TBT: How Henry Ford Helped Give Rise to Country Music

Sep 14, 2023
<2 MIN READ
Henry Ford and wife Clara Ford dance in this undated photo. His interest in country music originated in the 1880s with his love of dance and fiddle music. Click to Enlarge

Henry Ford and wife Clara Ford dance in this undated photo. His interest in country music originated in the 1880s with his love of dance and fiddle music.

Watching some of country music’s biggest artists perform at the reveal event for the new 2024 Ford F-150 this week may have served as a reminder of the company’s long relationship with country music, which dates back to the Blue Oval’s early years.

Researchers and historians have said a link can be found between the rise of early recorded country music and Ford’s marketing of automobiles that were affordable for the average worker. That resulted in many artists driving Ford vehicles to travel from gig to gig.

Henry Ford’s interest in country music originated in the 1880s with his love of dance and fiddle music, which was rooted in his affinity for the working class and his belief that folk dance and music represented the moral fiber of America. He was also known to use his Stradivarius violin to belt out country fiddle tunes rather than staid classics. 

Henry Ford was known to play fiddle music on his violin and went on to organize fiddling contests around the country. Photo courtesy of The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. Click to Enlarge

Henry Ford was known to play fiddle music on his violin and went on to organize fiddling contests around the country. Photo courtesy of The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation.

Henry Ford was known to play fiddle music on his violin and went on to organize fiddling contests around the country. Photo courtesy of The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation.

Ford was promoting country music nationally as early as the 1920s, when organizing fiddling contests – including the Henry Ford Gold Cup – around the country. (The winner of one contest, in his 70s, subsequently went on to launch a successful fiddling career based on that success.) He even had dance instructors brought in to teach country dance to friends and employees. Ford also sought to record (on paper) the music and dance steps of country music of the 1920s, which had traditionally gone unwritten.  

Ford was so ingrained in early country music that the artist credited with recording the first country song ever, “Little Old Long Cabin in the Lane” by Fiddlin’ John Carson, was pictured with his daughter in front of a Ford Model A. He and another foundational country artist were known to use their early Fords to travel for shows. Carson traveled to shows in a 1913 Ford, while Uncle Jimmy Thompson outfitted his Model T as a camper for life on the road. 

Early country music artists drove their Ford vehicles to travel from show to show, as mentioned in this 2001 Ford Trucks advertisement. Click to Enlarge

Early country music artists drove their Ford vehicles to travel from show to show, as mentioned in this 2001 Ford Trucks advertisement.

Early country music artists drove their Ford vehicles to travel from show to show, as mentioned in this 2001 Ford Trucks advertisement.

Henry Ford even hosted a half-hour radio program called “Early American Dance Music” in the 1940s. The show, which featured dance instructor Benjamin Lovett calling dances played by the Ford Early American Orchestra, was broadcast from the company’s recording studio located in the Engineering Laboratory. 

Ford made a $4 million donation to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in 2001 for the creation of Ford Theater, a 200-plus-seat performing arts center. Click to Enlarge

Ford made a $4 million donation to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in 2001 for the creation of Ford Theater, a 200-plus-seat performing arts center.

Ford made a $4 million donation to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in 2001 for the creation of Ford Theater, a 200-plus-seat performing arts center.

When it came time to relocate the shrine for all of the genre’s greatest artists, Ford Motor Company donated $4 million and partnered with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in 2001 to create Ford Theater, a 200-plus-seat performing arts center within the new facility. The theater opened with a private concert for F-Series owners. 
 

“I don’t think it’s an accident that Ford trucks have a great appeal to country music fans and vice versa. Country music played a big part in shaping Henry Ford’s spirit and Ford Motor Company is a reflection of that spirit.”

– then-Ford Division Truck/SUV Group Marketing Manager Al Giombetti

 

One of those hall of famers, Alan Jackson, partnered with Ford in the late 1990s, years after working as a salesperson at a Ford dealership in Georgia. Jackson’s family was well-acquainted with Ford, as his father was a Ford retiree after having worked 25 years at the Ford assembly plant in Atlanta.  

When Ford turned 100 in 2003, country music star Toby Keith, a third-generation F-Series owner turned brand spokesperson whose concerts Ford sponsored, was one of the headlining acts during an elaborate centennial celebration at World Headquarters. Ford continued that tradition more recently, as big-name country music artists played at F-150 Fest in Detroit where the new 2024 Ford F-150 was revealed.