Arkansas in the 1940s and '50s stood at the confluence of a variety of musical styles, including traditional Delta blues, electric blues, country (namely old-time music) and the incipient genre of rhythm and blues. Helm was influenced by each of these styles, which he heard on the "Grand Ole Opry" on radio station WSM and R&B on radio station WLAC in Nashville. He also saw the last vestiges of minstrelsy and other traveling variety shows, such as F.S. Walcott's Rabbit's Foot Minstrels, which featured top Black artists of the era.