Bakersfield Music

Much of Bakersfield culture could be defined through their contributions in the realm of music. The most famous contribution is the “Bakersfield Sound”, a country music style that was originated by 1950's and 1960's Bakersfield musicians like Bill Woods, Tommy Collins, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and Wynn Stewart. The Bakersfield Sound is thought of as related to the Texas honky-tonk style, and is characterized by strong vocals, Fender Telecaster electric guitars, and pedal steel guitars. Up until today, Bakersfield is widely known for its country music.

That is not to say that Bakersfield music is limited to country – the Bakersfield Sound was incorporated into the 1977 Rolling Stones song “Faraway Eyes”. In the 1980's, the American punk rock band NOFX (pronounced “No F-X”) was said to have been originally formed in Bakersfield as well. The international phenomenon that is Korn also started out in Bakersfield, and they revolutionized the nu metal sound by incorporating funk and hip-hop into their music.

Gospel music is also part of the Bakersfield music legacy – in 1974, the Lighthouse Boys inspired an upsurge of Christian musicians to step up to the plate. These musicians included the Christian rap artist Royal Ruckus.