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WebLinks: Contexts for Exploring Visual and Verbal Texts |
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Chapter 3 - Picturing Ourselves |
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The song on page 102 paints an updated portrait of the American cowboy; he is no longer riding a horse on the range and fighting Indians. The cowboy of Nelson and Jennings' song is a modern cowboy, but he shares many traits in common with cowboys of yore. How is this modern cowboy described? Why does the narrator urge mothers to dissuade their sons from becoming cowboys? How does this song connect to the larger movement of Outlaw Country?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Nelson
Willie Nelson has become an American—or at least Texan—icon. This site traces Willie's beginnings as a gospel and country singer in the musically fertile land of central Texas to his successes as a singer/songwriter. There are plenty of links here to explore more about the man and his music.
http://www.countrymusichalloffame.com/inductees/willie_nelson.html
Willie was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1993. This site, run by the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, discusses the evolution of Willie's musical career and his relationship to the country music establishment. Perhaps Willie's strongest connection to the traditional cowboy image is his involvement in the Outlaw music movement, which is associated with people like Willie, Waylon Jennings, and Johnny Cash. Their cowboy image, unlike John Wayne's, often revealed a darker side to the American West.
http://www.pbs.org/americanrootsmusic/pbs_arm_oralh_willienelson.html
Here, Willie Nelson describes his musical roots and influences on a PBS website. You'll probably be surprised to find that Willie's interests are much broader than "country and western." He is also extremely influenced by jazz, blues, gospel and even Spanish-language tejano music.
http://encarta.msn.com/text_761558215__1/Country_Music.html
Cowboys and country music haven't always been synonymous. The Encarta Encyclopedia entry explains how what we now call "country" originated in the rural South and then migrated westward. It wasn't until figures like Roy Rogers and Bob Wills appeared in the 1930's that country music also became "western" and cowboy hat and boots became a staple of the music's defining characteristics.
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