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Alternative Country

Like its cousin alternative rock, Alternative Country exists outside of the mainstream -- in this case, Nashville. Taking its cue from "outlaw country" and progressive country, Alternative Country strips country to the basics and then subverts it, both musically and lyrically. The music is hardcore country, and whatever traditional country merely suggests, Alternative Country spells it out explicitly. It is the work of mavericks and outsiders, not conformists, and as such it covers many... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Emmylou Harris | Alejandro Escovedo | Steve Earle | The Flatlanders | Junior Brown | Richard Buckner | Freakwater | Guy Clark | Uncle Tupelo | Golden Smog | The Bottle Rockets | Lucinda Williams | The Jayhawks | Lyle Lovett | The Palace Brothers
Contemporary Country

Contemporary Country is the mainstream country and country-pop that evolved after the slick country-pop of the Urban Cowboy movement in the early '80s. At the outset, Contemporary Country incorporated subtle pop production techniques, such as synthesizers, and it often sounded slick and polished. At times, the country roots of contemporary country were fairly well-hidden beneath pop trappings, but new traditionalists like George Strait and Randy Travis began returning country to its honky... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Keith Whitley | Sweethearts of the Rodeo | Lorrie Morgan | Reba McEntire | George Strait | Tracy Lawrence | Dixie Chicks | Little Texas | Travis Tritt | Dwight Yoakam | Randy Travis | The Mavericks | Pam Tillis | Trisha Yearwood | Steve Earle
Country-Pop

Country-Pop is country music that has country instrumentation and song structures yet emphasizes pop melodies and lush, orchestrated production, in order to win a larger audience. The most familiar and popular form of country-pop was the Nashville Sound, which later metamorphisized into Countrypolitain. The Nashville Sound emerged in the '50s as a way to bring country music to a broad pop audience. The movement was led by Chet Atkins, who was the head of RCA Records country division. Atkins... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Willie Nelson | Tammy Wynette | Eddie Rabbitt | Ray Price | Lynn Anderson | Roger Miller | The Oak Ridge Boys | Marty Robbins | Juice Newton | Don Williams | Anne Murray | George Morgan | Charlie Rich | Dolly Parton | Jim Reeves
Folk/Country Rock

Folk-Rock and Country-Rock attempt to fuse the direct, honest style of traditional American music with the power, energy and melodicism of rock & roll. Folk-Rock emerged during the mid-'60s, as such groups as the Byrds attempted to play Bob Dylan songs as if they were Beatles songs. Their signature sound -- chiming electric guitars and sweet, clear vocal harmonies -- became the template for folk-rock. As the '60s drew to a close, more folk-rock groups emphasized the acoustic origins of folk... [+] Read More

Key Artists: The Byrds | Crosby, Stills & Nash | The Lovin' Spoonful | Emmylou Harris | Grateful Dead | The Mamas & the Papas | The Flying Burrito Brothers | Poco | Janis Ian | John Prine | Joni Mitchell | Pure Prairie League | Gram Parsons | Laura Nyro | Bob Dylan
Honky Tonk

For many listeners, Honky Tonk is the most familiar style in country music. It's spare and direct, driven acoustic guitars, steel guitars, fiddles, and a high, lonesome vocal. Ernest Tubb was the first honky tonk musician to popularize the genre, but Hank Williams, George Jones, and Lefty Frizzell became the definitive artists in the '50s. As the genre aged, it essentially remained the same, but there was one notable permutation of Honky Tonk: the Bakersfield Sound. Bakersfield was the first... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Dwight Yoakam | Carl Smith | Merle Haggard | Ray Price | Hank Locklin | Lefty Frizzell | George Jones | Hank Thompson | Hawkshaw Hawkins | Faron Young | Johnny Horton | Buck Owens | Dick Curless | Ernest Tubb | Red Foley
Progressive Country

Progressive country developed in the late '60s as a reaction to the increasingly polished and pop-oriented sound of mainstream, Nashville-based country. Inspired equally by the spare, twangy, hard-driving sound of Bakersfield country, the singer-songwriter introspection of Bob Dylan, classic honky tonk and rock & roll, progressive country was the first anti-Nashville movement to emerge since the dawn of rock & roll. Progressive country was rootsier and more intellectual than many of its... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Jimmie Dale Gilmore | Mickey Newbury | Willie Nelson | Iris DeMent | Kathy Mattea | The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band | Johnny Paycheck | Emmylou Harris | Butch Hancock | Nanci Griffith | David Allan Coe | Charlie Rich | Kris Kristofferson | Waylon Jennings | Tom T. Hall
Traditional Country

Traditional Country is a nebulous term -- it can refer to anything from Roy Acuff's simple songs to the electrified honky tonk of Johnny Paycheck -- but the name does evoke a specific sound, namely the long-standing tradition of simple country songs delivered with simple instrumentation and a distinct twang. The era of Traditional Country didn't begin until the early '30s, when Jimmie Rodgers became the first national country music star. Rodgers brought the formerly rural music into the... [+] Read More

Key Artists: George Jones | Charlie Rich | The Sons of the Pioneers | Marty Robbins | Johnny Horton | Hank Thompson | Waylon Jennings | Merle Haggard | Roy Rogers | Ray Price | Buck Owens | Hank Snow | The Louvin Brothers | Jimmie Rodgers | Tex Ritter
Western Swing

Western swing was the most eclectic form of country music and in its free-wheeling diversity, it set the stage for rock & roll. Based in tradtional string band music, western swing also incorporated traditional pop melodies, jazz improvisation, blues and folk, creating a wildly entertaining and eclectic form of American music. Bob Wills and Milton Brown popularized the genre in the '30s and Wills became known as the father of the genre, since he remained popular for several decades, during... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Asleep at the Wheel | Johnnie Lee Wills | Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys | Hank Thompson | Cliff Bruner | Milton Brown | Spade Cooley
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