Music of East Tennessee

[9][10] To help celebrate this heritage, Townsend, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and other locations in the Great Smoky Mountains, host annual festivals, some of which feature folk and bluegrass music.

[12][13] The Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, in Townsend, also helps to preserve this pioneer cultural history.

Pioneering fiddler G. B. Grayson won first prize for his rendering of the folk song, "Cumberland Gap", besting rivals Ambrose G. "Uncle Am" Stuart, Charlie Bowman, and Fiddlin' John Carson.

Her theme park, Dollywood (located in nearby Pigeon Forge), features live music performances, and is home to the Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame.

Please Come to Boston, recorded and written in 1974 by Dave Loggins, has been covered by many artists, including David Allan Coe and Joan Baez.

First recorded and introduced on the television series Disneyland in 1954, it has been covered by a number of artists, most notably Tennessee Ernie Ford.

[31] In addition to his renowned frontier exploits and military service, Crockett served East Tennessee as a state legislator and Congressman.

Country artist Ray Stevens also included a song named "Ruby Falls" on his 2011 album, Bozos's Back Again.

[37] Country superstar Kenny Chesney, (originally from Luttrell), has described scenery from his East Tennessee youth in many of his songs, especially I Go Back.

Chesney also includes imagery from the area in songs such as Back Where I Come From, (performed at many of his concerts),[38] and The Boys of Fall,[39] as well as "Touchdown, Tennessee", a limited-edition single, which was released in 1998.

The four-day event has featured headliners such as Doc Watson, Ralph Stanley, Mac Wiseman, Janette Carter, and Rhonda Vincent.

[49] The program includes faculty members who have worked with major recording artists, such as Kenny Chesney (an ETSU alumnus).

[50][51] Artists from East Tennessee, such as Dolly Parton, Kenny Chesney, Rodney Atkins, Morgan Wallen and Ashley Monroe, continue to help define the country music industry.