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He also felt a strong kinship with country and other forms of “hillbilly music.”

In Their Own 51�Թ�s This new episode of the documentary series profiles guitarist Chuck Berry and how his blend of hillbilly music and R&B helped create the music that became rock ‘n’ roll.

A new fascination with flatpicking technique developed into a study of old-time music when she learned about the Black string band tradition concealed beneath the whitewashed narrative of what was once sold as hillbilly music.

White country music was stigmatized early on as “hillbilly music” so the industry started pushing it toward the rising white middle class as a way to make the genre more respected and hugely profitable.

Called “Hayloft Hoedown,” it’s considered the first country music television show in Washington, though back then people called it “hillbilly music.”