It would have to be Stephen Foster. A century before Dylan or Guthrie, a man so dedicated to American music (and damaged by alcohol) that he wrote timeless songs across genre lines, and died with thirty-eight cents in his pockets.

Wow, yeah, I'm torn between Woody and Foster. Dang. I'll have to go (begrudgingly) with Foster. But Guthrie and Dylan are right up there with him.

I'm going to cast my vote for Jimmie Rodgers. While generally accepted as the Godfather of Country music, I think the case can be made that - a full decade prior to Sir Guthrie - Jimmie was combining the various fledgling American music styles into a body of work that is still relavant today. His influence is obvious on Guthrie, Dylan, Townes, Monroe, Hank, Merle, and the many others that we accept as truly Americana artists.

As a side note, I think that Guthrie is probably the father of protest music, which IMHO, makes up only a portion of Americana.

While A.P. Carter merits mention, you gotta go with Foster.

Or Hootie and the Blowfish. One or the other...

You mean it's not Jay Farrar?

I like the Stephen Foster suggestion, but I'll hang my vote on Louis Moreau Gottschalk. Half-Creole from Louisiana, and as a kid he may have been exposed to Congo Square, which is sort of the womb of American music. He deliberately drew on folk influences from a bunch of cultures all around him, along with European, South American, and Carribean influences, and I believe credited what he borrowed, synthesized without really stealing in the manner of the minstrels who commandeered Foster's music. He incorporated folk instruments like the banjo into his compositions. He was composer more than a "songwriter," and he isn't as popular as Foster now, so I don't know if he can be said to be as influential in modern Americana. But Gottschalk spoke out for abolition, which makes it easier to like him.

Foster was also involved in racial politics at the time, but at a more human level. One of his close friends and cowriters was Charles Shiras, an active and outspoken abolitionist. Foster actually wrote the first American song that depicted a slave family as loving husband and wife, "Nelly Was a Lady", and fought against the ridicule of blacks from the stage - he very much disliked blackface minstrelsy.

While Gottschalk was a fine composer, and wrote some pretty sentimental stuff, he never approached Foster's scientific study of American vernacular and culture. I have to stick by my guns here, Foster had his problems, particularly in his earlier works, but he laid the foundation for almost every popular Americana singer/songwriter since.

I can't really disagree with you Jim. Foster was the prototypical troubadour. But come on -- he's from Pittsburgh!

I'm only half joking. It's extra-textual, I know, but I think this silly sort of mantle should consider social stuff. New Orleans is where American music originates. Old Dixie takes a boatload of crap in these our culture wars, but the truth is if you like Americana music -- rocknroll, rockabilly, blues, soul, jazz, bluegrass, old-time, zydeco, country music or any combination or variation of the above, you owe it to the South. Gottschalk was Foster's contemporary, but growing up he was actually steeped in the, if you don't mind, amniotic fluid of Americana music.

First off, I find this fascinating! Brendan, thanks for bringing up Gottschalk, as I'd never heard of him. I'm going to have to spend some serious Wikipedia time on him later.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Moreau_Gottschalk

However, that being said... if we had to pick the Father of Americana, I'm definitely on board with Foster. I would need at least three hands to count the number of Foster songs I sang or learned to play as a kid, but I don't think I know any Gottshalk songs.

I'm with you on the Southern thing, though, although not the "amniotic fluid" metaphor. Eww. (Heh!)

I think Foster's "Yankeeness" gave him a valuable perspective - and made his music more universal in its appeal. As a Southerner myself (GOD my kin have been down there a long time!) I agree that a lot of musical styles originated there - but it took Steven Foster's genius to meld them together. And in such a short time! The guy died at 37, for chrissake, and we're still singing dozens and dozens of his songs.

Yeah all right, I give. Now but what about the Mother of Americana? (This all feels very silly.)

I'd go straight to Ma Rainey.

Mother Maybelle Carter!

Betsy Ross!

On a more serious note, thanks for your comments. I admit to overlooking Foster, although I think "The Grandfather of Americana" might be a more apt title leaving "The Father of Americana" open and up for debate.

Then Stephen Foster would be the Great Grandfather, and we can argue lineage from there.

So, Grandfather might be Pee Wee King(he was the first to bring drums to the Opry, among many other innovations and experiments that led eventually to Rockabilly and Americana) and Father could be Hank Williams Senior, because he was the first to explore an emotional side of men that previously was just not included in American music. And is now to the point where guys cry openly at weddings and need to take "spa days" when things get tough.

Speaking of which, I could use a good cucumber milk bath right now.

Great post Jim (except for the cucumber milk bath reference, which hopefully isn't connected to the "how do you post images" question)!

Yeah, well, I'm still enough of a hillbilly to go in wearing my long johns, with a jug handy.