‘MTSU On the Record’ features music-loving Fulbright history scholar

A visiting Fulbright scholar from Japan with a talent for country music was the guest on a recent “MTSU On the Record” radio program.

Mari Nagatomi

Host Gina Logue’s interview with history major Mari Nagatomi first aired Sept. 26 on WMOT-FM/Roots Radio 89.5 and www.wmot.org. You can listen to their conversation below.

The 37-year-old doctoral student from Kyoto’s Doshisha University comes by her interest in the American music genre through her 75-year-old father, who has been performing country music in Japan for more than 50 years. In fact, her dissertation topic is related to her art.

“It’s about country music’s trans-Pacific circulation from the 1930s to the mid-1970s,” said Nagatomi. “It was very popular until the late 1950s, I would say, and the sharp decline of country music popularity in Japan occurred in the mid-1970s.”

The program also includes Nagatomi’s rendition of “Close Up the Honky Tonks,” which was written by Red Simpson.

To hear previous “MTSU On the Record” programs, visit the searchable “Audio Clips” archives at www.mtsunews.com.

For more information about “MTSU On the Record,” contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.