August 1927, downtown Bristol hosted two weeks of recording sessions for the Victor Recording Company. The music recorded in those two weeks influenced generations of country, bluegrass, gospel, and rock and roll musicians. In Bristol, Victor talent scout Ralph Peer discovered Jimmie Rodgers, the Carter Family, and Ernest "Pop" Stoneman. These recordings, now known as the "Bristol Sessions," have been heralded by scholars as "The Big Bang of Country Music," and by musicians like Johnny Cash as "the most important event in the history of country music."