In my 1st installment of my musical series, we looked at the history and future of hip hop. today, I am going to talk about another genre that draws almost as much controversy, in a very different way, Country music. It seems that out of all the genres, when you ask someone what kind of music they listen to, the most common answers usually exclude either rap or country. they are 2 very different musical styles, but both are based around the telling of stories from within a certain culture. While hip-hop deals with street life, country tells more rural tales of families, struggles and learning about life from atop a mountain or working a farm.
The roots of country go back to the hills of appalachia, by most people's account. Country's seeds were planted when the mountain folk would jam on the porch playing music that told their stories. Not many people got to hear those stories, but eventually, the sounds trickled down the hills and into the studios in Nashville, Tennessee.
The early blugrass jammers eventually made their way out of the hills and in small rural southern and western towns country music began to grow and develop. The 1st major pubicity boost for country was the Grand Ol Opry radio show, which started out as the "WSM" radio show in 1926. This show exposed early country artists to the rest of the nation and world. It would take time, but eventually, country music made it to the ears of the world.
Hank Williams was country music's 1st major star, in my opinion, that expanded country music into the mainstream of American popular music. And his influence and popularity outside of traditional country music fans continues today. And Hank's life was controversial. He was by far the most sought after artist to play places like the Opry and other major venues of the day. Hank however, preferred jammin with the musicians that could be found in the backroom taverns and gin joints that peppered Nashville and other towns. he played with black musicians which upset many in the day. He openly drank and partied excessively, womazized and lived his life the way today's country writers can only write about. His wild life had it's consequences tho, and at age 29, Hank Williams was found in his Caddilac Coupe de Ville dead.
Bill Monroe was another early catalyst that revolutionized many musicians attitude and approach to country. Most notably, his style of playing the mandolin and making it a "featured" instrument in many country bands. Monroe played the instrument in an entirely new way and people loved his sounds. Soon, his way of playing, which can be heard on many classics, became the standard. Today, it still is.
Over the years, country grew slowly in popularity. It didn't have the big dollar marketing machines that promoted the popular artists that came out of New York City and Los Angeles. They didn't have access to most of the major markets, especially as payola began to infect the major radio markets. What country did have was talented, magnetic artists. It was just a matter of getting the public to know them. And they worked hard, playing every hole in the wall in every 1 horse town they could find. Then came Patsy Cline.
Patsy Cline was the perfect artist for the time. She was attractive, personable and not afraid to take center stage in a male dominated world. She also lived a hard life and could draw from her experiences to make each song special. When she was presented with a song by a young Nashville writer, Willie Nelson, a song called "Crazy" which was origonally an upbeat number, she slowed it down and nailed it. The song, followed by a string of hits, brought country to an even larger audience. She was tragically killed in a plane crash way too early, but she set the stage and opened the door for a host of country artists who would bring the genre into the limelight even more.
Patsy Cline's inroads made it possible for artsts like Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard and George Jones to actually get heard. The 60's saw country music grow by leaps and bounds. finally, in the early 1970's, country truly arrived with the introduction of their 1st National, prime time show, "Hee-Haw." Hee -Haw would enjoy a long run, going well into the 80's. the show launched the careers of many artists, gave Hank Williams Jr. a chance to "reinvent" himself and before it's demise, would even bridge the gap with today's country by showing the world a young Garth Brooks and George Strait. there was one other big event for country that gave it tons of exposure, the movie "Urban Cowboy."
Urban Cowboy brought country to the city. Mickey Gilley not only had a big hit with his "Lookin For Love In All The Wrong Places" but showed the world how much fun a mechanical bull could be. His honkey tonk became the template for what a country music bar could and should be. All over the country, city folk put on 10 gallon hats and boots and went down to the new fangled honkey tonks and 2 stepped theri way thru the 80's.
One other major shot in the arm country got was the "outlaws." the outlaws, led by Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, were artists who were more like Hank Williams and Elvis than they were like George Jones and Porter Wagoner, and the "clean cut" traditional reputation they promoted. The outlaws melded with rock and roll and gave country exposure to southern rock fans, who were willing to listen to these new country artists that wore long hair and partied like them than they were willing to embrace the traditional rural lifestyle values that dominated the Nashville mainstream.
By the 90's, something wierd happened with country. Garth Brooks, on one hand, took country from the honkey tonk and into the Arena. Garth began drawing crowds unheard of in country music, and showed Nashville just how big country could be. On the other hand, some feel country lost it's soul in chasing those dollars. It seemed Nashville was breeding a new crop of artists no longer singin about pick up trucks, mom and hard times on the farm, but singing songs that reflected bubblegum pop music more than that of Bill Monroe and Hank Williams.
But for awhile, at least, Country kept that trend dominating country airwaves and sales with slickly produced albums put out by Nashville But it also was infused and taken to a new level by rock producer Mutt Lange. Mutt had "discovered" a young lounge singer in Vancouver and decided to make her the next big country star. She is now known around the world as Shania Twain. Mutt worked his super producer magic to turn the typical lounge singer into country music's new diva. After witnessing her success, Nashville followed by flooding the market with every gal with a sweet voice who could effectively pack a tight pair of blue jeans. They mimiced on the male side too with guys like Billy Ray Cirrus's "Achy Breaky Heart"and the selling of George Strait as "the next Hank Williams."
The 90's also brought about another subtle change in music. At the same time that more "pop" oriented artists were coming out of Nashville, another genre, the "easy listening" or "adult contemporary" market was fading. Country responded by embracing these fans, that for the 1st time, weren't centered in America's south or even rural areas. "New" country, as it was called, appealed to suburban women, big city women and females in general much more than in the past. By the end of the decade, country featured a line-up that not only included Garth and Shania, but featured "women" friendly artists like Faith Hill, Joe Dee Messina and Lee Ann Rimes amongst others. These girls still sang about cheating men and how much they loved their daddy, like their heroines like, Patsy Cline and Tammy Wynette. But these gals put things in more modern context and the music behind them wasn't as "twangy" as most of country's past. Furthermore, for the 1st time in country's history, women were dominating not only the country charts, but were crossing over in ways the men didn't.
Of course, when a style evolves beyond it's roots, eventually, there is a "backlash." But in country, there wasn't so much of one. What happened in country was that some artists began "going back to their roots" and new "roots" artists emerged, but enabled more modern recording and post - production techniques so their stuff no longer sounded like it was made in 1962. Guys like Alan Jackson and Toby Keith, who had tried to "make it" by embracing the more "pop" side of country began putting out more traditional sounding records, and found a larger than ever audience ready to listen and buy. New acts like the Dixie Chicks and Brad Paisley gave listeners who had never really heard much traditional country, except in comedic parody, found a genre full of stories, intrigue and a high level of musicianship.
The "new" country, which had enveloped the easy listening audience marched along, as it does today. Some see this as a "watering down" of country, and it may well be. But I think, more importantly, it enabled the more traditional side of country, in all it's beauty and glory, to be brought into a new light. Country finally got "big" enough to split into more "factions" or sub-genres. Country, by the beginning of the 21st century, was rivaling the chart positions that were usually reserved for pop and rock artists exclusively.
Today, country is more popular than ever. But unlike hip-hop, it's ascension has been slower and steadier. Country audiences are more diverse today. At any given concert, it is as common to be sitting next to a 60 year old couple as it is a couple of teenagers. Men and women usually come out in fairly even numbers for most acts. City folk and country folk cheer along side by side. And country, while still a white dominated genre, is slowly appealing to more and more people of color. But calling country a "big tent" where that is concerned is about as truthful as calling the GOP a really diverse big tent. Fact is, while minority participation is increasing, it is still a long way from being truly diverse in it's fan base or artist line up.
With it's slow and steady ascension, I expect country to thrive for years to come. Indeed, it is a growing genre. Every year practically, country artists sell more albums, concert tickets and get more airplay on more pop oriented stations than the past year. And unlike some other genres, these artists have done what they have done with more hardwork than marketing dollars. Even with it's growing popularity, Nashville's budgets for making records and promoting concerts still pales in comparison with the money that pop, rock and hip hop labels can and are willing to throw out there.