Everything's political nowadays. It may soon come to pass that Columbus Day will be replaced with Indigenous Peoples Day. That makes us—residents of Columbus—wonder if the capital of Ohio will soon too be known as Indigenous Peoples instead.
In all seriousness however, few people know very much about Columbus except that Ohio State University resides there. Few were aware that the capital is actually the largest city in the state. Cleveland and Cincinnati tend to get more attention thanks largely to the bolder (read: more obnoxious) personalities of their respective residents, which are mostly the result of having MLB and NFL franchises to support. Your correspondent is a native of Cincinnati, and while he embraces the city's idiosyncrasies, he can't deny that we tend to be obnoxious about it (who dey...?).
Few realize how many big-name musical acts have come from Columbus however. Check out just a few below:
Nancy Wilson
Iconic jazz vocalist was born in nearby Chillicothe, Ohio before moving to Columbus during her high school years. She was discovered on a local television contest and was soon hosting the Skyline Melodies. She would later meet saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderly, who seemed to think New York was a better place to launch a career and-we-suppose-he-was-right. Wilson would win her first Grammy in 1964 for the single "How Glad I Am." More than 50 years later she would land two Best Jazz Vocal Album Grammys as well.
Rascal Flatts
Hopefully our brief introduction to Wilson will encourage you to check out some new music, but if you're looking for a more recognizable name, country band Rascal Flatts is one of the more successful groups that started in Columbus. This trio has been one of the most successful groups in country music during the new millennium, topping the Billboard 200 with three albums and getting the no. 1 single on the genre chart 12 times. Although the group claims to miss Mayberry, we acknowledge that Andy Griffith's hometown is in North Carolina, not Ohio.
Phil Ochs
Depending on whom you ask, every consequential folk performer lived in New York City (kind of like how most National fans think the band is from Brooklyn...not Cincinnati...whatever, we're over it). Phil Ochs, one of the more legendary performers in the '60s folk scene—due in part to his suicide at the age of 35—lived in a slew of cities throughout his youth but we'd argue that he developed his witty songwriting and politics while studying at Ohio State University. He studied journalism while at the school, a decision that we—with no bias at all—think to be an excellent one.
Dwight Yoakum
Yoakum was born south of the borden (the Mason-Dixon that is) but he soon moved to Columbus and also attended classes at Ohio State University. Oddly, when he went to Nashville, record labels decided that the Ohioan's "hillbilly" sound wasn't as marketable as the "urban cowboy" sound made popular by people, you know, actually from the south. Yoakum would take his act to Los Angeles and popularize himself with the alternative music fans by associating with punk acts such as X.
RJD2
RJD2 is probably the most recognizable of the fruitful Columbus underground hip-hop scene, an argument perhaps best proven by noting that he's released albums on both Definitive Jux and Rhymesayers (with Blueprint as Soul Position), and he's since travelled to XL. Columbus has turned out many an act who put out great music largely enjoyed by a more local audience, including Copywrite, Camu Tao, The Lab Rats and many more. But just in case you insist on only listening to mainstream rappers, you may be interested to know that...
Shad Moss
...aka Lil Bow Wow aka Bow Wow is also a Columbus native! It's tough to just call him by his real name but he's also 27 years old so we'll give it to him. Bow Wow grew up as an N.W.A. fan and previously went by the title "Kid Gangsta." Perhaps he realized that Columbus was less than the most hardcore of hometowns for hip-hop (compared to some more rough-around-the-edges locations across northern Ohio or down in Cincinnati) stars so he didn't mention it too much in his music. Then again he's also making more money starring on CSI spinoffs nowadays.
O.A.R.
The impact of an Ohio State education on the careers of Ochs and Yoakum is, admittedly, arguable. The effect of the school on O.A.R. in undeniable however: Four of the band's members grew up together in Rockville, MD yet all decided to attend OSU together, where they met saxophonist Jerry DePizzo (a native Ohioan). Trust us, it's impossible to attend O.A.R. and not have the opportunity at least 14 campus events featuring free shows from the band (slight exaggeration). O.A.R. is a part of the OSU attendance experience than at even the most hackey-sack-happy universities in the world.
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