re: What in the hell happened to Country Music?

Nashville has had for many decades an image crisis and are in one today. Back before it was named country or western music, it was called hill music back in the 20s and 30s. Many artists dressed up as stereotypical hillbilly attire.

Nashville wanted to compete with Vaudeville and believed that the artists dressing up as hillbillies would put them in a negative light. So they went with the Stetson hats instead and required all artists to dress up in cowboy attire.

What happened next changed the face of movie and music in the United States. Nashville was more mainstream and had stars such as the singing cowboy named Roy Rogers in westerns. It wasn't until the 50s that the music was now called country and Western music, going into the 60s it was dropped to just country music as we know today.

Old and classic country is just another form of the Blues. Today's so called country music has no blues influence and it is quite hollow with no love being put into the music. Very cheap and lame.

Tut, who’s your cousin if you don’t mind me asking

Trace Adkins isn’t the biggest star in country music

Saw this guy on a cooking channel as a guest. He seemed like a super nice guy.

Weird arse music and videos though.

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Trace Adkins

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Fabulous cameo in Lincoln Lawyer, but unfamiliar with his musical catalogue.

No I mean Old Town Road is sampled from 34 ghosts IV, a NIN song.

Country music is for adults who understand what is being said. The younger people just don't understand because they never lived it.

People age and change. This is where country music has an advantage as this terrible world continues to beat the younger people into world weary adults. Then they will understand the messages being said of country music.

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I have a famous cousin that used to be in country music... Ty Herndon. Really good voice too.

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Yeah, that guy has a hell of a voice. I bet he can still make a decent living, just singing demos. I know I would damn sure use him, if he was available. Where does he live these days?

Willie was a well respected songwriter in Nashville. But as a singer, his voice just didn't leave a very good impression. In the 60s he wore a suit, had short hair and no beard. His voice wasn't good enough to sing the Nashville sound that Nashville was putting out.

The Nashville sound was a major driving force in the 60s. Because the music had a smooth sound to it. It had more appeal to a mainstream audience. Jim Reeves is a good example.

This drove Willie to find a different home and that was in Austin. The suits were gone, he grew his hair out and had a beard. He felt more of himself and he can sing the songs that he was telling.

The outlaw movement began because of the Nashville sound and country music sounding more towards pop music.

Buck Owens tried his hand in Nashville but was rejected. Nashville didn't like the twang in the guitar playing and so he went to Bakersfield. He was one of the early pioneers of the Bakersfield sound. Dwight Yoakam is a good example as you can hear a lot of twang in his music. He was rejected by Nashville as well.

Gram Parsons helped usher in southern rock or country rock. When sweetheart of the rodeo was released by the byrds in 1968, it went away from the psychedelic sound to towards more country.

But critics from Nashville slammed the album believing they are nothing but a bunch of long haired hippies that are polluting country music. Critics from the rock community were negative as they want nothing to do with country music.

But despite the criticism, it went to form movements such as the outlaw movement. It influenced bands such as the allman brothers, Marshall Tucker band, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Alabama.

Parsons was impressed with lyrics of country and believed that country and rock should be together. Even though he died in the early seventies, the album would influence country rock from the 70s even to the 90s country music.