Editing Tennessee (section)

===Music===
{{main|Music of Tennessee|Music of East Tennessee}}
[[File:Ryman stage.jpg|thumb|alt=A performance of the ''Grand Ole Opry'' in Nashville|The ''[[Grand Ole Opry]]'', which was recorded in [[Nashville]]'s [[Ryman Auditorium]] from 1943 to 1974, is the longest-running [[radio broadcast]] in US history.<ref name="entertainment.howstuffworks.com" />]]

Tennessee has played a critical role in the development of many forms of American popular music, including [[blues]], [[country music|country]], [[rock and roll]], [[rockabilly]], [[soul music|soul]], [[bluegrass music|bluegrass]], [[Contemporary Christian music|Contemporary Christian]], and [[gospel music|gospel]]. Many consider Memphis's [[Beale Street]] the epicenter of the blues, with musicians such as [[W. C. Handy]] performing in its clubs as early as 1909.<ref name=huffpost/> Memphis was historically home to [[Sun Records]], where musicians such as [[Elvis Presley]], [[Johnny Cash]], [[Carl Perkins]], [[Jerry Lee Lewis]], [[Roy Orbison]], and [[Charlie Rich]] began their recording careers, and where rock and roll took shape in the 1950s.<ref name=huffpost>{{cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-mariani/memphis-unmatched-for-american-music-history_b_7973690.html |title=Memphis Unmatched for American Music History |last=Mariani |first=John |date=August 12, 2015 |work=The Huffington Post |access-date=February 21, 2018}}</ref> [[Stax Records]] in Memphis became one of the most important labels for soul artists in the late 1950s and 1960s, and a subgenre known as [[Memphis soul]] emerged.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Bowman|first=Rob|date=October 1995|journal=Popular Music|issue=3|volume=14|title=The Stax sound: a musicological analysis|pages=285–320|doi=10.1017/S0261143000007753|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|s2cid=162379706}}</ref> The [[Bristol sessions|1927 Victor recording sessions]] in [[Bristol, Tennessee|Bristol]] generally mark the beginning of the country music genre and the rise of the ''[[Grand Ole Opry]]'' in the 1930s helped make Nashville the center of the country music recording industry.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Van West |editor-first=Carroll |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6G16AAAAMAAJ|title=Tennessee History: The Land, The People, and The Culture |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |location=Knoxville, TN |pages=309–310 |year=1998 |isbn=978-1-57233-000-9|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RmyzfcRB24cC&pg=PA163 |chapter=Appalachian Music: Examining Popular Assumptions |title=A Handbook to Appalachia: An Introduction to the Region |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |location=Knoxville, TN |first1=Ted |last1=Olson |first2=Ajay |last2=Kalra |editor1-first=Grace Toney |editor1-last=Edwards |editor2-first=JoAnn Aust |editor2-last=Asbury |editor3-first=Ricky L. |editor3-last=Cox |pages=163–170 |date=2006 |isbn=978-1-57233-459-5 |via=Google Books}}</ref> Nashville became known as "Music City", and the ''Grand Ole Opry'' remains the nation's longest-running radio show.<ref name="entertainment.howstuffworks.com" />

Many museums and historic sites recognize Tennessee's role in nurturing various forms of popular music, including [[Sun Studio]], [[Memphis Rock N' Soul Museum]], [[Stax Museum of American Soul Music]], and [[Blues Hall of Fame]] in Memphis, the [[Ryman Auditorium]], [[Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum]], [[Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum]], [[National Museum of African American Music]], and [[Music Row]] in Nashville, the International Rock-A-Billy Museum in Jackson, the [[Mountain Music Museum]] in Kingsport, and the [[Birthplace of Country Music Museum]] in Bristol.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Paulson |first1=Dave |title=7 must-see Tennessee music landmarks |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2017/11/13/7-must-see-tennessee-music-landmarks-sun-studio-graceland/777716001/ |access-date=May 16, 2021 |work=The Tennessean |date=November 13, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210516190747/https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2017/11/13/7-must-see-tennessee-music-landmarks-sun-studio-graceland/777716001/ |archive-date=May 16, 2021 |location=Nashville}}</ref> The [[Rockabilly Hall of Fame]], an online site recognizing the development of rockabilly, is also based in Nashville. Several annual music festivals take place throughout the state, the largest of which are the [[Memphis in May#Beale Street Music Festival (BSMF)|Beale Street Music Festival]] in Memphis, the [[CMA Music Festival]] in Nashville, [[Bonnaroo Music Festival|Bonnaroo]] in [[Manchester, Tennessee|Manchester]], and [[Riverbend Festival|Riverbend]] in Chattanooga.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Paulson |first1=Dave |title=Tennessee's 10 best music festivals |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2017/11/13/tennessee-10-best-music-festivals-bonnaroo-cma-music-festival/772925001/ |access-date=May 16, 2021 |work=The Tennessean |date=November 13, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210516183223/https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2017/11/13/tennessee-10-best-music-festivals-bonnaroo-cma-music-festival/772925001/ |archive-date=May 16, 2021}}</ref>