Honky-tonk (music)

Honky-tonk is a popular subgenre of country music named for the rough-and-tumble barrooms in which it is traditionally performed. Although the name first referred to a style of piano playing similar to ragtime, the term “honky-tonk” eventually came to be associated with what emerged as the primary sound in country music by the mid-twentieth century. Typical honky-tonk music features a full rhythm section that plays a two-beat rhythm with a crisp backbeat. In most classical examples of honky-tonk, the dominant instruments include steel guitar and fiddle. The golden age of honky-tonk arrived in the 1950s thanks to the popularity of artists like Hank Williams, as well as Ernest Tubb and Lefty Frizzell. Although its popularity waned with the rise of rockabilly and country-pop, a handful of dedicated artists—including Dwight Yoakam, Travis Tritt, and many others—kept the honky-tonk sound alive into the contemporary era.

Background

The country music variant known as honky-tonk derives its name from the type of establishment where it first emerged. Typically, traditional honky-tonks were bars and saloons where working-class people gathered to drink and socialize. Historians believe that honky-tonks probably evolved from earlier rural drinking establishments called juke joints. Most juke joints were operated and patronized by Black Americans, who were usually denied admission to similar White establishments in the deeply segregated South. When juke joint-like establishments eventually started appearing in urban areas, the honky-tonk was born. During their heyday, honky-tonks were set apart from similar establishments. In addition to being known as watering holes for working-class patrons, most also featured some form of live music and dancing. Many also had a reputation for being hubs of prostitution.

The origin of the term honky-tonk is a matter of some dispute. Sources offer different explanations of how and where it arose. The earliest known use of the word was in an 1889 petition printed in a Fort Worth, Texas, newspaper. In the petition, which called for the reopening of a local establishment described as a theater, honky-tonk was capitalized. As such, it seems likely that honky-tonk was simply the name of the establishment in question. A few years later, in 1894, the word honky-tonk appeared in Oklahoma, though it was not used in reference to a bar or theater. Rather, some historians suggest that the term may first have been used to describe the cattle drive trails cowboys traveled while transporting herds of cattle to market. The term was later applied to the bars they frequently visited while in town. Yet another explanation of where the word came from is tied to the name of a once popular piano manufacturer. Starting in the late 1880s, William Tonk & Bros. made many of the pianos that were a common fixture in the establishments that eventually became known as honky-tonks.

Much as there is a lack of consensus over the origins of the term, there is also some debate over the question of where the first honky-tonk establishments appeared. The only thing that most historians agree on is that the first honky-tonks were probably located in Texas and surrounding states. The simple rule of thumb was that honky-tonks were most likely to appear wherever cowboys could be found. By the late nineteenth century, honky-tonks were common in many midwestern cow towns and other parts of the country.

Overview

The use of the term honky-tonk to describe a form of music dates back to the early twentieth century. It was then that the name was given to a piano-playing style similar to ragtime but with more emphasis on rhythm than melody or harmony. It came to be known as honky-tonk because it was typically performed in loud and rowdy honky-tonk bars. Further, its distinct sound was, in part, owed to the fact it was usually played on the poorly maintained, often out-of-tune pianos commonly found in such establishments. Although it eventually faded away, this initial form of honky-tonk clearly influenced the boogie-woogie piano style, the blues, and even early rock and roll.

In the midst of World War II in the 1940s, a new form of honky-tonk music began to emerge in bars and saloons around the Texas and Oklahoma oil fields. An offshoot of traditional country music, the new honky-tonk was known for its trademark steel guitar and piercing vocals. These distinct features arose out of the practical necessity of producing a sound loud enough to be heard over the raucous crowds that typically populated honky-tonk bars. Lyrically, honky-tonk eschewed traditional country music’s rural, family-friendly, and often religious overtones in favor of a considerably less sanitized focus on the seedier reality of urban life. More than a few honky-tonk songs are heartbreaking laments about losing a woman and seeking solace in alcohol.

Honky-tonk took off quickly in the 1940s and reached its height in the first half of the 1950s. The genre’s first major star was Ernest Tubb, a honky-tonk pioneer who had hits with popular songs like “Walking the Floor Over You” and “Waltz Across Texas.” Tubb was soon followed by Hank Williams, a country music legend who was unquestionably the biggest name in the history of honky-tonk. Often referred to as “Hillbilly Shakespeare” for his lyrical prowess, Williams defined the genre’s sound with favorites like “Honky Tonkin’” and “Your Cheatin’ Heart.” Other notable honky-tonk artists included Lefty Frizzell, George Jones, and Webb Pierce.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, honky-tonk was all but entirely supplanted by Nashville’s emergent country-pop sound. The distinct instrumentation choices and mature lyrical themes that defined honky-tonk quickly became passé in an era when pop orchestration, love songs, and gentle strings were the rage. Still, honky-tonk never fully disappeared. Artists like Merle Haggard, Dwight Yoakam, and Willie Nelson worked to keep the authenticity honky-tonk brought to country music alive for years to come. Thanks to such efforts, the influence of honky-tonk on country music continues to be felt even many decades after it first rose to popularity.

Bibliography

“Discover the Best Honky Tonk Music: A Must-Read for Country Music Lovers!” Yellowbrick, 14 Aug. 2023, www.yellowbrick.co/blog/music/discover-the-best-honky-tonk-music-a-must-read-for-country-music-lovers. Accessed 2 Jan. 2025.

Garcia, Jon. “3 Things to Know about the History of Honky-Tonks.” Tennessean, 16 Sept. 2019, www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/country-mile/2019/09/13/honky-tonk-music-history/2291285001. Accessed 2 Jan. 2025.

“The History of the Honky Tonk.” Grizzly Rose, 12 Nov. 2015, grizzlyrose.com/the-history-of-the-honky-tonk. Accessed 2 Jan. 2025.

“Honky Tonk.” AllMusic, www.allmusic.com/style/honky-tonk-ma0000002648. Accessed 2 Jan. 2025.

“Honky-Tonk.” PBS, www.pbs.org/kenburns/country-music/honky-tonk-branches-of-country-music. Accessed 2 Jan. 2025.

“The Sound.” WNPT, www.wnpt.org/country-music/sound/country-genres. Accessed 2 Jan. 2025.

Stecker, Liv. “Top 10 Honky-Tonk Songs in Country Music.” The Boot, 19 Aug. 2020, theboot.com/country-honky-tonk-songs. Accessed 2 Jan. 2025.

“What Is a Honky-Tonk?” Grand Ole Opry, 15 Aug. 2019, www.opry.com/story/what-is-a-honky-tonk. Accessed 2 Jan. 2025.