Country Music
Country music is a popular musical genre that originated in the 1930s, drawing influences from honky-tonk, western, and western swing. Characterized by straightforward chord progressions, emotional storytelling lyrics, and strong choruses, country music often reflects themes of love, heartbreak, and life experiences. Its roots can be traced back to Western music, which featured tales of cowboys and outlaws, and gained traction alongside Western films. Over the decades, country music has evolved significantly; the development of honky-tonk and western swing in the mid-20th century led to the emergence of Nashville as a major production center for the genre.
The 1960s introduced the outlaw country movement, blending traditional sounds with a rebellious edge, while country rock emerged by fusing country elements with rock and roll. By the 1980s and 1990s, artists like Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood, and Taylor Swift began incorporating pop influences, broadening the genre's appeal. Today, country music is a diverse and thriving industry, enjoyed by millions in the United States and increasingly gaining popularity worldwide, contributing to its status as a billion-dollar genre.
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Country Music
Country music is a musical genre that originated out of 1930s honky-tonk, western, and western swing. It commonly features a simple, easy-to-follow chord progression, a strong, emphatic chorus, and emotional lyrics. Country music is also known for telling a story throughout the course of the song.
Country music is an immensely popular genre in the United States. In 2018, 51 percent of American adults over eighteen—129 million people— listened to country music, according to the Country Music Association in 2021. More than four thousand radio stations across the United States primarily play country music. The genre is also steadily gaining popularity outside the United States.
Background
Country music's major influences can be traced back to Western music, a genre that first appeared in the 1930s. Western music was characterized by lyrics about cowboys, gunfights, and outlaws. It also featured a slow beat, often compared to the clip-clop noise made by the walking of a horse. Its popularity rose alongside Western movies and serials, which depicted a life in the lawless Wild West. Many cowboy-themed musical acts, including Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, became extremely successful during this period. Producers realized how well Western music was selling and began to have their actors dress in cowboy-styled clothing and adjust their musical themes to fit the new trend.
Soon after the success of Western music, the genre Western swing began to take hold. Unlike Western music, Western swing was played in large community halls and was used as dance music. In order to be heard over the crowds, Western swing musicians adopted electrically amplified instruments like the steel guitar. The music itself was a blend of popular Western music and swing-jazz.
Western swing coincided with a genre called honky-tonk, which first emerged in Texas in the 1940s. Honky-tonk songs were often slow and emotional, focusing on subjects such as heartbreak and loneliness. Honky-tonk bands used many of the same instruments as Western swing bands.
Country Music
Modern country music originated out of Bristol, Tennessee. At the time, the high-profile music scene was based out of New York City. If musicians wanted to record their music with a major record label, they almost certainly had to travel to New York City. A representative of Victor Records soon traveled to Bristol, Tennessee, to challenge this. He recruited the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers, country-style acts, to his record label. These acts quickly became national successes, laying the groundwork for Tennessee to become a major music production city.
This success began to dissipate in the 1950s. Nashville record companies were being outsold by rock-and-roll artists in New York City. Nashville producers quickly began to craft a new style of country, targeted toward untapped audiences. These adults did not buy traditional Western swing or honky-tonk records but were not fans of rock and roll. This new country genre involved fewer traditional instruments, primarily cutting out fiddles and banjos. It also moved toward singers with more traditional, clean-sounding voices. The movement was a financial success, and country labels significantly increased their profits.
Unfortunately, the movement alienated some original country fans. Several country artists in the 1960s strove to combine the classic honky-tonk, country sound with a rebellion against the mainstream style pushed by the Nashville record agency. Several of these artists, including Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash, quickly became country legends. Over time, the musical style they pioneered came to be called outlaw country.
The rise of outlaw country coincided with the rise of country rock. Country rock was pioneered by artists who wanted to get away from the mainstream country sound by blending it with 1960s' rock and roll. Some of its most successful artists included Bob Dylan and The Byrds. Country rock continued to develop through the seventies, adopting electric guitars and a variety of other rock accompaniments. Grammy award-winning artist Neil Young is often considered representative of 1970s country rock. His work maintains the lyrical themes of early country, including storytelling and emotional songwriting, while blending the musical styles of classic country with 1970s rock.
During the 1980s, country music continued to evolve. During this era, many country artists moved away from rock and toward pop's influence. By utilizing pop music's most infectious and influential elements, as well as pop-styled stage shows, artists like Dolly Parton reached a staggering level of mainstream success. She began performing in the mid-1950s, and made her debut at the Grand Ole' Opry in Nashville at the end of the decade. In 1966 she and her uncle, Bill Owens, had founded their own music publishing company, Owe-Par Publishing. Her career took off when fellow country musician Porter Wagoner allowed her to star on his television show in 1967, which led to a partnership with RCA records that year 1967. Before 1974, Dolly had scored more than fourteen top ten hits on the music billboards. By 2021, she had twenty-five number one hits, had sold more than 100 million records, and had a net worth of some $650 million.
This new, mainstream direction for country music continued for decades. In the 1990s, musicians like Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift rose to fame. Both blended contemporary 1990s pop with the western aesthetic and musical styling of classic country. They received a great deal of mainstream media attention and were actively played on the radio. In the 2000s, country pop stars Jason Aldean and Miranda Lambert rose to fame. The country music scene also saw a resurgence of outlaw country acts that incorporated more rock and less pop into the music.
Since its early days, country music has steadily grown in popularity. It has become a diverse genre, with classical country, country pop, and country rock all represented by modern artists. Historically, country music has been a distinctly American phenomenon. However, since its rise in popularity in the 2000s, it has seen a spike in popularity in English-speaking nations around the world. Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood's 2014–17 world tour earned a total of about $364.3 million, while Morgan Wallen's 2023–24 tour grossed over $300 million. Overall, country music's rise in popularity has helped it evolve into a billion-dollar industry.
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