfield Sound. The label is best understood as an umbrella term encompassing a numberof strains developed by Haggard, Owens, and their West Coast contempora ries.

The Bakersfield Sound is a full-color exploration ofwhat social and economic factors led to this country music hotbe