Real country music history really starts out with Vernon Dalhart. He recorded under many names, but not only he cut the first monster hit in the genre, it sold seven million copies before it went out of print.
To hear what this great song sounded like from the old record just follow the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T06xJJth0Y&feature=list_related&playnext=1&list=AVGxdCwVVULXfKghg8bPJ_MEDd2rCsLfOY
