By Kurt B. Reighley
Special to MSN Music

The Great Depression was responsible for many things, most of them rotten. But believe it or not, you can draw a straight line from the bleak realm of "The Grapes of Wrath" to the glitz of the Academy of Country Music Awards. Oh, sure, the noble Okies of the Joad clan might have looked a bit out of place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, but they are part of the ACM in spirit.

It was the collapse of the American economy after the Wall Street stock-market crash of 1929, coupled with the dust bowl that devastated the Great Plains, that drove destitute families from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and other Southern and Midwestern states to settle in and around Bakersfield, Calif. These newcomers brought with them the regional sounds of western swing — as epitomized by Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys — and barroom ballads. The fertile soil of this region, 100 miles north of Los Angeles, not only gave rise to new lives for migrants but also a whole new strain of country music.

In the late '50s and early '60s, country music out of Nashville, Tenn., had become increasingly slick and polished, featuring lush string arrangements and vocal choruses. But out West, a more roots-oriented strain of the genre was rising fast. Distinguished by crying steel guitars, the stabbing sound of the Fender Telecaster, fiddles (not violins) and a backbeat that hewed closer to rock 'n' roll, the Bakersfield sound gave rise to a new crop of country stars. Starting with "Act Naturally" in 1963, Buck Owens charted 19 No. 1 C & W singles in the 1960s, while his former bassist Merle Haggard won fame with chart-toppers such as "Sing Me Back Home" and "Mama Tried."

The Bakersfield music community boasted a small-town feel (both Haggard and Owens were married to, and recorded with, Bonnie Owens), and the ACM grew out of this. Originally founded in 1964, the organization was called the Country & Western Music Academy and its goal was to promote country music in the 13 Western states. Owens and Haggard were early members, as were Glen Campbell, Roger Miller and Wynn Stewart.

In 1965 the academy held its first awards ceremony, with top honors going to Buck, Bonnie and Merle; the event was later broadcast on TV as part of one of the final episodes of the popular  "Jimmy Dean Show." This was the first awards show hosted by a major organization, an attempt to make the public more aware of country music.

Reflecting its maverick status, the ACM Awards have long focused on honoring both rising stars and those with proven longevity: One of its highest honors is the Artist of the Decade Award, bestowed on legends such as Marty Robbins and Loretta Lynn.

Just as country music has evolved from its humble roots into a culture more reflective of contemporary celebrity worship and showbiz spectacle, so, too, has the ACM and its awards ceremony. In 1970, the academy changed its moniker to the Academy of Country Music (to avoid being mistaken for a music school). Two years later, the awards were broadcast nationally on ABC, and in 1974, the show joined forces with superstar producer Dick Clark.

After 37 years in California, hosted at venues including Knott's Berry Farm, Disneyland and Universal Amphitheatre, the show relocated to Las Vegas in 2003. That same year, the classic ACM trophy statuette got a makeover, too, from a cowboy hat festooned with a guitar neck and microphone to something more akin to a galvanized cologne decanter. But the spirit of the original ACM and its awards remain unchanged, championing country music as a nationwide phenomenon.