<P> The term country music is used today to describe many styles and subgenres . The origins of country music are the folk music of working class Americans, who blended popular songs, Irish and Celtic fiddle tunes, traditional English ballads, and cowboy songs, and various musical traditions from European immigrant communities . </P> <P> Immigrants to the southern Appalachian Mountains of eastern North America brought the music and instruments of Europe along with them for nearly 300 years . Country music was "introduced to the world as a Southern phenomenon ." </P> <P> The U.S. Congress has formally recognized Bristol, Tennessee as the "Birthplace of Country Music", based on the historic Bristol recording sessions of 1927 . Since 2014, the city has been home to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum . Historians have also noted the influence of the less - known Johnson City sessions of 1928 and 1929, and the Knoxville sessions of 1929 and 1930 . In addition, the Mountain City Fiddlers Convention, held in 1925, helped to inspire modern country music . Before these, pioneer settlers, in the Great Smoky Mountains region, had developed a rich musical heritage . </P> <P> The first generation emerged in the early 1920s, with Atlanta's music scene playing a major role in launching country's earliest recording artists . New York City record label Okeh Records began issuing hillbilly music records by Fiddlin' John Carson as early as 1923, followed by Columbia Records (series 15000D "Old Familiar Tunes") (Samantha Bumgarner) in 1924, and RCA Victor Records in 1927 with the first famous pioneers of the genre Jimmie Rodgers) and the first family of country music The Carter Family . Many "hillbilly" musicians, such as Cliff Carlisle, recorded blues songs throughout the 1920s . </P>

Where did the first country music recording session take place