Buck Owens, along with Merle Haggard, was the leader of the Bakersfield sound, a twangy, electricified, rock-influenced interpretation of hardcore honky tonk that emerged in the '60s. Owens was the first bona fide country star to emerge from Bakersfield, scoring a total of 15 consecutive number one hits in the mid-'60s. In the process, he... [+] Read More

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With his laid-back, straightforward vocals and large, imposing build, Don Williams came to be known as "the Gentle Giant." That nickname was bestowed on him in the early '70s, when he began a string of countrypolitan hits that ran into the early '90s. Williams was never known as an innovator, but his ballads were immensely popular; in the course... [+] Read More

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The Candy Kid -- as George Morgan was known after his first hit "Candy Kisses" spent three weeks at the top of the country chart -- was a grand country crooner in the tradition of Eddy Arnold, whom he replaced on the Grand Old Opry in 1948. Born in Waverly, TN, on June 28, 1924, Morgan and his family moved to Ohio not long after. He grew up... [+] Read More

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Hank Locklin (born Lawrence Hankins Locklin), one of country music's great tenors, was born February 15, 1918, in the small town of McLellan, located in the lumbering district of the Florida Panhandle. The youngest son of four children, he went to a one-room schoolhouse and was musical even as a young child. Locklin was injured at the age of... [+] Read More

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Gentleman Jim Reeves was perhaps the biggest male star to emerge from the Nashville sound. His mellow baritone voice and muted velvet orchestration combined to create a sound that echoed around his world and has lasted to this day. Detractors will call the sound country-pop (or plain pop), but none can argue against the large audience that loves... [+] Read More

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Although he is better-remembered for his historical songs, Johnny Horton was one of the best and most popular honky tonk singers of the late '50s. Horton managed to infuse honky tonk with an urgent rockabilly underpinning. His career may have been cut short by a fatal car crash in 1960, but his music reverberated throughout the next three... [+] Read More

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Singer/songwriter Leroy Van Dyke was best known for penning the country novelty standard "The Auctioneer" and the country-pop smash "Walk on By," his biggest hit. Born in Missouri, Van Dyke originally wanted to be a farmer. He earned a degree in agriculture and journalism at the University of Missouri, where he first began playing guitar. His... [+] Read More

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No artist in the history of country music has had a more stylistically diverse career than Marty Robbins. Never content to remain just a country singer, Robbins performed successfully in a dazzling array of styles during more than 30 years in the business. To his credit, Robbins rarely followed trends but often took off in directions that... [+] Read More

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Ray Price has covered -- and kicked up -- as much musical turf as any country singer of the postwar era. He's been lionized as the man who saved hard country when Nashville went pop, and vilified as the man who went pop when hard country was starting to call its own name with pride. Actually, he was -- and still is -- no more than a musically... [+] Read More

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Best known for her breathy, little-girl singing voice, Sue Thompson had several novelty pop hits in the early '60s before reinventing herself as a more mature country singer in the mid-'70s. Thompson was born Eva Sue McKee in Nevada, MO, in 1925 and was singing cowgirl songs and playing guitar on-stage by the age of seven. After her family moved... [+] Read More

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