Aaron Tippin was part of the commercial explosion of new traditionalist country in the early '90s, making his name with a mixture of macho, rowdy honky tonkers, sentimental ballads, and patriotic working-man's anthems. Tippin was born in Pensacola, FL, in 1958 and grew up mostly on a family farm near Greer, SC, where he first started singing to... [+] Read More

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Bill Kirchen is best known for his work in the '70s with the rebel band Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen. Leading the way, this gang of rock & roll honky tonkers cut a wide path through country and rock, creating an intersection where both could meet and meld together their many guises effortlessly.

Bill Kirchen was a... [+] Read More

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Comprised of a trio of seasoned professional musicians, Blackhawk became one of the most successful new country groups of the mid-'90s, scoring a string of Top Ten hits from their first two albums. Featuring Henry Paul (lead vocals, mandolin), Van Stephenson (guitar, vocals), and Dave Robbins (keyboards, vocals), the band formed in the early... [+] Read More

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Carlene Carter has always straddled the line between country and rock. Beginning her career as a rock singer in the mid-'70s, she became immersed in the new wave in the late '70s, before emerging as a new country singer in the late '80s, Throughout it all, her music has always infused roots music -- whether country or rock & roll -- with a... [+] Read More

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Chris Isaak clearly loves the reverb-laden rockabilly and country of Sun Studios. In particular, he transfers the sweeping melancholy of Roy Orbison's classic Monument singles ("Crying," "Oh, Pretty Woman," "In Dreams") to the more stripped-down, rootsy sound of Sun. His stylized take on '50s and '60s rock & roll eventually made him into a star... [+] Read More

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The Dixie Chicks rose from relative obscurity in 1998 to become one of the most popular acts in contemporary country music. Their origins date back nearly a decade earlier, to 1989, when fiddler Martie Seidel and her banjo-playing sister Emily Erwin formed the group in Dallas with bassist Laura Lynch and guitarist Robin Lynn Macy; after getting... [+] Read More

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With his stripped-down approach to traditional honky tonk and Bakersfield country, Dwight Yoakam helped return country music to its roots in the late '80s. Like his idols Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and Hank Williams, Yoakam never played by Nashville's rules; consequently, he never dominated the charts like his contemporary Randy Travis. Then... [+] Read More

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Mark Blacknell is a singer songwriter currently living on Kibbutz Senir, northern Israel. For over a decade he has been working with a variety of musicians worldwide to create, record and perform original songs. He's one of those hard living, road musicians who are appreciated everywhere he goes but hasn't stayed in one place long enough to be... [+] Read More

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As the leader of the seminal pub rockers Brinsley Schwarz, a producer, and a solo artist, Nick Lowe held considerable influence over the development of punk rock. With the Brinsleys, Lowe began a back-to-basics movement that flowered into punk rock in the late '70s. As the house producer for Stiff, he recorded many seminal records by the likes... [+] Read More

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In the strictest sense, Steve Earle isn't a country artist, he's a roots rocker. Earle emerged in the mid-'80s, after Bruce Springsteen had popularized populist rock & roll and Dwight Yoakam had kick-started the neo-traditionalist movement in country music. At first, Earle appeared to be more toward the rock side than country. He played... [+] Read More

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Led by singer/guitarist Tommy Malone and accordionist John Magnie, the Subdudes draw most of their inspiration from the sounds of their native New Orleans, blending blues, gospel, funk, and R&B with their own harmony vocals; their sound is also notable for the band's substitution of a tambourine player for a drummer. The band came together after... [+] Read More

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