What Makes It Country?

[elle606]

I'm listening to Lonestar's Amazed. Just finished and on comes Love Story. Both of these sound like Pop to me. I love Lady A, but their newest song doesn't sound country at all. As a matter of fact, I ended up listening to some country because my soft/lite rock wasn't doing it for me and wouldn't you know, there it was over at the country station. In the process, I started liking more traditional country, even the red dirt stuff. Some have joked that country music is 3 chords and a story. I'd call McMurtry's Chocktaw Bingo the poster child for that. Clearly there are different types of country music now, and I need help to identify them. So help a girl out here. Give me some definitions, whether official or your opinions. Examples would help.

[casims74]

The truth is, I think you already know and just don't realize it. You can tell the difference between the country and the fake because you already have.

We could say, this is country or that is country, but what makes it real country music isn't so easily defined with words. It has to be defined by an artist with a country heart. An artist with a country heart produces country music naturally. It isn't forced. It flows from within.

George Strait, Alan Jackson, Josh Turner, George Jones, Randy Travis, William Michael Morgan and so many others make and remake country music.

Country Music is like a tree. A tree grows from a seed. The seed sprouts roots. Then the tree grows a trunk and leaves. It continually changes, but the changes are natural. When someone comes in and plants a vine that climbs the tree, it may seem pretty at first, but over time, it can choke the life out of the tree.

It breaks my heart because not only are there artists with country hearts, but there are fans too. When the country artists get shut out (like George Jones) to make room for pop, so do country fans.

[casims74]

Here are some examples of the Traditional Nashville sound.

Roy Acuff was the King of Country Music before George Strait. He was instrumental in defining the Traditional Nashville sound.



The Wreck of Ole '97 was the first nationwide country hit.

[casims74]

Hillbilly Boogie is another branch on the country tree, and certainly one of my favorites.

This is Freight Train Boogie by the Delmore Brothers. Notice that even though there is a change in rhythm, you can still hear that country sound.



Shotgun Boogie by Tennessee Ernie Ford

[casims74]

Bluegrass, Folk, and Gospel all had a part in shaping country music's history. I love to hear bluegrass pickin', and there's nothing more soulful than country gospel music.

This is Flatt and Scruggs playing Randy Lynn Rag



Crying Holy Unto the Lord by Flatt and Scruggs



Brad Paisley sings Old Rugged Cross



Alan Jackson sings Are You Washed

[casims74]

Another branch on the country music tree is affectionately known as Honky Tonk. Artists known for their honky tonk style are Hank Williams, Bob Wills, Ernest Tubb, and many others. These are the songs that give country it's reputation for drinkin' songs and sad songs.

Hank Williams Sr singing Hey Good Lookin'



Hank Williams I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry



Lefty Frizzell singing She's Gone Gone Gone

[casims74]

Next, we have the sound known as Rockabilly. Now I know that rock is the root word, but before you make any judgments, listen to who some of the artists are who sang Rockabilly.

Marty Robbins and

JOHNNY CASH!!!

Johnny Cash singing Walk the Line



Ring of Fire

[casims74]

Here is Marty Robbins singing El Paso



Marty Robbins singing Ballad of the Alamo



Marty Robbins singing Ghost Riders in the Sky



Johnny Cash singing Ghost Riders in the Sky

[casims74]

Bakersfield country got it's name from Bakersfield, California. Artists known for this style were Merle Haggard and Buck Owens.

Merle Haggard singing Mama Tried



Merle Haggard singing The Fightin' Side of Me



Merle Haggard and George Jones

[casims74]

Buck Owens I Got a Tiger by the Tail



Buck Owens singing Hello Trouble



Buck Owens and George Jones

[casims74]

Outlaw Country:

The Highwaymen



Hank Williams Jr



Waylon Jennings



Willie Nelson



Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash

[casims74]

NeoTraditional

Josh Turner sings Me and God



William Michael Morgan sings Ain't Nothin' But a Cloud



George Strait !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[elle606]

:::grabs tissue::: Ok, those last three got to me. I knew Me and God and Cross My Heart, but Nothin But a Cloud is a great song, so thank you for the link.

This is a great 'history of country' lesson. I'm not sure I could translate it into what I hear on the radio, not just the local country-pop station, but those red dirt/roadhouse/outlaw tunes that I hear. Like rock, country has a wide array of types of music. I didn't know what Western Swing was until I heard one of George's songs and thought "that must be it". Ranger posted a song by Ryan Bingham and said it's the "Austin" sound. I think of Roger Creager, Robert Earl Kean, Randy Rogers and Pat Green.

I heard someone say that today's country is really "suburban" more than country. At least that's where the audience comes from. I don't need to categorize all of it, but I don't quite understand how songs like You Belong With Me or Need You Now can be considered country. I'd say Zac Brown, Dierks Bentley and Jason Aldean fall into the Rockabilly group, Tim is a lot like George it seems, Keith is more of a modern version of George Strait, and I don't know about Kenny. Brad, Carrie, and Faith seem to be neo-traditional to me.

I know that the mainstream stations aren't going to play some of the grittier country songs that you hear on "outlaw" shows or stations, but there's got to be a way to get more country and less pop on the radio. Notice I said pop, not country-pop because that's what my ears hear. Not hearing Randy Rogers might be more a matter of money and power, since they're independent, but it's getting to the point where the top 20 country songs are actually bubble gum and boy band music. I remember hitting the button on the radio if a song was too "twangy". Now I listen to the radio and hope for some twang! As I've posted before, I'm guessing that if more traditional country doesn't die out completely, there will be a split in the genre, like rock and r&b going to Urban, Soft Rock, Adult Alternative, etc. I thought to post this question when I kept hearing Taylor Swift being called a country starlette. She ain't country 'tall, 'cept for them boots. I thought I must be missing something that defines country music for all this stuff to be considered country.

So what do we do? How do we get some country fans together to ask for a country station that plays country instead of pop? A lot of us Strait fans are baby-boomers, dammit! We may not spend as much time and money on music as Pickler fans, but we've got numbers!

I've only been a real country fan for a year and I'm already complaining. I guess I just get tired of hearing about getting out of school and going out to party and now, we're going to have to listen to Taylor's version of high school. Jeez, just shoot me!

[casims74]

Welcome to my world! I know a lot of what we hear is pop. A lot of country fans have actually given up. They buy cd's and don't listen to country radio. I'm too stubborn for that. I take all the surveys I can for all the radio stations I have time for. I request only real country music. I tell them that I don't like the pop. You know how stubborn and bullheaded I am, and I have to have my George Strait fix.

[elle606]

Looking at the top 40 or 50 from mediabase, who does NOT belong on a country chart and where in the country genre do the others belong? I deleted a few I don't know. I'll add that I realize some artists sing different types of music -- Josh Turner is a good example, but I'm going to keep it simple for myself and go with country, pop-country, rockabilly or pop. I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts on the styles of some of our current country brigade.

JASON ALDEAN country
GEORGE STRAIT country
JUSTIN MOORE country
TOBY KEITH country
RANDY HOUSER country
BLAKE SHELTON pop-country
RASCAL FLATTS pop
KEITH URBAN pop-country, rockabilly
CHRIS YOUNG country
BRAD PAISLEY pop-country
ZAC BROWN BAND pop-country, rockabilly
JACK INGRAM country (with some outlaw and pop-country)
ERIC CHURCH country
DARRYL WORLEY country
KENNY CHESNEY really not sure :-)
LOVE AND THEFT pop
TIM MCGRAW country
SUGARLAND country, rockabilly
DAVID NAIL pop-country
LUKE BRYAN country
RODNEY ATKINS country
BROOKS & DUNN country
CARRIE UNDERWOOD pop-country
TRACE ADKINS country
LADY ANTEBELLUM pop
TAYLOR SWIFT bubble gum pop
JOE NICHOLS no idea
DIERKS BENTLEY pop-country or rockabilly
MARTINA MCBRIDE not sure
REBA country
MONTGOMERY GENTRY country
BUCKY COVINGTON country
JAKE OWEN country
JASON MICHAEL CARROLL country
ALAN JACKSON country
GARY ALLAN not sure
ELI YOUNG BAND pop
MIRANDA LAMBERT country
JOSH TURNER country, gospel
DARIUS RUCKER pop

[casims74]

Looks like you did a pretty good job. I don't even bother to break down the current stuff, except in that while I am listening to a song, I'll think to myself, "Now that's country" or "that's fake" but as far as categorizing them into categories, I really don't. Actually there are several new categories now that I couldn't name. Jason Aldean would fit into one of those. He is as country as the cottonfield he popped out of, and I know, cause I live right down south of his hometown. At the same time, the instruments and such have a different sound from a lot of the country of the past. It's just another branch on the tree.

[elle606]

Obviously there's lots of different styles, just like other genres. Cross My Heart and Wrapped are very different from Country Girl or Chicken Fried, but they're all country. Maybe that's a Georgia sound. I'm more trying to weed out the non-country where they put on a pair of boots and call it country, as well as identify the kinds I like best. For that, I need to pigeonhole some of it.

As fo giving up on country radio, I usually listen to the mainstream stuff during the day but love streaming Texas sounds in the evening. For those who are tired of the boy band, bubble gum and top 20 stuff, I'd recommend finding and patronizing those stations that play traditional, classic, red dirt or whatever they like. Writing the program director suggesting a once-a-week show for classic, roadhouse, bluegrass or other types of music to see if it goes over well might work. Get friends to do the same. If they try it, they might find they have an audience for it.

[casims74]

I do. Plus I join listeners clubs so that I can take surveys, email dj's and programming directors with requests, and more.

[icrossmyheart_x]

Elle,I really liked that list. It clarifyed alot for me. Yeah,I'm not sure about Kenny either. ; )
Taylor Swift is pop. I mean how many "country" singers win a VMA? Not very many. Proving she isn't really country. Also,shes with the whole Disney thing. Acting in Miley's movie. Another Disney brat country wannabe I can't stand.. :/

[elle606]

I don't know if my categorizations are anywhere near correct. I not only don't know much about the music, but I'm not all that familiar with some of the artists. I consider Blake pop-country, but I heard another song of his the other day that sounded like pure country. I just wondered how country turned pop--Murder on Music Row. How did that happen? Why is Taylor being promoted as a country singer when she's anything but? What's the difference between Southern Rock and Rockabilly? I don't know, but was hoping others could help. Someone said that country audiences and fans are actually suburban, not country, these days. Maybe that's why the lean to pop.

I just hope that we don't lose real country music in its various forms. It's a big part of American culture that too many don't appreciate. (I include myself in that since my intro to anything other than the pop stuff is fairly recent.) I listen to songs like Toes or Country Boy or Wrapped and think about how the songwriters came up with lyrics that we can all related to, that say things we can't or won't say. Think about Don't Rock the Juke Box, Living for the Night, or She Wouldn't Be Gone and how we all have been through something like that. Country also allows for a bit more fun than other genres -- like I'm Still a Guy, I Got a Brand New Girlfriend, If You're Going Through Hell, or Cheaper to Keep Her, I'm Gonna Marry for Money. Those songs put a smile on my face because they're just silly enough to say "don't always take it all so seriously". There's also the American Freedom songs like Have You Forgotten, or American Soldier. Love songs don't get much better than they are in country (although R&B artists do them well IMO). Too many to give examples of these, but look at 75% of George Strait's recordings, add a bit of Alabama and Urban and it just doesn't get any better.

Life really is a country music song. I don't want to see it become a lost art. It's encouraging that younger singers like Aldean and Moore and Bryan and Turner are trying to keep it country.