Waylon Jennings 45 Pages Of Handwritten Lyrics Scarce From His Estate Amazing!!!

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Seller: memorabilia111 ✉️ (808) 100%, Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, US, Ships to: US, Item: 176277810575 WAYLON JENNINGS 45 PAGES OF HANDWRITTEN LYRICS SCARCE FROM HIS ESTATE AMAZING!!!. Big 25 Tablet. An extraordinary collection giving the reader a glimpse into a young Waylon's musical mind and personal life. Page one contains note to Maxine (Waylon's first wife): “Wake me up at 10.” Waylon writes also, “a night without sleep.” This important paper tablet includes approximately forty-five pages of Waylon's handwritten lyrics, the first of which begins: “The worlds a stage / loves a game to you” Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of pioneers of the outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age fourteen on KVOW radio, after which he formed his first band, The Texas Longhorns.

Waylon Arnold Jennings (born Wayland Arnold Jennings; June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of pioneers of the outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age fourteen on KVOW radio, after which he formed his first band, The Texas Longhorns. Jennings left high school at age sixteen, determined to become a musician, and worked as a performer and DJ on KVOW, KDAV, KYTI, KLLL, in Coolidge, Arizona, and Phoenix. In 1958, Buddy Holly arranged Jennings's first recording session, and hired him to play bass. Jennings gave up his seat on the ill-fated flight in 1959 that crashed and killed Holly, J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson and Ritchie Valens. Jennings then formed a rockabilly club band, The Waylors, which became the house band at "JD's", a club in Scottsdale, Arizona. He recorded for independent label Trend Records and A&M Records, but did not achieve success until moving to RCA Victor, when he acquired Neil Reshen as his manager, who negotiated significantly better touring and recording contracts. After he gained creative control from RCA Records, he released the critically acclaimed albums Lonesome, On'ry and Mean and Honky Tonk Heroes, followed by the hit albums Dreaming My Dreams and Are You Ready for the Country. During the 1970s, Jennings drove outlaw country. With Willie Nelson, Tompall Glaser and Jessi Colter he recorded country music's first platinum album, Wanted! The Outlaws. It was followed by Ol' Waylon and the hit song "Luckenbach, Texas". He was featured on the 1978 album White Mansions, performed by various artists documenting the lives of Confederates during the Civil War. He appeared in films and television series, including Sesame Street, and a stint as the balladeer for The Dukes of Hazzard, composing and singing the show's theme song and providing narration for the show. By the early 1980s, Jennings struggled with cocaine addiction, which he overcame in 1984. Later, he joined the country supergroup The Highwaymen with Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and Johnny Cash, which released three albums between 1985 and 1995. During that period, Jennings released the successful album Will the Wolf Survive. Jennings has also been named as one of the innovators of progressive country.[2] Jennings toured less after 1997 to spend more time with his family. Between 1999 and 2001, his appearances were limited by health problems. In 2001, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 2007, he was posthumously awarded the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award by the Academy of Country Music. Early life Wayland Jennings was born on June 15, 1937, on the J.W. Bittner farm, near Littlefield, Texas. He was the son of Lorene Beatrice (née Shipley, 1920–2006) and William Albert Jennings (1915–1968).[3] The Jennings family line descended from Irish and Black-Dutch.[4] The Shipley line descended from his great-grandfather, a farmer and lawman from Tennessee, with Jennings adding that "along the way, a lot of Indian blood mixed in," including Cherokee and Comanche families.[5] The name on Jennings's birth certificate was Wayland. It was changed after a Baptist preacher visited his parents and congratulated his mother for naming him after the Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas. Lorene Jennings, who was Church of Christ and had been unaware of the college, changed the spelling to Waylon. Jennings later expressed in his autobiography, "I didn't like Waylon. It sounded so corny and hillbilly, but it's been good to me, and I'm pretty well at peace with it now."[6] After working as a laborer on the Bittner farm, Jennings's father moved the family to Littlefield and established a retail creamery.[7] Career Beginnings in music When Jennings was 8, his mother taught him to play guitar with the tune "Thirty Pieces of Silver". Jennings used to practice with his relatives' instruments until his mother bought him a used Stella guitar, and later ordered a Harmony Patrician.[8] Early influences included Bob Wills, Floyd Tillman, Ernest Tubb, Hank Williams, Carl Smith, and Elvis Presley.[9][10][11][12] Beginning with performing at family gatherings, Jennings played his first public concert at the Youth Center with Anthony Bonanno, followed by appearances at the local Jaycees and Lions Clubs. He won a talent show at Channel 13, in Lubbock, singing "Hey Joe". He later made frequent performances at the Palace Theater in Littlefield, during local talent night.[13] At the age of 14, Jennings auditioned for a spot on KVOW in Littlefield, Texas. Owner J.B. McShan, along with Emil Macha, recorded Jennings's performance. McShan liked his style and hired him for a weekly 30-minute program. Following his performance on the show, Jennings formed his own band. He asked Macha to play bass for him and gathered other friends and acquaintances to form The Texas Longhorns. The style of the band—a mixture of Country and Western and Bluegrass music—was often not well received.[14] Jennings during a broadcast of his show on KLLL in 1958 After several disciplinary infractions, 16-year-old Jennings was convinced to drop out of Littlefield High School by the superintendent.[15] Upon leaving school, he worked for his father in the family store, while he also took temporary jobs. Jennings felt that music would turn into his career.[16] The next year he, along with The Texas Longhorns, recorded demo versions of the songs "Stranger in My Home" and "There'll Be a New Day" at KFYO radio in Lubbock.[14] Meanwhile, he drove a truck for the Thomas Land Lumber Company, and a cement truck for the Roberts Lumber Company. Tired of the owner, Jennings quit after a minor driving accident.[17] Jennings, and other local musicians, often performed at country radio station KDAV. During this time he met Buddy Holly at a Lubbock restaurant.[18] The two often met during local shows, and Jennings began to attend Holly's performances on KDAV's Sunday Party.[19] In addition to performing on air for KVOW, Jennings started to work as a DJ in 1956[20] and moved to Lubbock.[20] His program ran from 4:00 in the afternoon to 10:00 in the evening, filled with two hours of country classics, two of current country and two of mixed recordings.[21] The latter included early rock-and-roll stars such as Chuck Berry and Little Richard. The owner reprimanded Jennings for his selection, and after playing two Little Richard records in a row Jennings was fired.[22] During his time at KVOW Jennings was visited by DJ Sky Corbin of KLVT in Levelland. Corbin was impressed with his voice, and decided to visit Jennings at the station after hearing him sing a jingle to the tune of Hank Snow's "I'm Moving On". Jennings expressed his struggle to live on a $50-a-week salary. Corbin invited Jennings to visit KLVT, where he eventually took Corbin's position when it opened.[23] The Corbin family later purchased KLLL, in Lubbock. They changed the format of the station to country, becoming the main competition of KDAV. The Corbins hired Jennings as the station's first DJ.[24] Jole Blon 0:31 During his first recording session in September 1958, Jennings was accompanied by Buddy Holly on the guitar and King Curtis on the saxophone Problems playing this file? See media help. Jennings produced commercials and created jingles with the rest of the DJs. As their popularity increased, the DJs made public appearances. Jennings's events included live performances. During one performance, Holly's father, L.O. Holley, approached them with his son's latest record and asked them to play it at the station. L.O. mentioned his son's intention to start producing artists himself, and Corbin recommended Jennings. After returning from his tour of England Buddy Holly visited KLLL.[25] Holly took Jennings as his first artist. He outfitted him with new clothes, and worked with him to improve his image.[26] He arranged a session for Jennings at Norman Petty's recording studios in Clovis, New Mexico. On September 10, Jennings recorded the songs "Jole Blon" and "When Sin Stops (Love Begins)" with Holly and Tommy Allsup on guitars and saxophonist King Curtis. Holly then hired Jennings to play bass for him during his "Winter Dance Party Tour".[20] Winter Dance Party Tour Before the tour, Holly vacationed with his wife in Lubbock and visited Jennings's radio station in December 1958. Jennings and Sky Corbin performed the hand claps to Holly's tune "You're the One".[24] Jennings and Holly soon left for New York City,[27] arriving on January 15, 1959. Jennings stayed at Holly's apartment by Washington Square Park prior to a meeting scheduled at the headquarters of the General Artists Corporation, that organized the tour.[28] They later took a train to Chicago to join the band.[29] Jennings (left) in a Photo Booth in Grand Central Station with Buddy Holly on January 23, 1959. The Winter Dance Party tour began in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on January 23, 1959. The amount of travel created logistical problems, as the distance between venues had not been considered when scheduling each performance. Adding to the problem, the unheated tour buses twice broke down in freezing weather, leading to drummer Carl Bunch being hospitalized for frostbite on his toes. Holly made the decision to find another means of transportation.[30] Before their performance at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, Holly chartered a four-seat Beechcraft Bonanza airplane from Dwyer Flying Service in Mason City, Iowa, for himself, Jennings, and Tommy Allsup, to avoid the long bus trip to their next venue in Moorhead, Minnesota. Following the Clear Lake show (which ended around midnight), Allsup lost a coin toss and gave up his seat on the charter plane to Ritchie Valens, while Jennings voluntarily gave up his seat to J. P. Richardson, known as The Big Bopper, who was suffering from the flu and complaining about how cold and uncomfortable the tour bus was for a man of his size.[31][32] When Holly learned that his bandmates had given up their seats on the plane and had chosen to take the bus rather than fly, a friendly banter between Holly and Jennings ensued, and it would come back to haunt Jennings for decades to follow: Holly jokingly told Jennings, "Well, I hope your ol' bus freezes up!" Jennings jokingly replied, "Well, I hope your ol' plane crashes!"[33] Less than an hour and a half later, shortly after 1:00 am on February 3, 1959, Holly's charter plane crashed into a cornfield outside Mason City, instantly killing all on board.[34] Later that morning, Jennings's family heard on the radio that "Buddy Holly and his band had been killed." After calling his family, Jennings called Sky Corbin at KLLL from Fargo to confirm that he had not been aboard the plane.[35] The General Artists Corporation promised to pay for first-class tickets for Jennings and the band to attend Holly's funeral in Lubbock in exchange for them playing that night in Moorhead.[36] After the first show, they were initially denied their payment by the venue, but after Jennings's persistence, they were paid.[37] The flights were never paid for,[38] and Jennings and Allsup continued the tour for two more weeks, featuring Jennings as the lead singer.[20] They were paid less than half of the original agreed salary, and upon returning to New York, Jennings put Holly's guitar and amplifier in a locker in Grand Central Terminal and mailed the keys to Maria Elena Holly. Then he returned to Lubbock.[39] In the early 1960s, Jennings wrote and recorded "The Stage (Stars in Heaven)", a tribute to Valens, the Big Bopper and Holly, as well as Eddie Cochran, a young musician who died in a road accident a year after the plane crash. For decades afterward, Jennings repeatedly stated that he felt responsible for the crash that killed Holly. This sense of guilt precipitated bouts of substance abuse through much of his career.[40] "Jole Blon" was released on Brunswick in March 1959 with limited success.[9] Now unemployed, Jennings returned to KLLL. Deeply affected by the death of Holly, Jennings's performance at the station worsened. He left the station after he was denied a raise, and later worked briefly for the competition, KDAV.[41] Phoenix Due to his father-in-law's illness, Jennings had to shuttle between Arizona and Texas. While his family lived back in Littlefield, Jennings found a job briefly at KOYL in Odessa, Texas.[42] He moved with his family to Coolidge, Arizona, where his wife Maxine's sister lived. He found a job performing at the Galloping Goose bar, where he was heard by Earl Perrin, who offered him a spot on KCKY. Jennings also played during the intermission at drive-in theaters and in bars.[43] After a successful performance at the Cross Keys Club in Phoenix, he was approached by two contractors (Paul Pristo and Dean Coffman) who were building a club in Scottsdale for James (Jimmy) D. Musil, called JD's. Musil engaged Jennings as his main artist[44] and designed the club around his act.[45] Jennings formed his backing band, The Waylors, with bassist Paul Foster, guitarist Jerry Gropp, and drummer Richie Albright.[46] The band soon earned a strong local fan base at JD's,[47] where Jennings developed his rock-influenced style of country music that defined him on his later career.[48] Jennings in a promotional shot for A&M Records in 1963 In 1961, Jennings signed a recording contract with Trend Records,[47] and experienced moderate success with his single, "Another Blue Day".[49] His friend Don Bowman took demos of Jennings to Jerry Moss, who at the time was starting A&M Records with associate Herb Alpert. In July 1963 Jennings signed a contract with A&M that granted him 5% of record sales. At A&M, he recorded "Love Denied" backed with "Rave On", and Ian Tyson's "Four Strong Winds" backed with "Just to Satisfy You". He followed up by recording demos of "The Twelfth of Never", "Kisses Sweeter than Wine", and "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right", and also produced the single "Sing the Girls a Song, Bill", backed with "The Race Is On". The singles were released between April and October 1964.[50] Jennings's records found little success at A&M, because the label was releasing mostly folk music rather than country at the time.[51] He had a few regional hits around Phoenix, due to local radio airplay with "Four Strong Winds" and "Just To Satisfy You", which was co-written with Bowman. Meanwhile, he recorded an album on BAT records produced by James Musil and engineered by Jack Miller, called "JD's Waylon Jennings" on the front of the album, and "Waylon Jennings at JD's" on the back side. After 500 copies were sold at the club another 500 were pressed by the Sounds label.[52] He also played lead guitar for Patsy Montana on a 1964 album.[53] Singer Bobby Bare heard Jennings's "Just to Satisfy You" on his car radio while passing through Phoenix, and recorded it and "Four Strong Winds".[54] After stopping in Phoenix to attend a Jennings performance at JD's, Bare called Chet Atkins, head of the RCA Victor studios in Nashville, and suggested he sign Jennings.[55] Unsure after being offered a deal with RCA if he should quit his gig at JD's and relocate to Nashville, he sought the advice of RCA artist and friend Willie Nelson, who had attended one of Jennings' shows. Upon hearing how well financially Jennings was doing at JD's Nelson suggested he stay in Phoenix.[56] Jennings then asked Herb Alpert to release him from his contract with A&M, which Alpert did.[57] Later, after Jennings became successful, A&M compiled all of his singles and unreleased recordings and issued them as an album, Don't Think Twice.[58] Atkins formally signed Jennings to RCA Victor in 1965.[59] In August Jennings made his first appearance on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart with "That's the Chance I'll Have to Take".[60] The Nashville Sound Jennings in an RCA Victor publicity photo in late-1965. In 1966, Jennings released his debut RCA Victor album Folk-Country, followed by Leavin' Town and Nashville Rebel.[61][62] Leavin' Town resulted in significant chart success as the first two singles "Anita, You're Dreaming" and "Time to Bum Again" both peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The album's third single, a cover of Gordon Lightfoot's "(That's What You Get) For Lovin' Me", peaked at no. 9, Jennings's first top 10 single. Nashville Rebel was the soundtrack to an independent film, The Nashville Rebel, starring Jennings.[63] The single "Green River" charted on Billboard country singles at no. 11.[60] "Just to Satisfy You" 0:31 From the album of the same name, the song was a local radio hit for Jennings in Nashville Problems playing this file? See media help. In 1967, Jennings released a hit single, "Just to Satisfy You". During an interview, Jennings remarked that the song was a "pretty good example" of the influence of his work with Buddy Holly and rockabilly music.[64] Jennings produced mid-chart albums that sold well, including 1967's Just to Satisfy You, which included the hit single.[61] Jennings's singles enjoyed success. "The Chokin' Kind" peaked at number eight on Billboard's Hot Country Singles in 1967, while "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line" hit number two the following year. In 1969, his collaboration with The Kimberlys on the single "MacArthur Park" earned a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group. His single "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" reached number three at the Hot Country Singles chart by the end of the year.[65] During this time, Jennings rented an apartment in Nashville with singer Johnny Cash.[66] Jennings and Cash were both managed by "Lucky" Moeller's booking agency Moeller Talent, Inc.[67] The tours organized by the agency were unproductive, with the artists being booked to venues located far from each other in close dates. After paying for the accommodation and travel expenditures, Jennings was frequently forced to request advances from the agency or RCA Victor to make the next venue. While playing 300 days on the road, Jennings's debt increased, and along with it his consumption of amphetamine. He believed himself to be "trapped on the circuit".[68] In 1972, Jennings released Ladies Love Outlaws. The single that headlined the album became a hit for Jennings, and was his first approach to outlaw country.[69] Jennings was accustomed to performing and recording with his own band, The Waylors, a practice that was not encouraged by powerful Nashville producers, who favored the Nashville sound produced by a roster of experienced local studio musicians. The music style publicized as "Countrypolitan" was characterized by orchestral arrangements and the absence of most traditional country music instruments. The producers did not let Jennings play his own guitar or select material to record.[49] Jennings felt limited by Nashville's lack of artistic freedom.[70] Outlaw country By 1972, after the release of Ladies Love Outlaws, his recording contract was nearing an end. Upon contracting hepatitis, Jennings was hospitalized. Sick and frustrated with the Nashville music industry, he was considering retirement. Albright visited him and convinced him to continue, suggesting he hire Neil Reshen as his new manager. Meanwhile, Jennings requested a $25,000 royalty advance from RCA Records to cover his living expenses during his recovery. The same day he met Reshen, RCA sent Jerry Bradley to offer Jennings $5,000 as a bonus for signing a new 5% royalty deal with RCA, the same terms he had accepted in 1965. After reviewing the offer with Reshen, he rejected it and hired Reshen.[71] L-R: Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, and Jennings at the Dripping Springs Reunion, in 1972. Reshen started to renegotiate Jennings's recording and touring contracts. At a meeting in a Nashville airport Jennings introduced Reshen to Willie Nelson. By the end of the meeting Reshen had become Nelson's manager as well. Jennings's new deal included a $75,000 advance and artistic control.[72][73] Reshen advised Jennings to keep the beard that he had grown in the hospital, to match the image of outlaw country.[74][75][76] By 1973 Nelson found success with Atlantic Records. Now based in Austin, Texas, he began to attract rock and roll fans to his shows, which gained him notice in its press.[77][78] Atlantic Records made a bid to sign Jennings, but Nelson's rise to popularity persuaded RCA to renegotiate with him before losing another potential star.[79] In 1973, Jennings released Lonesome, On'ry and Mean and Honky Tonk Heroes, the first albums recorded and released under his creative control. This heralded a major turning point for Jennings, resulting in his most critically and commercially successful years.[80] More hit albums followed with This Time and The Ramblin' Man, both released in 1974. The title tracks of both albums topped the Billboard Country singles chart, with the self-penned "This Time" becoming Jennings's first no. 1 single. Dreaming My Dreams, released in 1975, included the no. 1 single "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way", and became his first album to be certified gold by the RIAA; it was also the first of six consecutive solo studio albums to be certified gold or higher.[80][81] In 1976 Jennings released Are You Ready for the Country. Jennings wanted Los Angeles producer Ken Mansfield to produce the record, but RCA initially balked. Jennings and The Waylors traveled to Los Angeles and recorded with Mansfield at Jennings's own expense. A month later, Jennings returned to Nashville and presented the master tape to Chet Atkins, who, after listening to it, decided to release it. The album reached number 1 Billboard's country albums three times the same year, topping the charts for 10 weeks. It was named Country album of the year in 1976 by Record World magazine and was certified gold by the RIAA.[82] "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)" 0:31 A hit for Jennings, the song was released in the album Ol' Waylon Problems playing this file? See media help. In 1976, RCA released the compilation album Wanted! The Outlaws, with Jennings, Willie Nelson, Tompall Glaser, and Jennings's wife, Jessi Colter. The album was the first Country music album certified platinum.[49] The following year, RCA issued Ol' Waylon, an album that produced a hit duet with Nelson, "Luckenbach, Texas".[83] The album Waylon and Willie followed in 1978, producing the hit single "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys".[84] Jennings released I've Always Been Crazy, also in 1978.[85] The same year, at the peak of his success, Jennings began to feel limited by the outlaw movement.[86] Jennings referred to the overexploitation of the image in the song "Don't You Think This Outlaw Bit's Done Got Out of Hand?", claiming that the movement had become a "self-fulfilling prophecy".[86][87] In 1979, RCA released Jennings first Greatest Hits compilation,[85] which was certified gold the same year, and quintuple platinum in 2002.[88] Also in 1979, Jennings joined the cast of the CBS series The Dukes of Hazzard as the Balladeer, the narrator. The only episode to feature him as an actor was "Welcome, Waylon Jennings", during the seventh season. Jennings played himself, presented as an old friend of the Duke family. For the show he also wrote and sang the theme song "Good Ol' Boys", which became the biggest hit of his career. Released as a single in promotion with the show, it became Jennings's 12th single to reach number one on the Billboard Country Singles chart. It was also a crossover hit, peaking at no. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100.[89] Later years Jennings in concert, playing his custom 1953 Fender Telecaster In the mid-1980s, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, and Jennings formed a successful group called The Highwaymen.[90] Aside from his work with The Highwaymen, Jennings released a gold album WWII (1982) with Willie Nelson.[84] In 1985, Jennings joined with USA for Africa to record "We Are the World", but he left the studio because of a dispute over the song's lyrics that were to be sung in Swahili.[91][92] By this time, his sales had decreased. After the release of Sweet Mother Texas, Jennings signed with MCA Records.[93] His debut release with the label, Will the Wolf Survive (1985), peaked at number one in Billboard's Country albums in 1986.[94] Jennings's initial success tailed off, and in 1990, he signed with Epic Records. His first release, The Eagle, became his final top 10 album.[93][95] Also in 1985, he made a cameo appearance in the live-action children's film Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird. In the movie, he plays a turkey farm truck driver who gives Big Bird a lift. He also sings one of the film's songs, entitled "Ain't No Road Too Long".[96] In 1993, in collaboration with Rincom Children's Entertainment, Jennings recorded an album of children's songs, Cowboys, Sisters, Rascals & Dirt, which included "Shooter's Theme", a tribute to his 14-year-old with the theme of "a friend of mine".[97] As his record sales and radio play declined through the 1990s, Jennings continued to draw large crowds to his live performances.[93] In 1994 Jennings made a small appearance in the movie Maverick, with Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, and James Garner. In 1996, Jennings released his album, Right for the Time. In 1997, after the Lollapalooza tour, he decreased his tour schedule to focus on his family.[98] In 1998, Jennings teamed up with Bare, Jerry Reed, and Mel Tillis to form the Old Dogs. The group recorded a double album of songs by Shel Silverstein.[99] In mid-1999, Jennings assembled what he referred to as his "hand-picked dream team" and formed Waylon & The Waymore Blues Band. Consisting primarily of former Waylors, the 13-member group performed concerts from 1999 to 2001.[100] As his health declined, Jennings decided to end his touring career.[101] In January 2000, Jennings recorded what became his final album at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, Never Say Die: Live.[102] Music style and image Jennings's music was characterized by his powerful rough-edged singing voice, phrasing and texture.[103][104] He was also recognized for his "spanky-twang" guitar style. To create his sound, he used a pronounced 'phaser' effect (see 'Modulation Effects': below) plus a mixture of thumb and fingers during the rhythmic parts, while using picks for the lead runs. He combined hammer-on and pull-off riffs, with eventual upper-fret double stops and modulation effects.[105] Jennings played a 1953 Fender Telecaster, a used guitar that was a gift from The Waylors. Jennings's bandmates adorned his guitar with a distinctive leather cover that featured a black background with a white floral work.[106][107] Jennings further customized it by filing down the frets to lower the strings on the neck to obtain the slapping sound.[108][109] Among his other guitars, Jennings used a 1950 Fender Broadcaster from the mid-1970s, until he gave it to guitarist Reggie Young in 1993.[110] The leather covers of his guitars were carved by leather artist Terry Lankford.[111] Jennings's signature image was characterized by his long hair and beard, and black hat and black leather vest he wore during his appearances.[112][113] Personal life Jennings was married four times and had six children.[114] He married Maxine Caroll Lawrence in 1956 at age 18,[115] with whom he had four children: Terry Vance (1957–2019), Julie Rae (1958–2014), Buddy Dean (born 1960), and Deana. Jennings married Lynne Jones on December 10, 1962, adopting a child, Tomi Lynne.[116] They divorced in 1967. He married Barbara Elizabeth Rood the same year. He composed the song "This Time" about the trials and tribulations of his marriages and divorces. Jennings married country singer Jessi Colter in Phoenix, Arizona, on October 26, 1969. Colter had a daughter, Jennifer, from her previous marriage to Duane Eddy. The couple had a son born in 1979, Waylon Albright, known as Shooter Jennings.[117] In the early 1980s, Colter and Jennings nearly divorced due to his abuse of drugs and alcohol.[118] In 1997, after he stopped touring, Jennings earned a GED at age 60 to set an example about the importance of education to his son, Shooter.[119][120] Addiction and recovery Jennings started to consume amphetamines while he lived with Johnny Cash during the mid-1960s. Jennings later stated, "Pills were the artificial energy on which Nashville ran around the clock."[9] In 1977, Jennings was arrested by federal agents for conspiracy and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. A private courier warned the Drug Enforcement Administration about the package sent to Jennings by a New York colleague that contained 27 grams of cocaine. The DEA and the police searched Jennings's recording studio but found no evidence because, while they were waiting for a search warrant, Jennings disposed of the drug. The charges were later dropped and Jennings was released.[121] The episode was recounted in Jennings's song "Don't You Think This Outlaw Bit's Done Got Out of Hand".[122] During the early 1980s, his cocaine addiction intensified. Jennings claimed to have spent $1,500 (equivalent to $4,800 in 2022) a day on his habit, draining his personal finances and leaving him bankrupt with debt up to $2.5 million.[123][124] Though he insisted on repaying the debt and did additional tours to do so, his work became less focused and his tours deteriorated.[122] Jennings leased a home in the Phoenix area and spent a month detoxing himself, intending to start using cocaine again in a more controlled fashion afterward. In 1984, he quit cocaine. He claimed that his son Shooter was his main inspiration to finally do so.[123] Illness and death Grave of Waylon Jennings Decades of excessive smoking and drug use took a large toll on Jennings' health in addition to obesity and a poor diet, which resulted in his developing Type II diabetes. In 1988, four years after quitting cocaine, he ended his six-pack-a-day smoking habit.[125] That same year, he underwent heart bypass surgery.[126][127] By 2000, his diabetes worsened, and the pain reduced his mobility to the point where he was forced to end most touring.[119] That same year, he underwent surgery to improve his left leg's blood circulation.[9] In December 2001, his left foot was amputated at a hospital in Phoenix.[128] On February 13, 2002, Jennings died in his sleep from complications of diabetes at his home in Chandler, Arizona, aged 64.[129] He was buried in the City of Mesa Cemetery in nearby Mesa.[130] At his memorial service on February 15, Jessi Colter sang "Storms Never Last".[119] Legacy Between 1965 and 1991, ninety-six Jennings singles appeared on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart and sixteen topped it. Between 1966 and 1995 fifty-four of his albums charted on Billboard's Top Country Albums, with eleven reaching Number 1.[131] In October 2001, Jennings was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, but he was unable to attend the ceremony due to the pain caused by his diabetes.[119] On July 6, 2006, Jennings was inducted to Guitar Center's RockWalk in Hollywood, California. Jessi Colter attended the ceremony along with Kris Kristofferson, who was inducted on the same day.[132] On June 20, 2007, Jennings was posthumously awarded the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award by the Academy of Country Music. During the ceremony, Ray Scott sang "Rainy Day Woman" and the award was accepted by Buddy Jennings.[133] Jennings's music had an influence on numerous artists,[93] including Hank Williams Jr.,[134] The Marshall Tucker Band,[135] Travis Tritt, Steve Earle, Waylon, Eric Church, Cody Jinks, Jamey Johnson, John Anderson,[136] his son, Shooter Jennings, Sturgill Simpson, and Hank Williams III.[137] Waylon Jennings Boulevard sign in Littlefield, Texas Littlefield, Texas, renamed one of its major roads, Tenth Street, to Waylon Jennings Boulevard.[138][139] He was inducted to the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999.[140] In 2008, the posthumous album Waylon Forever was released, which consisted of songs recorded with his then-16-year-old son, Shooter. In 2012, the three-volume Waylon: The Music Inside was released, featuring covers of Jennings's songs by different artists. Also released the same year was Goin' Down Rockin': The Last Recordings, a set of 12 songs recorded by Jennings and bassist Robby Turner before Jennings' death in 2002. The songs initially featured only Jennings' guitar and vocals, with Turner on bass; further accompaniment was to be added later. Turner completed the recordings in 2012 with the help of former Waylors. The Jennings family approved the release. Meanwhile, it launched a new business focused on his estate. Shooter Jennings arranged deals for a clothing line, launched a renewed website, and started talks with different producers on a biographical film.[141] Discography Further information: Waylon Jennings albums discography and Waylon Jennings singles discography Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1966 Nashville Rebel Arlin Grove Feature film 1975 Moonrunners The Balladeer Feature film 1985 Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird Truck Driver Feature film 1994 Maverick Man with concealed guns Feature film (final film role) Television Year Title Role Notes 1979-1985 The Dukes of Hazzard The Balladeer 147 episodes 1981 The Oklahoma City Dolls Wayne Doak TV movie 1985 The All American Cowboy Gunfighter TV movie 1985 The Dukes of Hazzard Himself 1 episode; still served as balladeer throughout episode 1986 Stagecoach Hatfield TV movie 1988 Tanner '88 Himself 1 episode 1994 Married... with Children Ironhead Haynes 1 episode 1999 The Long Kill Tobey Naylor TV movie 1999 The Angry Beavers The Balladeer 1 episode 2000 18 Wheels of Justice John Murdocca 1 episode 1999–2001 Family Guy The Balladeer 2 episodes; first episode was in 1999, second episode was in 2001 (final television role) 2002 Saddle Rash Franny Final television role Pilot Video games Year Title Role Notes 2000 The Dukes of Hazzard: Racing for Home The Balladeer Only feature in a video game Awards Year Award Organization 1970 Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal w/ The Kimberlys for "MacArthur Park" The Recording Academy[142] 1975 Male Vocalist of the Year Country Music Association[143] 1976 Album of the Year with Jessi Colter, Willie Nelson and Tompall Glaser for "Wanted! The Outlaws" Country Music Association[143] 1976 Vocal Duo of the Year with Willie Nelson Country Music Association[143] 1976 Single of the Year with Willie Nelson for "Good-Hearted Woman" Country Music Association[143] 1979 Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal with Willie Nelson for "Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" The Recording Academy[144] 1985 Single of the Year with the other members of The Highwaymen for "Highwayman" Academy of Country Music[145] 1999 Texas Country Music Hall of Fame induction Texas Country Music Hall of Fame[146] 2001 Country Music Hall of Fame induction Country Music Association[143] 2006 Guitar Center's RockWalk induction Guitar Center[132] 2007 Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award Academy of Country Music[133] 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award Nashville Songwriters' Festival[146] 2017 100 Greatest Country Artists of All Time, Rank No. 7 Rolling Stone[147] See also Outlaw country[2] is a subgenre of American country music created by a small group of iconoclastic artists active in the 1970s and early 1980s, known collectively as the outlaw movement, who fought for and won their creative freedom outside of the Nashville establishment that dictated the sound of most country music of the era. Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, and David Allan Coe were among the movement's most commercially successful members. The music has its roots in earlier subgenres like Western, honky tonk, rockabilly and progressive country, and is characterized by a blend of rock and folk rhythms, country instrumentation and introspective lyrics.[3][4] The movement began as a reaction to the slick production and limiting structures of the Nashville sound developed by record producers like Chet Atkins.[3][5] History Some country fans consider outlaw country a slightly harder-edged variant of progressive country.[6] The outlaw sound has its roots in blues music,[7] honky tonk music of the 1940s and 1950s, rockabilly of the 1950s, and the evolving genre of rock and roll.[4][8] Early outlaws were particularly influenced by predecessors like Bob Wills, Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, and Buddy Holly. However, an even greater transition occurred after Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson were able to secure their own recording rights, and began the trend of bucking the "Nashville sound". According to Michael Streissguth, author of Outlaw: Waylon, Willie, Kris, and the Renegades of Nashville, Jennings and Nelson became outlaws when they "won the right" to record with the producers and studio musicians they preferred.[4] The 1960s was a decade of enormous change, a change reflected in the music of the time. The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, and many who followed in their wake cast off the traditional role of the recording artist. They wrote their own material, had creative input in their albums, and refused to conform to what society required of its youth. One author states that the Beatnik movement, from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s, was a precursor to outlaw country, as participants in both movements emphasized that they felt "out of place" in mainstream society.[9] At the same time, country music was declining into a formulaic genre that appeared to offer the establishment what it wanted with artists such as Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton making the kind of music that was anathema to the growing counterculture. While Nashville continued to be the focus of mainstream country music, cities like Lubbock and Austin became the creative centers of outlaw country. Southern rock also had a strong influence on the outlaw country movement, and that sound and style of recording was centered in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. In the Western United States, the Bakersfield sound was providing a counterpoint to the traditional Nashville sound, and the counterculture was also giving rise to the fusion genre of country rock, with groups such as the Flying Burrito Brothers and The First National Band (whose lead singer Michael Nesmith had similar creative rebellion against the West Coast music establishment dating to his time with The Monkees). Origin of term The movement was named, at various points, "redneck rock", progressive country, or "armadillo country", after the animal which would become the movement's unofficial mascot, before it was termed "outlaw country".[1] The origin of the outlaw label is debated. According to Jason Mellard, author of Progressive Country: How the 1970s Transformed the Texan in Popular Culture, the term "seems to have sedimented over time rather than exploding in the national consciousness all at once".[10] The term is often attributed to "Ladies Love Outlaws", a song by Lee Clayton and sung by Waylon Jennings on the 1972 album of the same name.[11] Another plausible explanation is the use of the term a year later by publicist Hazel Smith of Glaser Studios to describe the music of Jennings and Tompall Glaser. Art critic Dave Hickey, who wrote a 1974 profile in Country Music magazine, also used the term to describe artists who opposed the commercial control of the Nashville recording industry.[10] In 1976, the Outlaw movement solidified the term with the release of Wanted! The Outlaws, a compilation album featuring songs sung by Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser. Wanted! The Outlaws became the first country album to be platinum-certified, reaching sales of one million.[12] L-R Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings at the Dripping Springs Reunion in 1972 Development As Southern rock flourished, veteran country artists incorporated rock into their music in this genre. Songwriters/guitarists such as Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Hank Williams, Jr. shed formulaic Nashville sound, grew long hair, and replaced rhinestone-studded suits with leather jackets. Outlaw country artists spoke openly about smoking marijuana.[13] Fiercely independent, the "outlaws" abandoned lush orchestrations, stripped the music to its country core, and added a rock sensibility to the sound.[2] At the same time, outlaw country performers brought back older styles that had fallen into disuse, such as honky tonk songs and "cowboy ballads".[14] As well, Nelson and Jennings incorporated more R&B and soul music into their country music by working with Memphis and Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section musicians.[13] The outlaw country artists aimed to resist the big "machine" of the Nashville establishment, which "codified" norms of sounds, styles, and even appearance and behavior through influential "tastemaker" shows such as Grand Ole Opry.[15] The Grand Ole Opry, which was "staunchly conservative", used its influence over Nashville's Music Row to control who could play and what types of songs they could perform. Jennings described his experience in that city's recording industry as like working on an assembly line, in which records were produced like "clockwork".[15] In 1973 Jennings produced Lonesome, On'ry and Mean. The theme song was written by Steve Young, a songwriter and performer who never made it in the mainstream, but whose songs helped to create the outlaw style.[citation needed] The follow-up album for Jennings was Honky Tonk Heroes and the songwriter hero was Texan Billy Joe Shaver. Like Steve Young, Shaver never made it big, but his 1973 album Old Five and Dimers Like Me is considered a country classic in the outlaw genre.[citation needed] Willie Nelson's career as a songwriter in Nashville peaked in the late 1960s. As a songwriter, he had written a number of major pop-crossover hits, including "Crazy" for Patsy Cline and "Hello Walls" for Faron Young, but as a singer, he was getting nowhere. He left Nashville in 1971 to return to Texas. The musicians he met in Austin had been developing the folk and rock influenced country music that grew into the outlaw genre. Performing and associating with the likes of Jerry Jeff Walker, Michael Martin Murphey and Billy Joe Shaver helped shape his future career. Williams Jr. had long spent much of his early career in the shadow of his father Hank Williams Sr., who died when Williams Jr. was three years old. In 1975, Williams was severely injured in avalanche while mountain climbing, disfiguring him to the point where he no longer resembled his father; he grew a beard to hide the scars, which he has maintained ever since. He also began collaborating with the other outlaws, beginning with his album Hank Williams Jr. and Friends released shortly before he was injured. At the same time as Nelson was reinventing himself, other influential musicians were writing songs and playing in Austin and Lubbock. Butch Hancock, Joe Ely and Jimmie Dale Gilmore formed the Flatlanders, a group that never sold huge numbers of albums, but continues to perform. The three founders have each made a significant contribution to the development of the outlaw genre. The Lost Gonzo Band and their work in conjunction with Jerry Jeff Walker and Michael Murphey were integral in the birth of Outlaw Country.[16] Other Texans, like Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle and Guy Clark, have developed the outlaw ethos through their songs and their lifestyles. Although Johnny Cash spent most of his time in Arkansas and Tennessee, he experienced a revival of his career with the outlaw movement, especially after his live albums At Folsom Prison and At San Quentin, both of which were recorded in prisons. Cash had working relationships with Nelson, Jennings and Kris Kristofferson in his later career, culminating in the formation of The Highwaymen; the four would record and perform as a supergroup in addition to their solo careers through the late 1990s. Cash had also been on good terms with several folk counterculture figures, a fact that irked Nashville and television executives (Cash hosted a variety show from 1969 to 1971). Like the other outlaw singers, he eschewed the polished Nashville look with a somewhat ragged (especially in later years), all-black outfit that inspired Cash's nickname, the "Man in Black". Decline of the movement The outlaw movement's heyday was in the mid- to late 1970s; although the core artists of the movement continued to record for many years afterward (Nelson, in particular, was recording hits well into the following decade while Hank Williams, Jr. achieved his greatest success during the 1980s), the outlaw movement as a fad was already declining by 1978. By 1980 mainstream country music was practically dominated by country pop artists and crossover acts. The movement was furthermore falling victim to the same pigeonholing and commercialization as mainstream country music; Mickey Newbury, a prominent influence on many outlaw artists, rejected the "outlaw" label, stating "I quit playing cowboys when I grew up."[17] Williams also noted in his song "All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)" that many of the core "outlaws" were growing up and abandoning the drugs and hard partying that had driven much of their lives in the 1970s in favor of their home lives and other pursuits. Jennings had a hit song with "Don't You Think This Outlaw Bit's Done Got Out of Hand" in 1978, which likewise attributed the decline to pressures from drug use. Some of the outlaws would have a slight career renaissance in the mid-1980s with the neotraditional country revival, which revived the older styles of both mainstream and "outlaw" country music of years past. Related genres The Tulsa sound out of Tulsa, Oklahoma was closely related to outlaw country;[18][19] "Tulsa Time" became a hit for Don Williams in 1978, and for Eric Clapton (who, though English, was closely associated with the Tulsa sound in the late 1970s and early 1980s[20]) in 1980. Notable artists Main article: List of outlaw country artists See also Country rock Cowpunk Hillbilly Bluegrass music Bakersfield sound Southern Gothic music Americana Alternative country Country (also called country and western) is a music genre originating in the Southern and Southwestern United States. First produced in the 1920s, Country music primarily focuses on working class Americans and blue-collar American life.[2] Country music is known for its ballads and dance tunes (also known as "honky-tonk music") with simple form, folk lyrics, and harmonies generally accompanied by instruments such as banjos, fiddles, harmonicas, and many types of guitar (including acoustic, electric, steel, and resonator guitars).[3][4][5] Though it is primarily rooted in various forms of American folk music, such as old-time music and Appalachian music,[6][7] many other traditions, including African-American, Mexican, Irish, and Hawaiian music, have also had a formative influence on the genre.[8] Blues modes have been used extensively throughout its history as well.[9] The term country music gained popularity in the 1940s in preference to hillbilly music; it came to encompass western music, which evolved parallel to hillbilly music from similar roots, in the mid-20th century. Contemporary styles of western music include Texas country, red dirt, and Hispano- and Mexican American-led Tejano and New Mexico music,[10][11] all extant alongside longstanding indigenous traditions. In 2009, in the United States, country music was the most listened to rush hour radio genre during the evening commute, and second most popular in the morning commute.[12] Origins Main articles: Appalachian music, Blues, Celtic folk, Old-time music, and Western music (North America) The main components of the modern country music style date back to music traditions throughout the Southern United States and Southwestern United States, while its place in American popular music was established in the 1920s during the early days of music recording.[13] According to country historian Bill C. Malone, country music was "introduced to the world as a Southern phenomenon."[14] Migration into the southern Appalachian Mountains, of the Southeastern United States, brought the folk music and instruments of Europe, Africa, and the Mediterranean Basin along with it for nearly 300 years, which developed into Appalachian music. As the country expanded westward, the Mississippi River and Louisiana became a crossroads for country music, giving rise to Cajun music. In the Southwestern United States, it was the Rocky Mountains, American frontier, and Rio Grande that acted as a similar backdrop for Native American, Mexican, and cowboy ballads, which resulted in New Mexico music and the development of western music, and its directly related Red Dirt, Texas country, and Tejano music styles. In the Asia-Pacific, the steel guitar sound of country music has its provenance in the music of Hawaii.[15][16] Role of East Tennessee Main article: Music of East Tennessee The U.S. Congress has formally recognized Bristol, Tennessee as the "Birthplace of Country Music",[17] based on the historic Bristol recording sessions of 1927.[18][19][20] Since 2014, the city has been home to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum.[21][22] Historians have also noted the influence of the less-known Johnson City sessions of 1928 and 1929,[23][24] and the Knoxville sessions of 1929 and 1930.[25] In addition, the Mountain City Fiddlers Convention, held in 1925, helped to inspire modern country music. Before these, pioneer settlers, in the Great Smoky Mountains region, had developed a rich musical heritage.[26] Generations The first generation emerged in the 1920s, with Atlanta's music scene playing a major role in launching country's earliest recording artists. James Gideon "Gid" Tanner (1885–1960) was an American old-time fiddler and one of the earliest stars of what would come to be known as country music. His band, the Skillet Lickers, was one of the most innovative and influential string bands of the 1920s and 1930s. Its most notable members were Clayton McMichen (fiddle and vocal), Dan Hornsby (vocals), Riley Puckett (guitar and vocal) and Robert Lee Sweat (guitar). New York City record label Okeh Records began issuing hillbilly music records by Fiddlin' John Carson as early as 1923, followed by Columbia Records (series 15000D "Old Familiar Tunes") (Samantha Bumgarner) in 1924, and RCA Victor Records in 1927 with the first famous pioneers of the genre Jimmie Rodgers, who is widely considered the "Father of Country Music", and the first family of country music the Carter Family.[27] Many "hillbilly" musicians recorded blues songs throughout the 1920s.[28] During the second generation (1930s–1940s), radio became a popular source of entertainment, and "barn dance" shows featuring country music were started all over the South, as far north as Chicago, and as far west as California. The most important was the Grand Ole Opry, aired starting in 1925 by WSM in Nashville and continuing to the present day. During the 1930s and 1940s, cowboy songs, or western music, which had been recorded since the 1920s, were popularized by films made in Hollywood, many featuring Gene Autry, who was known as king of the "singing cowboys", and Hank Williams. Bob Wills was another country musician from the Lower Great Plains who had become very popular as the leader of a "hot string band," and who also appeared in Hollywood westerns. His mix of country and jazz, which started out as dance hall music, would become known as western swing. Wills was one of the first country musicians known to have added an electric guitar to his band, in 1938.[29] Country musicians began recording boogie in 1939, shortly after it had been played at Carnegie Hall, when Johnny Barfield recorded "Boogie Woogie". The third generation (1950s–1960s) started at the end of World War II with "mountaineer" string band music known as bluegrass, which emerged when Bill Monroe, along with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs were introduced by Roy Acuff at the Grand Ole Opry. Gospel music remained a popular component of country music. The Native American, Hispano, and American frontier music of the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico, became popular among poor communities in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas; the basic ensemble consisted of classical guitar, bass guitar, dobro or steel guitar, though some larger ensembles featured electric guitars, trumpets, keyboards (especially the honky-tonk piano, a type of tack piano), banjos, and drums. By the early 1950s it blended with rock and roll, becoming the rockabilly sound produced by Sam Phillips, Norman Petty, and Bob Keane. Musicians like Elvis Presley, Bo Diddley, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ritchie Valens, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Johnny Cash emerged as enduring representatives of the style. Beginning in the mid-1950s, and reaching its peak during the early 1960s, the Nashville sound turned country music into a multimillion-dollar industry centered in Nashville, Tennessee; Patsy Cline and Jim Reeves were two of the most broadly popular Nashville sound artists, and their deaths in separate plane crashes in the early 1960s were a factor in the genre's decline. Starting in the 1950s to the mid-1960s, western singer-songwriters such as Michael Martin Murphey and Marty Robbins rose in prominence as did others, throughout western music traditions, like New Mexico music's Al Hurricane. The late 1960s in American music produced a unique blend as a result of traditionalist backlash within separate genres. In the aftermath of the British Invasion, many desired a return to the "old values" of rock n' roll. At the same time there was a lack of enthusiasm in the country sector for Nashville-produced music. What resulted was a crossbred genre known as country rock. Fourth generation (1970s–1980s) music included outlaw country with roots in the Bakersfield sound, and country pop with roots in the countrypolitan, folk music and soft rock. Between 1972 and 1975 singer/guitarist John Denver released a series of hugely successful songs blending country and folk-rock musical styles. By the mid-1970s, Texas country and Tejano music gained popularity with performers like Freddie Fender. During the early 1980s country artists continued to see their records perform well on the pop charts. In 1980 a style of "neocountry disco music" was popularized. During the mid-1980s a group of new artists began to emerge who rejected the more polished country-pop sound that had been prominent on radio and the charts in favor of more traditional "back-to-basics" production. During the fifth generation (1990s), neotraditionalists and stadium country acts prospered. The sixth generation (2000s–present) has seen a certain amount of diversification in regard to country music styles. It has also, however, seen a shift into patriotism and conservative politics since 9/11, though such themes are less prevalent in more modern trends.[30] The influence of rock music in country has become more overt during the late 2000s and early 2010s. Most of the best-selling country songs of this era were those by Lady A, Florida Georgia Line, Carrie Underwood, and Taylor Swift.[31] Hip hop also made its mark on country music with the emergence of country rap.[32] History First generation (1920s) Vernon Dalhart was the first country star to have a major hit record The first commercial recordings of what was considered instrumental music in the traditional country style were "Arkansas Traveler" and "Turkey in the Straw" by fiddlers Henry Gilliland & A.C. (Eck) Robertson on June 30, 1922, for Victor Records and released in April 1923.[33][34] Columbia Records began issuing records with "hillbilly" music (series 15000D "Old Familiar Tunes") as early as 1924.[27] The Carter Family are a dynasty of country music and began with (left to right) A.P. Carter, wife Sara Carter and Maybelle Carter The first commercial recording of what is widely considered to be the first country song featuring vocals and lyrics was Fiddlin' John Carson with "Little Log Cabin in the Lane" for Okeh Records on June 14, 1923.[35][36] Vernon Dalhart was the first country singer to have a nationwide hit in May 1924 with "Wreck of the Old 97".[37][38] The flip side of the record was "Lonesome Road Blues", which also became very popular.[39] In April 1924, "Aunt" Samantha Bumgarner and Eva Davis became the first female musicians to record and release country songs.[40] Many of the early country musicians, such as the yodeler Cliff Carlisle, recorded blues songs into the 1930s.[41] Other important early recording artists were Riley Puckett, Don Richardson, Fiddlin' John Carson, Uncle Dave Macon, Al Hopkins, Ernest V. Stoneman, Blind Alfred Reed, Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers and the Skillet Lickers.[42] The steel guitar entered country music as early as 1922, when Jimmie Tarlton met famed Hawaiian guitarist Frank Ferera on the West Coast.[43] Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family are widely considered to be important early country musicians. From Scott County, Virginia, the Carters had learned sight reading of hymnals and sheet music using solfege.[citation needed] Their songs were first captured at a historic recording session in Bristol, Tennessee, on August 1, 1927, where Ralph Peer was the talent scout and sound recordist.[44][45] A scene in the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? depicts a similar occurrence in the same timeframe. Rodgers fused hillbilly country, gospel, jazz, blues, pop, cowboy, and folk, and many of his best songs were his compositions, including "Blue Yodel",[46] which sold over a million records and established Rodgers as the premier singer of early country music.[47][48] Beginning in 1927, and for the next 17 years, the Carters recorded some 300 old-time ballads, traditional tunes, country songs and gospel hymns, all representative of America's southeastern folklore and heritage.[49] Maybelle Carter went on to continue the family tradition with her daughters as The Carter Sisters; her daughter June would marry (in succession) Carl Smith, Rip Nix and Johnny Cash, having children with each who would also become country singers. Second generation (1930s–1940s) See also: 1940s in music § Country Roy Acuff Record sales declined during the Great Depression, but radio became a popular source of entertainment, and "barn dance" shows featuring country music were started by radio stations all over the South, as far north as Chicago, and as far west as California. The most important was the Grand Ole Opry, aired starting in 1925 by WSM in Nashville and continuing to the present day.[50] Some of the early stars on the Opry were Uncle Dave Macon, Roy Acuff and African American harmonica player DeFord Bailey. WSM's 50,000-watt signal (in 1934) could often be heard across the country.[51] Many musicians performed and recorded songs in any number of styles. Moon Mullican, for example, played western swing but also recorded songs that can be called rockabilly. Between 1947 and 1949, country crooner Eddy Arnold placed eight songs in the top 10.[52] From 1945 to 1955 Jenny Lou Carson was one of the most prolific songwriters in country music.[53] Singing cowboys and western swing Publicity photo of Roy Rogers and Gail Davis, 1948 In the 1930s and 1940s, cowboy songs, or western music, which had been recorded since the 1920s, were popularized by films made in Hollywood. Some of the popular singing cowboys from the era were Gene Autry, the Sons of the Pioneers, and Roy Rogers.[54] Country music and western music were frequently played together on the same radio stations, hence the term country and western music, despite country and western being two distinct genres. Cowgirls contributed to the sound in various family groups. Patsy Montana opened the door for female artists with her history-making song "I Want To Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart". This would begin a movement toward opportunities for women to have successful solo careers. Bob Wills was another country musician from the Lower Great Plains who had become very popular as the leader of a "hot string band," and who also appeared in Hollywood westerns. His mix of country and jazz, which started out as dance hall music, would become known as western swing. Cliff Bruner, Moon Mullican, Milton Brown and Adolph Hofner were other early western swing pioneers. Spade Cooley and Tex Williams also had very popular bands and appeared in films. At its height, western swing rivaled the popularity of big band swing music. Changing instrumentation Drums were scorned by early country musicians as being "too loud" and "not pure", but by 1935 western swing big band leader Bob Wills had added drums to the Texas Playboys. In the mid-1940s, the Grand Ole Opry did not want the Playboys' drummer to appear on stage. Although drums were commonly used by rockabilly groups by 1955, the less-conservative-than-the-Grand-Ole-Opry Louisiana Hayride kept its infrequently used drummer back stage as late as 1956. By the early 1960s, however, it was rare for a country band not to have a drummer.[55] Bob Wills was one of the first country musicians known to have added an electric guitar to his band, in 1938.[29] A decade later (1948) Arthur Smith achieved top 10 US country chart success with his MGM Records recording of "Guitar Boogie", which crossed over to the US pop chart, introducing many people to the potential of the electric guitar. For several decades Nashville session players preferred the warm tones of the Gibson and Gretsch archtop electrics, but a "hot" Fender style, using guitars which became available beginning in the early 1950s, eventually prevailed as the signature guitar sound of country.[55][56] Hillbilly boogie Country musicians began recording boogie in 1939, shortly after it had been played at Carnegie Hall, when Johnny Barfield recorded "Boogie Woogie". The trickle of what was initially called hillbilly boogie, or okie boogie (later to be renamed country boogie), became a flood beginning in late 1945. One notable release from this period was the Delmore Brothers' "Freight Train Boogie", considered to be part of the combined evolution of country music and blues towards rockabilly. In 1948, Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith achieved top ten US country chart success with his MGM Records recordings of "Guitar Boogie" and "Banjo Boogie", with the former crossing over to the US pop charts.[57] Other country boogie artists included Moon Mullican, Merrill Moore and Tennessee Ernie Ford. The hillbilly boogie period lasted into the 1950s and remains one of many subgenres of country into the 21st century. Bluegrass, folk and gospel Main article: Bluegrass music Bill and Charlie Monroe (1936). Bill Monroe (1911–1996) and the Blue Grass Boys created the bluegrass by the end of World War II. By the end of World War II, "mountaineer" string band music known as bluegrass had emerged when Bill Monroe joined with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, introduced by Roy Acuff at the Grand Ole Opry. That was the ordination of bluegrass music and how Bill Monroe came to be known as the "Father of Bluegrass." Gospel music, too, remained a popular component of bluegrass and other sorts of country music. Red Foley, the biggest country star following World War II, had one of the first million-selling gospel hits ("Peace in the Valley") and also sang boogie, blues and rockabilly. In the post-war period, country music was called "folk" in the trades, and "hillbilly" within the industry.[58] In 1944, Billboard replaced the term "hillbilly" with "folk songs and blues," and switched to "country and western" in 1949.[59][60] Honky tonk Hank Williams Another type of stripped down and raw music with a variety of moods and a basic ensemble of guitar, bass, dobro or steel guitar (and later) drums became popular, especially among rural residents in the three states of Texhomex, those being Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.[61] It became known as honky tonk and had its roots in western swing and the ranchera music of Mexico and the border states, particularly New Mexico and Texas,[62] together with the blues of the American South. Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys personified this music which has been described as "a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, a little bit of black and a little bit of white ... just loud enough to keep you from thinking too much and to go right on ordering the whiskey."[63] East Texan Al Dexter had a hit with "Honky Tonk Blues", and seven years later "Pistol Packin' Mama".[64] These "honky tonk" songs were associated with barrooms, and was performed by the likes of Ernest Tubb, Kitty Wells (the first major female country solo singer), Ted Daffan, Floyd Tillman, the Maddox Brothers and Rose, Lefty Frizzell and Hank Williams; the music of these artists would later be called "traditional" country. Williams' influence in particular would prove to be enormous, inspiring many of the pioneers of rock and roll,[65] such as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry and Ike Turner, while providing a framework for emerging honky tonk talents like George Jones. Webb Pierce was the top-charting country artist of the 1950s, with 13 of his singles spending 113 weeks at number one. He charted 48 singles during the decade; 31 reached the top ten and 26 reached the top four. Third generation (1950s–1960s) See also: 1950s in music and 1960s in music By the early 1950s, a blend of western swing, country boogie, and honky tonk was played by most country bands, a mixture which followed in the footsteps of Gene Autry, Lydia Mendoza, Roy Rogers, and Patsy Montana. Western music, influenced by the cowboy ballads, New Mexico, Texas country and Tejano music rhythms of the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico, reached its peak in popularity in the late 1950s, most notably with the song "El Paso", first recorded by Marty Robbins in September 1959. Western music's influence would continue to grow within the country music sphere, western musicians like Michael Martin Murphey, New Mexico music artists Al Hurricane and Antonia Apodaca, Tejano music performer Little Joe, and even folk revivalist John Denver, all first rose to prominence during this time. This western music influence largely kept the music of the folk revival and folk rock from influencing the country music genre much, despite the similarity in instrumentation and origins (see, for instance, the Byrds' negative reception during their appearance on the Grand Ole Opry). The main concern was largely political: most folk revival was largely driven by progressive activists, a stark contrast to the culturally conservative audiences of country music. John Denver was perhaps the only musician to have major success in both the country and folk revival genres throughout his career, later only a handful of artists like Burl Ives and Canadian musician Gordon Lightfoot successfully made the crossover to country after folk revival fell out of fashion. During the mid-1950s a new style of country music became popular, eventually to be referred to as rockabilly.[66] In 1953, the first all-country radio station was established in Lubbock, Texas.[67] The music of the 1960s and 1970s targeted the American working class, and truckers in particular. As country radio became more popular, trucking songs like the 1963 hit song Six Days on the Road by Dave Dudley began to make up their own subgenre of country. These revamped songs sought to portray American truckers as a "new folk hero", marking a significant shift in sound from earlier country music. The song was written by actual truckers and contained numerous references to the trucker culture of the time like "ICC" for Interstate Commerce Commission and "little white pills" as a reference to amphetamines. Starday Records in Nashville followed up on Dudley's initial success with the release of Give Me 40 Acres by the Willis Brothers.[67] Rockabilly Main article: Rockabilly Johnny Cash Rockabilly was most popular with country fans in the 1950s; one of the first rock and roll superstars was former western yodeler Bill Haley, who repurposed his Four Aces of Western Swing into a rockabilly band in the early 1950s and renamed it the Comets. Bill Haley & His Comets are credited with two of the first successful rock and roll records, "Crazy Man, Crazy" of 1953 and "Rock Around the Clock" in 1954.[68] 1956 could be called the year of rockabilly in country music. Rockabilly was an early form of rock and roll, an upbeat combination of blues and country music.[69] The number two, three and four songs on Billboard's charts for that year were Elvis Presley, "Heartbreak Hotel"; Johnny Cash, "I Walk the Line"; and Carl Perkins, "Blue Suede Shoes". Reflecting this success, George Jones released a rockabilly record that year under the pseudonym "Thumper Jones", wanting to capitalize on the popularity of rockabilly without alienating his traditional country base.[70] Cash and Presley placed songs in the top 5 in 1958 with No. 3 "Guess Things Happen That Way/Come In, Stranger" by Cash, and No. 5 by Presley "Don't/I Beg of You."[71] Presley acknowledged the influence of rhythm and blues artists and his style, saying "The colored folk been singin' and playin' it just the way I'm doin' it now, man for more years than I know." Within a few years, many rockabilly musicians returned to a more mainstream style or had defined their own unique style. Country music gained national television exposure through Ozark Jubilee on ABC-TV and radio from 1955 to 1960 from Springfield, Missouri. The program showcased top stars including several rockabilly artists, some from the Ozarks. As Webb Pierce put it in 1956, "Once upon a time, it was almost impossible to sell country music in a place like New York City. Nowadays, television takes us everywhere, and country music records and sheet music sell as well in large cities as anywhere else."[72] The Country Music Association was founded in 1958, in part because numerous country musicians were appalled by the increased influence of rock and roll on country music.[73] The Nashville and countrypolitan sounds Main article: Nashville sound Beginning in the mid-1950s, and reaching its peak during the early 1960s, the Nashville sound turned country music into a multimillion-dollar industry centered in Nashville, Tennessee. Under the direction of producers such as Chet Atkins, Bill Porter, Paul Cohen, Owen Bradley, Bob Ferguson, and later Billy Sherrill, the sound brought country music to a diverse audience and helped revive country as it emerged from a commercially fallow period. This subgenre was notable for borrowing from 1950s pop stylings: a prominent and smooth vocal, backed by a string section (violins and other orchestral strings) and vocal chorus. Instrumental soloing was de-emphasized in favor of trademark "licks". Leading artists in this genre included Jim Reeves, Skeeter Davis, Connie Smith, the Browns,[74] Patsy Cline, and Eddy Arnold. The "slip note" piano style of session musician Floyd Cramer was an important component of this style.[75] The Nashville Sound collapsed in mainstream popularity in 1964, a victim of both the British Invasion and the deaths of Reeves and Cline in separate airplane crashes. By the mid-1960s, the genre had developed into countrypolitan. Countrypolitan was aimed straight at mainstream markets, and it sold well throughout the later 1960s into the early 1970s. Top artists included Tammy Wynette, Lynn Anderson and Charlie Rich, as well as such former "hard country" artists as Ray Price and Marty Robbins. Despite the appeal of the Nashville sound, many traditional country artists emerged during this period and dominated the genre: Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, Porter Wagoner, George Jones, and Sonny James among them. Country-soul crossover Main article: Country soul In 1962, Ray Charles surprised the pop world by turning his attention to country and western music, topping the charts and rating number three for the year on Billboard's pop chart[76] with the "I Can't Stop Loving You" single, and recording the landmark album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music.[77] Bakersfield sound Another subgenre of country music grew out of hardcore honky tonk with elements of western swing and originated 112 miles (180 km) north-northwest of Los Angeles in Bakersfield, California, where many "Okies" and other Dust Bowl migrants had settled. Influenced by one-time West Coast residents Bob Wills and Lefty Frizzell, by 1966 it was known as the Bakersfield sound. It relied on electric instruments and amplification, in particular the Telecaster electric guitar, more than other subgenres of the country music of the era, and it can be described as having a sharp, hard, driving, no-frills, edgy flavor—hard guitars and honky-tonk harmonies.[67] Leading practitioners of this style were Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Tommy Collins, Dwight Yoakam, Gary Allan, and Wynn Stewart, each of whom had his own style.[78][79] Ken Nelson, who had produced Owens and Haggard and Rose Maddox became interested in the trucking song subgenre following the success of Six Days on the Road and asked Red Simpson to record an album of trucking songs. Haggard's White Line Fever was also part of the trucking subgenre.[67] Western music merges with country See also: Western music (North America) The country music scene of the 1940s until the 1970s was largely dominated by western music influences, so much so that the genre began to be called "country and western".[80] Even today, cowboy and frontier values continue to play a role in the larger country music, with western wear, cowboy boots, and cowboy hats continues to be in fashion for country artists.[81] West of the Mississippi river, many of these western genres continue to flourish, including the Red Dirt of Oklahoma,[82] New Mexico music of New Mexico,[83] and both Texas country music and Tejano music of Texas.[84][85] During the 1950s until the early 1970s, the latter part of the western heyday in country music, many of these genres featured popular artists that continue to influence both their distinctive genres and larger country music. Red Dirt featured Bob Childers and Steve Ripley; for New Mexico music Al Hurricane, Al Hurricane Jr., and Antonia Apodaca; and within the Texas scenes Willie Nelson, Freddie Fender, Johnny Rodriguez, and Little Joe. As Outlaw country music emerged as subgenre in its own right, Red Dirt, New Mexico, Texas country, and Tejano grew in popularity as a part of the Outlaw country movement. Originating in the bars, fiestas, and honky-tonks of Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas, their music supplemented outlaw country's singer-songwriter tradition as well as 21st-century rock-inspired alternative country and hip hop-inspired country rap artists.[86] Example of cowboy hat and cowboy boots, two prominent components of country music fashion Example of cowboy hat and cowboy boots, two prominent components of country music fashion   Western wear shirt design, with snap fasteners Western wear shirt design, with snap fasteners   Painting of a cowboy singing by Thomas Eakins (1890) Painting of a cowboy singing by Thomas Eakins (1890)   Freddy Fender performing Tejano music after The Johnny Cash Show in Nashville, Tennessee (1977) Freddy Fender performing Tejano music after The Johnny Cash Show in Nashville, Tennessee (1977)   Bob Childers performing Red dirt in Okemah, Oklahoma (2001) Bob Childers performing Red dirt in Okemah, Oklahoma (2001)   Al Hurricane and Al Hurricane Jr. performing New Mexico music at a fiesta in Old Town Albuquerque (2014) Al Hurricane and Al Hurricane Jr. performing New Mexico music at a fiesta in Old Town Albuquerque (2014) Fourth generation (1970s–1980s) See also: 1970s in music § Country, and 1980s in music § Country Outlaw movement Willie Nelson (2009) Main article: Outlaw country Outlaw country was derived from the traditional western, including Red Dirt, New Mexico, Texas country, Tejano, and honky-tonk musical styles of the late 1950s and 1960s. Songs such as the 1963 Johnny Cash popularized "Ring of Fire" show clear influences from the likes of Al Hurricane and Little Joe, this influence just happened to culminate with artists such as Ray Price (whose band, the "Cherokee Cowboys", included Willie Nelson and Roger Miller) and mixed with the anger of an alienated subculture of the nation during the period, a collection of musicians that came to be known as the outlaw movement revolutionized the genre of country music in the early 1970s.[87][88] "After I left Nashville (the early 70s), I wanted to relax and play the music that I wanted to play, and just stay around Texas, maybe Oklahoma. Waylon and I had that outlaw image going, and when it caught on at colleges and we started selling records, we were O.K. The whole outlaw thing, it had nothing to do with the music, it was something that got written in an article, and the young people said, 'Well, that's pretty cool.' And started listening." (Willie Nelson)[89] The term outlaw country is traditionally associated with Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker,[90] Hank Williams, Jr., Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings and Joe Ely.[91] It was encapsulated in the 1976 album Wanted! The Outlaws. Though the outlaw movement as a cultural fad had died down after the late 1970s (with Jennings noting in 1978 that it had gotten out of hand and led to real-life legal scrutiny), many western and outlaw country music artists maintained their popularity during the 1980s by forming supergroups, such as The Highwaymen,[92] Texas Tornados,[93] and Bandido.[94] Country pop Main article: Country pop John Denver (1975) Country pop or soft pop, with roots in the countrypolitan sound, folk music, and soft rock, is a subgenre that first emerged in the 1970s. Although the term first referred to country music songs and artists that crossed over to top 40 radio, country pop acts are now more likely to cross over to adult contemporary music. It started with pop music singers like Glen Campbell, Bobbie Gentry, John Denver, Olivia Newton-John, Anne Murray, B. J. Thomas, the Bellamy Brothers, and Linda Ronstadt having hits on the country charts. Between 1972 and 1975, singer/guitarist John Denver released a series of hugely successful songs blending country and folk-rock musical styles ("Rocky Mountain High", "Sunshine on My Shoulders", "Annie's Song", "Thank God I'm a Country Boy", and "I'm Sorry"), and was named Country Music Entertainer of the Year in 1975. The year before, Olivia Newton-John, an Australian pop singer, won the "Best Female Country Vocal Performance" as well as the Country Music Association's most coveted award for females, "Female Vocalist of the Year". In response George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Jean Shepard and other traditional Nashville country artists dissatisfied with the new trend formed the short-lived "Association of Country Entertainers" in 1974; the ACE soon unraveled in the wake of Jones and Wynette's bitter divorce and Shepard's realization that most others in the industry lacked her passion for the movement. Dolly Parton During the mid-1970s, Dolly Parton, a successful mainstream country artist since the late 1960s, mounted a high-profile campaign to cross over to pop music, culminating in her 1977 hit "Here You Come Again", which topped the U.S. country singles chart, and also reached No. 3 on the pop singles charts. Parton's male counterpart, Kenny Rogers, came from the opposite direction, aiming his music at the country charts, after a successful career in pop, rock and folk music with the First Edition, achieving success the same year with "Lucille", which topped the country charts and reached No. 5 on the U.S. pop singles charts, as well as reaching Number 1 on the British all-genre chart. Parton and Rogers would both continue to have success on both country and pop charts simultaneously, well into the 1980s. Country music propelled Kenny Rogers’ career, making him a three-time Grammy Award winner and six-time Country Music Association Awards winner. Having sold more than 50 million albums in the US, one of his Song "The Gambler," inspired several TV films, with Rogers as the main character.[95] Artists like Crystal Gayle, Ronnie Milsap and Barbara Mandrell would also find success on the pop charts with their records. In 1975, author Paul Hemphill stated in the Saturday Evening Post, "Country music isn't really country anymore; it is a hybrid of nearly every form of popular music in America."[96] During the early 1980s, country artists continued to see their records perform well on the pop charts. Willie Nelson and Juice Newton each had two songs in the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100 in the early eighties: Nelson charted "Always on My Mind" (#5, 1982) and "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" (#5, 1984, a duet with Julio Iglesias), and Newton achieved success with "Queen of Hearts" (#2, 1981) and "Angel of the Morning" (#4, 1981). Four country songs topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the 1980s: "Lady" by Kenny Rogers, from the late fall of 1980; "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton, "I Love a Rainy Night" by Eddie Rabbitt (these two back-to-back at the top in early 1981); and "Islands in the Stream", a duet by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers in 1983, a pop-country crossover hit written by Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees. Newton's "Queen of Hearts" almost reached No. 1, but was kept out of the spot by the pop ballad juggernaut "Endless Love" by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie.[97] The move of country music toward neotraditional styles led to a marked decline in country/pop crossovers in the late 1980s, and only one song in that period—Roy Orbison's "You Got It", from 1989—made the top 10 of both the Billboard Hot Country Singles" and Hot 100 charts, due largely to a revival of interest in Orbison after his sudden death.[98][99] The only song with substantial country airplay to reach number one on the pop charts in the late 1980s was "At This Moment" by Billy Vera and the Beaters, an R&B song with slide guitar embellishment that appeared at number 42 on the country charts from minor crossover airplay.[100] The record-setting, multi-platinum group Alabama was named Artist of the Decade for the 1980s by the Academy of Country Music. Country rock Main article: Country rock See also: Cowpunk A reunited Eagles in 2008 Country rock is a genre that started in the 1960s but became prominent in the 1970s. The late 1960s in American music produced a unique blend as a result of traditionalist backlash within separate genres. In the aftermath of the British Invasion, many desired a return to the "old values" of rock n' roll. At the same time there was a lack of enthusiasm in the country sector for Nashville-produced music. What resulted was a crossbred genre known as country rock. Early innovators in this new style of music in the 1960s and 1970s included Bob Dylan, who was the first to revert to country music with his 1967 album John Wesley Harding[101] (and even more so with that album's follow-up, Nashville Skyline), followed by Gene Clark, Clark's former band the Byrds (with Gram Parsons on Sweetheart of the Rodeo) and its spin-off the Flying Burrito Brothers (also featuring Gram Parsons), guitarist Clarence White, Michael Nesmith (the Monkees and the First National Band), the Grateful Dead, Neil Young, Commander Cody, the Allman Brothers Band, Charlie Daniels, the Marshall Tucker Band, Poco, Buffalo Springfield, Stephen Stills' band Manassas and Eagles, among many, even the former folk music duo Ian & Sylvia, who formed Great Speckled Bird in 1969. The Eagles would become the most successful of these country rock acts, and their compilation album Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) remains the second-best-selling album in the US with 29 million copies sold.[102] The Rolling Stones also got into the act with songs like "Dead Flowers"; the original recording of "Honky Tonk Women" was performed in a country style, but it was subsequently re-recorded in a hard rock style for the single version, and the band's preferred country version was later released on the album Let It Bleed, under the title "Country Honk". Described by AllMusic as the "father of country-rock",[103] Gram Parsons' work in the early 1970s was acclaimed for its purity and for his appreciation for aspects of traditional country music.[104] Though his career was cut tragically short by his 1973 death, his legacy was carried on by his protégé and duet partner Emmylou Harris; Harris would release her debut solo in 1975, an amalgamation of country, rock and roll, folk, blues and pop. Subsequent to the initial blending of the two polar opposite genres, other offspring soon resulted, including Southern rock, heartland rock and in more recent years, alternative country. In the decades that followed, artists such as Juice Newton, Alabama, Hank Williams, Jr. (and, to an even greater extent, Hank Williams III), Gary Allan, Shania Twain, Brooks & Dunn, Faith Hill, Garth Brooks, Dwight Yoakam, Steve Earle, Dolly Parton, Rosanne Cash and Linda Ronstadt moved country further towards rock influence. Neocountry In 1980, a style of "neocountry disco music" was popularized by the film Urban Cowboy.[105] It was during this time that a glut of pop-country crossover artists began appearing on the country charts: former pop stars Bill Medley (of the Righteous Brothers), "England Dan" Seals (of England Dan and John Ford Coley), Tom Jones, and Merrill Osmond (both alone and with some of his brothers; his younger sister Marie Osmond was already an established country star) all recorded significant country hits in the early 1980s. Sales in record stores rocketed to $250 million in 1981; by 1984, 900 radio stations began programming country or neocountry pop full-time. As with most sudden trends, however, by 1984 sales had dropped below 1979 figures.[105] Truck driving country Main article: Truck-driving country Truck driving country music is a genre of country music[106] and is a fusion of honky-tonk, country rock and the Bakersfield sound.[107] It has the tempo of country rock and the emotion of honky-tonk,[107] and its lyrics focus on a truck driver's lifestyle.[108] Truck driving country songs often deal with the profession of trucking and love.[107] Well-known artists who sing truck driving country include Dave Dudley, Red Sovine, Dick Curless, Red Simpson, Del Reeves, the Willis Brothers and Jerry Reed, with C. W. McCall and Cledus Maggard (pseudonyms of Bill Fries and Jay Huguely, respectively) being more humorous entries in the subgenre.[107] Dudley is known as the father of truck driving country.[108][109] Neotraditionalist movement Main article: Neotraditionalist country George Strait, a pioneer of the neotraditionalist movement and dubbed the "King of Country,"[110] Strait is one of the best selling musicians of all time.[110] During the mid-1980s, a group of new artists began to emerge who rejected the more polished country-pop sound that had been prominent on radio and the charts, in favor of more, traditional, "back-to-basics" production. Many of the artists during the latter half of the 1980s drew on traditional honky-tonk, bluegrass, folk and western swing. Artists who typified this sound included Travis Tritt, Reba McEntire, George Strait, Keith Whitley, Alan Jackson, John Anderson, Patty Loveless, Kathy Mattea, Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakam, Clint Black, Ricky Skaggs, and the Judds. Beginning in 1989, a confluence of events brought an unprecedented commercial boom to country music. New marketing strategies were used to engage fans, powered by technology that more accurately tracked the popularity of country music, and boosted by a political and economic climate that focused attention on the genre. Garth Brooks ("Friends in Low Places") in particular attracted fans with his fusion of neotraditionalist country and stadium rock. Other artists such as Brooks and Dunn ("Boot Scootin' Boogie") also combined conventional country with slick, rock elements, while Lorrie Morgan, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Kathy Mattea updated neotraditionalist styles.[111] Fifth generation (1990s) Garth Brooks See also: 1990s in music § Country Country music was aided by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Docket 80–90, which led to a significant expansion of FM radio in the 1980s by adding numerous higher-fidelity FM signals to rural and suburban areas. At this point, country music was mainly heard on rural AM radio stations; the expansion of FM was particularly helpful to country music, which migrated to FM from the AM band as AM became overcome by talk radio (the country music stations that stayed on AM developed the classic country format for the AM audience). At the same time, beautiful music stations already in rural areas began abandoning the format (leading to its effective demise) to adopt country music as well. This wider availability of country music led to producers seeking to polish their product for a wider audience. In 1990, Billboard, which had published a country music chart since the 1940s, changed the methodology it used to compile the chart: singles sales were removed from the methodology, and only airplay on country radio determined a song's place on the chart.[112] In the 1990s, country music became a worldwide phenomenon thanks to Garth Brooks,[113][114][115] who enjoyed one of the most successful careers in popular music history, breaking records for both sales and concert attendance throughout the decade. The RIAA has certified his recordings at a combined (128× platinum), denoting roughly 113 million U.S. shipments.[116] Other artists who experienced success during this time included Clint Black, John Michael Montgomery, Tracy Lawrence, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Travis Tritt, Alan Jackson and the newly formed duo of Brooks & Dunn; George Strait, whose career began in the 1980s, also continued to have widespread success in this decade and beyond. Toby Keith began his career as a more pop-oriented country singer in the 1990s, evolving into an outlaw persona in the early 2000s with Pull My Chain and its follow-up, Unleashed. Success of female artists Female artists such as Reba McEntire, Patty Loveless, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Deana Carter, LeAnn Rimes, Mindy McCready, Pam Tillis, Lorrie Morgan, Shania Twain, and Mary Chapin Carpenter all released platinum-selling albums in the 1990s. The Dixie Chicks became one of the most popular country bands in the 1990s and early 2000s. Their 1998 debut album Wide Open Spaces went on to become certified 12× platinum while their 1999 album Fly went on to become 10× platinum. After their third album, Home, was released in 2003, the band made political news in part because of lead singer Natalie Maines's comments disparaging then-President George W. Bush while the band was overseas (Maines stated that she and her bandmates were ashamed to be from the same state as Bush, who had just commenced the Iraq War a few days prior). The comments caused a rift between the band and the country music scene, and the band's fourth (and most recent) album, 2006's Taking the Long Way, took a more rock-oriented direction; the album was commercially successful overall among non-country audiences but largely ignored among country audiences. After Taking the Long Way, the band broke up for a decade (with two of its members continuing as the Court Yard Hounds) before reuniting in 2016 and releasing new material in 2020. Shania Twain performing during her Up! Tour in 2004 Canadian artist Shania Twain became the best selling female country artist of the decade. This was primarily due to the success of her breakthrough sophomore 1995 album, The Woman in Me, which was certified 12× platinum sold over 20 million copies worldwide and its follow-up, 1997's Come On Over, which was certified 20× platinum and sold over 40 million copies. The album became a major worldwide phenomenon and became one of the world's best selling albums for three years (1998, 1999 and 2000); it also went on to become the best selling country album of all time. Unlike the majority of her contemporaries, Twain enjoyed large international success that had been seen by very few country artists, before or after her. Critics have noted that Twain enjoyed much of her success due to breaking free of traditional country stereotypes and for incorporating elements of rock and pop into her music. In 2002, she released her successful fourth studio album, titled Up!, which was certified 11× platinum and sold over 15 million copies worldwide. Shania Twain has been nominated eighteen times for Grammy Awards and won five Grammys. [[117]] She was the best-paid country music star in 2016 according to Forbes, with a net worth of $27.5 million. [[118]]Twain has been credited with breaking international boundaries for country music, as well as inspiring many country artists to incorporate different genres into their music in order to attract a wider audience. She is also credited with changing the way in which many female country performers would market themselves, as unlike many before her she used fashion and her sex appeal to get rid of the stereotypical 'honky-tonk' image the majority of country singers had in order to distinguish herself from many female country artists of the time. Line dancing revival In the early-mid-1990s, country western music was influenced by the popularity of line dancing. This influence was so great that Chet Atkins was quoted as saying, "The music has gotten pretty bad, I think. It's all that damn line dancing."[119] By the end of the decade, however, at least one line dance choreographer complained that good country line dance music was no longer being released. In contrast, artists such as Don Williams and George Jones who had more or less had consistent chart success through the 1970s and 1980s suddenly had their fortunes fall rapidly around 1991 when the new chart rules took effect. Alternative country Main articles: Alt country and cowpunk Steve Earle performing in Ireland in 2007 Country influences combined with Punk rock and alternative rock to forge the "cowpunk" scene in Southern California during the 1980s, which included bands such as the Long Ryders, Lone Justice and the Beat Farmers, as well as the established punk group X, whose music had begun to include country and rockabilly influences.[120] Simultaneously, a generation of diverse country artists outside of California emerged that rejected the perceived cultural and musical conservatism associated with Nashville's mainstream country musicians in favor of more countercultural outlaw country and the folk singer-songwriter traditions of artists such as Woody Guthrie, Gram Parsons and Bob Dylan. Artists from outside California who were associated with early alternative country included singer-songwriters such as Lucinda Williams, Lyle Lovett and Steve Earle, the Nashville country rock band Jason and the Scorchers, the Providence "cowboy pop" band Rubber Rodeo, and the British post-punk band the Mekons. Earle, in particular, was noted for his popularity with both country and college rock audiences: He promoted his 1986 debut album Guitar Town with a tour that saw him open for both country singer Dwight Yoakam and alternative rock band the Replacements.[121] Yoakam also cultivated a fanbase spanning multiple genres through his stripped-down honky-tonk influenced sound, association with the cowpunk scene, and performances at Los Angeles punk rock clubs.[122] These early styles had coalesced into a genre by the time the Illinois group Uncle Tupelo released their influential debut album No Depression in 1990.[123][124] The album is widely credited as being the first "alternative country" album, and inspired the name of No Depression magazine, which exclusively covered the new genre.[123][124] Following Uncle Tupelo's disbanding in 1994, its members formed two significant bands in genre: Wilco and Son Volt. Although Wilco's sound had moved away from country and towards indie rock by the time they released their critically acclaimed album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot in 2002, they have continued to be an influence on later alt-country artists. Other acts who became prominent in the alt-country genre during the 1990s and 2000s included the Bottle Rockets, the Handsome Family, Blue Mountain, Robbie Fulks, Blood Oranges, Bright Eyes, Drive-By Truckers, Old 97's, Old Crow Medicine Show, Nickel Creek, Neko Case, and Whiskeytown, whose lead singer Ryan Adams later had a successful solo-career.[125] Alt-country, in various iterations overlapped with other genres, including Red Dirt country music (Cross Canadian Ragweed), jam bands (My Morning Jacket and the String Cheese Incident), and indie folk (the Avett Brothers). Despite the genre's growing popularity in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, alternative country and neo-traditionalist artists saw minimal support from country radio in those decades, despite strong sales and critical acclaim for albums such as the soundtrack to the 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou?.[126] In 1987, the Beat Farmers gained airplay on country music stations with their song "Make It Last", but the single was pulled from the format when station programmers decreed the band's music was too rock-oriented for their audience.[127] However, some alt-country songs have been crossover hits to mainstream country radio in cover versions by established artists on the format; Lucinda Williams' "Passionate Kisses" was a hit for Mary Chapin Carpenter in 1993, Ryan Adams' "When the Stars Go Blue" was a hit for Tim McGraw in 2007, and Old Crow Medicine Show's "Wagon Wheel" was a hit for Darius Rucker (member of Hootie & The Blowfish) in 2013. In the 2010s, the alt-country genre saw an increase in its critical and commercial popularity, owing to the success of artists such as the Civil Wars, Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, Lydia Loveless and Margo Price. In 2019, Kacey Musgraves – a country artist who had gained a following with indie rock fans and music critics despite minimal airplay on country radio – won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for her album Golden Hour.[128] Sixth generation (2000s–present) This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) See also: 2000s in music § Country, and 2010s in music § Country The sixth generation of country music continued to be influenced by other genres such as pop, rock, and R&B. Richard Marx crossed over with his Days in Avalon album, which features five country songs and several singers and musicians. Alison Krauss sang background vocals to Marx's single "Straight from My Heart." Also, Bon Jovi had a hit single, "Who Says You Can't Go Home", with Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland. Kid Rock's collaboration with Sheryl Crow, "Picture," was a major crossover hit in 2001 and began Kid Rock's transition from hard rock to a country-rock hybrid that would later produce another major crossover hit, 2008's "All Summer Long." (Crow, whose music had often incorporated country elements, would also officially cross over into country with her hit "Easy" from her debut country album Feels like Home). Darius Rucker, frontman for the 1990s pop-rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, began a country solo career in the late 2000s, one that to date has produced five albums and several hits on both the country charts and the Billboard Hot 100. Singer-songwriter Unknown Hinson became famous for his appearance in the Charlotte television show Wild, Wild, South, after which Hinson started his own band and toured in southern states. Other rock stars who featured a country song on their albums were Don Henley (who released Cass County in 2015, an album which featured collaborations with numerous country artists) and Poison. The back half of the 2010-2020 decade saw an increasing number of mainstream country acts collaborate with pop and R&B acts; many of these songs achieved commercial success by appealing to fans across multiple genres; examples include collaborations between Kane Brown and Marshmello[129] and Maren Morris and Zedd.[130] There has also been interest from pop singers in country music, including Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Alicia Keys, Gwen Stefani, Justin Timberlake, Justin Bieber and Pink.[131] Supporting this movement is the new generation of contemporary pop-country, including Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Kacey Musgraves, Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, Sam Hunt, Chris Young,[132] who introduced new themes in their works, touching on fundamental rights, feminism, and controversies about racism and religion of the older generations.[133] Popular culture Carrie Underwood at the 2019 American Music Awards In 2005, country singer Carrie Underwood rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol and has since become one of the most prominent recording artists in the genre, with worldwide sales of more than 65 million records and seven Grammy Awards.[134] With her first single, "Inside Your Heaven", Underwood became the only solo country artist to have a number 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the 2000–2009 decade and also broke Billboard chart history as the first country music artist ever to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100. Underwood's debut album, Some Hearts, became the best-selling solo female debut album in country music history, the fastest-selling debut country album in the history of the SoundScan era and the best-selling country album of the last 10 years, being ranked by Billboard as the number 1 Country Album of the 2000–2009 decade. She has also become the female country artist with the most number one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in the Nielsen SoundScan era (1991–present), having 14 #1s and breaking her own Guinness Book record of ten. In 2007, Underwood won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist, becoming only the second Country artist in history (and the first in a decade) to win it. She also made history by becoming the seventh woman to win Entertainer of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards, and the first woman in history to win the award twice, as well as twice consecutively. Time has listed Underwood as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2016, Underwood topped the Country Airplay chart for the 15th time, becoming the female artist with the most number ones on that chart. Miranda Lambert in 2019 Carrie Underwood was only one of several country stars produced by a television series in the 2000s. In addition to Underwood, American Idol launched the careers of Kellie Pickler, Josh Gracin, Bucky Covington, Kristy Lee Cook, Danny Gokey, Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery (as well as that of occasional country singer Kelly Clarkson[135]) in the decade, and would continue to launch country careers in the 2010s. The series Nashville Star, while not nearly as successful as Idol, did manage to bring Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves and Chris Young to mainstream success, also launching the careers of lower-profile musicians such as Buddy Jewell, Sean Patrick McGraw, and Canadian musician George Canyon. Can You Duet? produced the duos Steel Magnolia and Joey + Rory. Teen sitcoms also have influenced modern country music; in 2008, actress Jennette McCurdy (best known as the sidekick Sam on the teen sitcom iCarly) released her first single, "So Close", following that with the single "Generation Love" in 2011. Another teen sitcom star, Miley Cyrus (of Disney Channel's Hannah Montana), also had a crossover hit in the late 2000s with "The Climb" and another with a duet with her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, with "Ready, Set, Don't Go." Jana Kramer, an actress in the teen drama One Tree Hill, released a country album in 2012 that has produced two hit singles as of 2013. Actresses Hayden Panettiere and Connie Britton began recording country songs as part of their roles in the TV shows Nashville and Pretty Little Liars star Lucy Hale released her debut album Road Between in 2014. In 2010, the group Lady Antebellum won five Grammys, including the coveted Song of the Year and Record of the Year for "Need You Now".[136] A large number of duos and vocal groups emerged on the charts in the 2010s, many of which feature close harmony in the lead vocals. In addition to Lady A, groups such as Little Big Town, the Band Perry, Gloriana, Thompson Square, Eli Young Band, Zac Brown Band and British duo the Shires have emerged to occupy a large share of mainstream success alongside solo singers such as Kacey Musgraves and Miranda Lambert. Taylor Swift at the 2019 American Music Awards One of the most commercially successful country artists of the late 2000s and early 2010s has been singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Swift first became widely known in 2006 when her debut single, "Tim McGraw", was released when Swift was only 16 years old. In 2006, Swift released her self-titled debut studio album, which spent 275 weeks on Billboard 200, one of the longest runs of any album on that chart. In 2008, Taylor Swift released her second studio album, Fearless, which made her the second longest number-one charted on Billboard 200 and the second best-selling album (just behind Adele's 21) within the past 5 years. At the 2010 Grammys, Taylor Swift was 20 and won Album of the Year for Fearless, which made her the youngest artist to win this award. Swift has received twelve Grammys already. Buoyed by her teen idol status among girls and a change in the methodology of compiling the Billboard charts to favor pop-crossover songs, Swift's 2012 single "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" spent the most weeks at the top of Billboard's Hot 100 chart and Hot Country Songs chart of any song in nearly five decades. The song's long run at the top of the chart was somewhat controversial, as the song is largely a pop song without much country influence and its success on the charts driven by a change to the chart's criteria to include airplay on non-country radio stations, prompting disputes over what constitutes a country song; many of Swift's later releases, such as album 1989 (2014), Reputation (2017), and Lover (2019) were released solely to pop audiences.[137][138][139] Swift returned to country music in her recent folk-inspired releases, Folklore (2020) and Evermore (2020), with songs like "Betty" and "No Body, No Crime". Modern variations Influence of rock, pop and hip-hop In the mid to late 2010s, country music began to increasingly sound more like the style of modern-day Pop music,[132] with more simple and repetitive lyrics, more electronic-based instrumentation, and experimentation with "talk-singing" and rap, pop-country pulled farther away from the traditional sounds of country music and received criticisms from country music purists while gaining in popularity with mainstream audiences.[140] The topics addressed have also changed, turning controversial such as acceptance of the LGBT community, safe sex, recreational marijuana use, and questioning religious sentiment.[133] Influences also come from some pop artists' interest in the country genre, including Justin Timberlake with the album Man of the Woods,[141] Beyoncé's single "Daddy Lessons" from Lemonade,[142] Gwen Stefani with "Nobody but You",[143] Bruno Mars,[144] Lady Gaga,[145] Alicia Keys,[146] Kelly Clarkson,[135] and Pink.[147] The influence of rock music in country has become more overt during the late 2000s and early 2010s as artists like Eric Church, Jason Aldean, and Brantley Gilbert have had success; Aaron Lewis, former frontman for the rock group Staind, had a moderately successful entry into country music in 2011 and 2012, as did Dallas Smith, former frontman of the band Default. Maren Morris success collaboration "The Middle" with EDM producer Zedd is considered one of the representations of the fusion of electro-pop with country music.[148] Lil Nas X song "Old Town Road" spent 19 weeks atop the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the longest-running number-one song since the chart debuted in 1958, winning Billboard Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards and Grammy Award.[149] Sam Hunt "Leave the Night On" peaked concurrently on the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, making Hunt the first country artist in 22 years, since Billy Ray Cyrus, to reach the top of three country charts simultaneously in the Nielsen SoundScan-era.[150] With the fusion genre of "country trap"—a fusion of country/western themes to a hip hop beat, but usually with fully sung lyrics—emerging in the late 2010s, line dancing country had a minor revival, examples of the phenomenon include "The Git Up" by Blanco Brown.[151] Blanco Brown has gone of to make more traditional country soul songs such as "I Need Love" and a rendition of "Don't Take the Girl" with Tim McGraw, and collaborations like "Just the Way" with Parmalee.[152] Another country trap artist known as Breland has seen success with "My Truck, "Throw It Back" with Keith Urban, and "Praise the Lord" featuring Thomas Rhett.[153] Emo rap musician Sueco, released a cowpunk song in collaboration is country musician Warren Zeiders titled "Ride It Hard".[154] Alex Melton, known for his music covers, blends pop punk with country music.[155][156] Bro country Main article: Bro-country Florida Georgia Line whose hit song "Cruise" drew attention to the bro-country genre In the early 2010s, "bro-country", a genre noted primarily for its themes on drinking and partying, girls, and pickup trucks became particularly popular.[157][158][159] Notable artists associated with this genre are Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Jake Owen and Florida Georgia Line whose song "Cruise" became the best-selling country song of all time.[31][160] Research in the mid-2010s suggested that about 45 percent of country's best-selling songs could be considered bro-country, with the top two artists being Luke Bryan and Florida Georgia Line.[161] Albums by bro-country singers also sold very well—in 2013, Luke Bryan's Crash My Party was the third best-selling of all albums in the United States, with Florida Georgia Line's Here's to the Good Times at sixth, and Blake Shelton's Based on a True Story at ninth.[162] It is also thought that the popularity of bro-country helped country music to surpass classic rock as the most popular genre in the American country in 2012.[162] The genre however is controversial as it has been criticized by other country musicians and commentators over its themes and depiction of women,[163][164][165] opening up a divide between the older generation of country singers and the younger bro country singers that was described as "civil war" by musicians, critics, and journalists."[166] In 2014, Maddie & Tae's "Girl in a Country Song", addressing many of the controversial bro-country themes, peaked at number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. Bluegrass and Americana This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Main articles: Americana (music) and Bluegrass music is a genre that contain songs about going through hard times, country loving, and telling stories. Newer artists like Billy Strings, the Grascals, Molly Tuttle, Tyler Childers and the Infamous Stringdusters have been increasing the popularity of this genre, alongside some of the genres more established stars who still remain popular including Rhonda Vincent, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Ricky Skaggs and Del McCoury. The genre has developed in the Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati area. Other artists include New South (band), Doc Watson, Osborne Brothers, and many others. Emmylou Harris in 2008 In an effort to combat the over-reliance of mainstream country music on pop-infused artists, the sister genre of Americana began to gain popularity and increase in prominence, receiving eight Grammy categories of its own in 2009. Americana music incorporates elements of country music, bluegrass, folk, blues, gospel, rhythm and blues, roots rock and southern soul and is overseen by the Americana Music Association and the Americana Music Honors & Awards.[167] As a result of an increasingly pop-leaning mainstream, many more traditional-sounding artists such as Tyler Childers, Zach Bryan and Old Crow Medicine Show began to associate themselves more with Americana and the alternative country scene where their sound was more celebrated. Similarly, many established country acts who no longer received commercial airplay, including Emmylou Harris and Lyle Lovett, began to flourish again.[168] Contemporary country and western revival Kacey Musgraves became one of the most controversial figures in contemporary country music.[169] During the mid-1980s, a group of new artists began to emerge who rejected the more polished country-pop sound that had been prominent on radio and the charts, in favor of more, traditional, "back-to-basics" production. Many of the artists during the latter half of the 1980s drew on traditional honky-tonk, bluegrass, folk and western swing. Artists who typified this sound included Travis Tritt, Reba McEntire, George Strait, Keith Whitley, Alan Jackson, John Anderson, Patty Loveless, Kathy Mattea, Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakam, Clint Black, Ricky Skaggs, and the Judds. Beginning in 1989, a confluence of events brought an unprecedented commercial boom to country music. New marketing strategies were used to engage fans, powered by technology that more accurately tracked the popularity of country music, and boosted by a political and economic climate that focused attention on the genre. Garth Brooks ("Friends in Low Places") in particular attracted fans with his fusion of neotraditionalist country and stadium rock. Other artists such as Brooks and Dunn ("Boot Scootin' Boogie") also combined conventional country with slick, rock elements, while Lorrie Morgan, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Kathy Mattea updated neotraditionalist styles.[111] Roots of conservative country was Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA".[170] The September 11 attacks of 2001 and the economic recession helped move country music back into the spotlight. Many country artists, such as Alan Jackson with his ballad on terrorist attacks, "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)", wrote songs that celebrated the military, highlighted the gospel, and emphasized home and family values over wealth. Alt-Country singer Ryan Adams song "New York, New York" pays tribute to New York City, and its popular music video (which was shot 4 days before the attacks) shows Adams playing in front of the Manhattan skyline, Along with several shots of the city. In contrast, more rock-oriented country singers took more direct aim at the attacks' perpetrators; Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)" threatened to "a boot in" the posterior of the enemy, while Charlie Daniels's "This Ain't No Rag, It's a Flag" promised to "hunt" the perpetrators "down like a mad dog hound." These songs gained such recognition that it put country music back into popular culture.[171] Darryl Worley recorded "Have You Forgotten" also. There have been numerous patriotic country songs throughout the years.[172][173] Some modern artists that primarily or entirely produce country pop music include Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris, Kelsea Ballerini, Sam Hunt, Kane Brown, Chris Lane, and Dan + Shay.[174] The singers who are part of this country movement are also defined as "Nashville's new generation of country".[175] Although the changes made by the new generation, it has been recognized by major music awards associations and successes in Billboard and international charts. Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves won album of the year at 61st Annual Grammy Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards, Country Music Association Awards,[176] although it has received widespread criticism from the more traditionalist public.[177] Midland, one of the most popular neotraditional honky-tonk bands International Australia Main article: Australian country music Olivia Newton-John singing in Sydney in 2008 Australian country music has a long tradition. Influenced by US country music, it has developed a distinct style, shaped by British and Irish folk ballads and Australian bush balladeers like Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson. Country instruments, including the guitar, banjo, fiddle and harmonica, create the distinctive sound of country music in Australia and accompany songs with strong storyline and memorable chorus. Folk songs sung in Australia between the 1780s and 1920s, based around such themes as the struggle against government tyranny, or the lives of bushrangers, swagmen, drovers, stockmen and shearers, continue to influence the genre. This strain of Australian country, with lyrics focusing on Australian subjects, is generally known as "bush music" or "bush band music". "Waltzing Matilda", often regarded as Australia's unofficial national anthem, is a quintessential Australian country song, influenced more by British and Irish folk ballads than by US country and western music. The lyrics were composed by the poet Banjo Paterson in 1895. Other popular songs from this tradition include "The Wild Colonial Boy", "Click Go the Shears", "The Queensland Drover" and "The Dying Stockman". Later themes which endure to the present include the experiences of war, of droughts and flooding rains, of Aboriginality and of the railways and trucking routes which link Australia's vast distances.[178][179] Pioneers of a more Americanised popular country music in Australia included Tex Morton (known as "The Father of Australian Country Music") in the 1930s. Author Andrew Smith delivers a through research and engaged view of Tex Morton's life and his impact on the country music scene in Australia in the 1930s and 1940s. Other early stars included Buddy Williams, Shirley Thoms and Smoky Dawson. Buddy Williams (1918–1986) was the first Australian-born to record country music in Australia in the late 1930s and was the pioneer of a distinctly Australian style of country music called the bush ballad that others such as Slim Dusty would make popular in later years. During the Second World War, many of Buddy Williams recording sessions were done whilst on leave from the Army. At the end of the war, Williams would go on to operate some of the largest travelling tent rodeo shows Australia has ever seen. In 1952, Dawson began a radio show and went on to national stardom as a singing cowboy of radio, TV and film. Slim Dusty (1927–2003) was known as the "King of Australian Country Music" and helped to popularise the Australian bush ballad. His successful career spanned almost six decades, and his 1957 hit "A Pub with No Beer" was the biggest-selling record by an Australian to that time, and with over seven million record sales in Australia he is the most successful artist in Australian musical history.[180] Dusty recorded and released his one-hundredth album in the year 2000 and was given the honour of singing "Waltzing Matilda" in the closing ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Dusty's wife Joy McKean penned several of his most popular songs. Chad Morgan, who began recording in the 1950s, has represented a vaudeville style of comic Australian country; Frank Ifield achieved considerable success in the early 1960s, especially in the UK Singles Charts and Reg Lindsay was one of the first Australians to perform at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry in 1974.[181] Eric Bogle's 1972 folk lament to the Gallipoli Campaign "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" recalled the British and Irish origins of Australian folk-country. Singer-songwriter Paul Kelly, whose music style straddles folk, rock and country, is often described as the poet laureate of Australian music.[182] Keith Urban in 2007 By the 1990s, country music had attained crossover success in the pop charts, with artists like James Blundell and James Reyne singing "Way Out West", and country star Kasey Chambers winning the ARIA Award for Best Female Artist in three years (2000, 2002 and 2004), tying with pop stars Wendy Matthews and Sia for the most wins in that category. Furthermore, Chambers has gone on to win nine ARIA Awards for Best Country Album and, in 2018, became the youngest artist to ever be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. The crossover influence of Australian country is also evident in the music of successful contemporary bands the Waifs and the John Butler Trio. Nick Cave has been heavily influenced by the country artist Johnny Cash. In 2000, Cash, covered Cave's "The Mercy Seat" on the album American III: Solitary Man, seemingly repaying Cave for the compliment he paid by covering Cash's "The Singer" (originally "The Folk Singer") on his Kicking Against the Pricks album. Subsequently, Cave cut a duet with Cash on a version of Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" for Cash's American IV: The Man Comes Around album (2002).[183] Popular contemporary performers of Australian country music include John Williamson (who wrote the iconic "True Blue"), Lee Kernaghan (whose hits include "Boys from the Bush" and "The Outback Club"), Gina Jeffreys, Forever Road and Sara Storer. In the U.S., Olivia Newton-John, Sherrié Austin and Keith Urban have attained great success. During her time as a country singer in the 1970s, Newton-John became the first (and to date only) non-US winner of the Country Music Association Award for Female Vocalist of the Year which many considered a controversial decision by the CMA; after starring in the rock-and-roll musical film Grease in 1978, Newton-John (mirroring the character she played in the film) shifted to pop music in the 1980s. Urban is arguably considered the most successful international Australian country star, winning nine CMA Awards, including three Male Vocalist of the Year wins and two wins of the CMA's top honour Entertainer of the Year. Pop star Kylie Minogue found success with her 2018 country pop album Golden which she recorded in Nashville reaching number one in Scotland, the UK and her native Australia. Country music has been a particularly popular form of musical expression among Indigenous Australians. Troy Cassar-Daley is among Australia's successful contemporary indigenous performers, and Kev Carmody and Archie Roach employ a combination of folk-rock and country music to sing about Aboriginal rights issues.[184] The Tamworth Country Music Festival began in 1973 and now attracts up to 100,000 visitors annually. Held in Tamworth, New South Wales (country music capital of Australia), it celebrates the culture and heritage of Australian country music. During the festival the CMAA holds the Country Music Awards of Australia ceremony awarding the Golden Guitar trophies. Other significant country music festivals include the Whittlesea Country Music Festival (near Melbourne) and the Mildura Country Music Festival for "independent" performers during October, and the Canberra Country Music Festival held in the national capital during November. Country HQ showcases new talent on the rise in the country music scene down under. CMC (the Country Music Channel), a 24‑hour music channel dedicated to non-stop country music, can be viewed on pay TV and features once a year the Golden Guitar Awards, CMAs and CCMAs alongside international shows such as The Wilkinsons, The Road Hammers, and Country Music Across America. Canada Main articles: Canadian country music, Canadian Country Music Association, and Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame Shania Twain in 2011 Outside of the United States, Canada has the largest country music fan and artist base, something that is to be expected given the two countries' proximity and cultural parallels. Mainstream country music is culturally ingrained in the prairie provinces, the British Columbia Interior, Northern Ontario, and in Atlantic Canada.[185] Celtic traditional music developed in Atlantic Canada in the form of Scottish, Acadian and Irish folk music popular amongst Irish, French and Scottish immigrants to Canada's Atlantic Provinces (Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island).[185] Like the southern United States and Appalachia, all four regions are of heavy British Isles stock and rural; as such, the development of traditional music in the Maritimes somewhat mirrored the development of country music in the US South and Appalachia. Country and western music never really developed separately in Canada; however, after its introduction to Canada, following the spread of radio, it developed quite quickly out of the Atlantic Canadian traditional scene. While true Atlantic Canadian traditional music is very Celtic or "sea shanty" in nature, even today, the lines have often been blurred. Certain areas often are viewed as embracing one strain or the other more openly. For example, in Newfoundland the traditional music remains unique and Irish in nature, whereas traditional musicians in other parts of the region may play both genres interchangeably. Don Messer's Jubilee was a Halifax, Nova Scotia-based country/folk variety television show that was broadcast nationally from 1957 to 1969. In Canada it out-performed The Ed Sullivan Show broadcast from the United States and became the top-rated television show throughout much of the 1960s. Don Messer's Jubilee followed a consistent format throughout its years, beginning with a tune named "Goin' to the Barndance Tonight", followed by fiddle tunes by Messer, songs from some of his "Islanders" including singers Marg Osburne and Charlie Chamberlain, the featured guest performance, and a closing hymn. It ended with "Till We Meet Again". The guest performance slot gave national exposure to numerous Canadian folk musicians, including Stompin' Tom Connors and Catherine McKinnon. Some Maritime country performers went on to further fame beyond Canada. Hank Snow, Wilf Carter (also known as Montana Slim), and Anne Murray are the three most notable. The cancellation of the show by the public broadcaster in 1969 caused a nationwide protest, including the raising of questions in the Parliament of Canada. The Prairie provinces, due to their western cowboy and agrarian nature, are the true heartland of Canadian country music.[185] While the Prairies never developed a traditional music culture anything like the Maritimes, the folk music of the Prairies often reflected the cultural origins of the settlers, who were a mix of Scottish, Ukrainian, German and others. For these reasons polkas and western music were always popular in the region, and with the introduction of the radio, mainstream country music flourished. As the culture of the region is western and frontier in nature, the specific genre of country and western is more popular today in the Prairies than in any other part of the country. No other area of the country embraces all aspects of the culture, from two-step dancing, to the cowboy dress, to rodeos, to the music itself, like the Prairies do. The Atlantic Provinces, on the other hand, produce far more traditional musicians, but they are not usually specifically country in nature, usually bordering more on the folk or Celtic genres.[185] Canadian country pop star Shania Twain is the best-selling female country artist of all time and one of the best-selling artists of all time in any genre.[186][187] Furthermore, she is the only woman to have three consecutive albums be certified Diamond. Mexico and Latin America Lorenzo Antonio Country music artists from the U.S. have seen crossover with Latin American audiences, particularly in Mexico. Country music artists from throughout the U.S. have recorded renditions of Mexican folk songs, including "El Rey" which was performed on George Strait's Twang album and during Al Hurricane's tribute concert. American Latin pop crossover musicians, like Lorenzo Antonio's "Ranchera Jam" have also combined Mexican songs with country songs in a New Mexico music style.[citation needed] While Tejano and New Mexico music is typically thought of as being Spanish language, the genres have also had charting musicians focused on English language music.[188] During the 1970s, singer-songwriter Freddy Fender had two #1 country music singles, that were popular throughout North America, with "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" and "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights".[189] Notable songs which have been influenced by Hispanic and Latin culture as performed by US country music artists include Marty Robbins' "El Paso" trilogy, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard covering the Townes Van Zandt song "Pancho and Lefty", "Toes" by Zac Brown Band, and "Sangria" by Blake Shelton.[citation needed] Regional Mexican is a radio format featuring many of Mexico's versions of country music. It includes a number of different styles, usually named after their region of origin. One specific song style, the Canción Ranchera, or simply Ranchera, literally meaning "ranch song", found its origins in the Mexican countryside and was first popularized with Mariachi. It has since also become popular with Grupero, Banda, Norteño, Tierra Caliente, Duranguense and other regional Mexican styles. The Corrido, a different song style with a similar history, is also performed in many other regional styles, and is most related to the western style of the United States and Canada. Other song styles performed in regional Mexican music include Ballads, Cumbias, Boleros, among others. Country en Español (Country in Spanish) is also popular in Mexico. Some Mexican artists began performing country songs in Spanish during the 1970s, and the genre became prominent mainly in the northern regions of the country during the 1980s. A Country en Español popularity boom also reached the central regions of Mexico during the 1990s. For most of its history, Country en Español mainly resembled Neotraditional country. However, in more modern times, some artists have incorporated influences from other country music subgenres. In Brazil, there is Música Sertaneja, the most popular music genre in that country. It originated in the countryside of São Paulo state in the 1910s, before the development of US country music. In Argentina, on the last weekend of September, the yearly San Pedro Country Music Festival[190][better source needed] takes place in the town of San Pedro, Buenos Aires. The festival features bands from different places in Argentina, as well as international artists from Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Peru and the U.S. United Kingdom Country music is popular in the United Kingdom, although somewhat less so than in other English-speaking countries. There are some British country music acts and publications. Although radio stations devoted to country are among the most popular in other Anglophone nations, none of the top ten most-listened-to stations in the UK are country stations, and national broadcaster BBC Radio does not offer a full-time country station (BBC Radio 2 Country, a "pop-up" station, operated four days each year between 2015 and 2017). The BBC does offer a country show on BBC Radio 2 each week hosted by Bob Harris.[191] The most successful British country music act of the 21st century are Ward Thomas and the Shires. In 2015, the Shires' album Brave, became the first UK country act ever to chart in the Top 10 of the UK Albums Chart and they became the first UK country act to receive an award from the American Country Music Association.[192] In 2016, Ward Thomas then became the first UK country act to hit number 1 in the UK Albums Chart with their album Cartwheels.[193] There is the C2C: Country to Country festival held every year, and for many years there was a festival at Wembley Arena, which was broadcast on the BBC, the International Festivals of Country Music, promoted by Mervyn Conn, held at the venue between 1969 and 1991. The shows were later taken into Europe, and featured such stars as Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, David Allan Coe, Emmylou Harris, Boxcar Willie, Johnny Russell and Jerry Lee Lewis. A handful of country musicians had even greater success in mainstream British music than they did in the U.S., despite a certain amount of disdain from the music press. Britain's largest music festival Glastonbury has featured major US country acts in recent years, such as Kenny Rogers in 2013 and Dolly Parton in 2014.[194] Engelbert Humperdinck had hits with country songs Before pop stardom, Bonnie Tyler had a country hit with "It's a Heartache" From within the UK, few country musicians achieved widespread mainstream success. Many British singers who performed the occasional country songs are of other genres. Tom Jones, by this point near the end of his peak success as a pop singer, had a string of country hits in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Bee Gees had some fleeting success in the genre, with one country hit as artists ("Rest Your Love on Me") and a major hit as songwriters ("Islands in the Stream"); Barry Gibb, the band's usual lead singer and last surviving member, acknowledged that country music was a major influence on the band's style.[195] Singer Engelbert Humperdinck, while charting only once in the U.S. country top 40 with "After the Lovin'," achieved widespread success on both the U.S. and British pop charts with his covers of Nashville country ballads such as "Release Me," "Am I That Easy to Forget" and "There Goes My Everything." Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler initially started her career making country records, and in 1978 her single "It's a Heartache" reached number four on the UK Singles Chart. In 2013, Tyler returned to her roots, blending the country elements of her early work with the rock of her successful material on her album Rocks and Honey which featured a duet with Vince Gill. The songwriting tandem of Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway wrote a number of country hits, in addition to their widespread success in pop songwriting; Cook is notable for being the only Briton to be inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. A niche country subgenre popular in the West Country is Scrumpy and Western, which consists mostly of novelty songs and comedy music recorded there (its name comes from scrumpy, an alcoholic beverage). A primarily local interest, the largest Scrumpy and Western hit in the UK and Ireland was "The Combine Harvester," which pioneered the genre and reached number one in both the UK and Ireland; Fred Wedlock had a number-six hit in 1981 with "The Oldest Swinger in Town." In 1975, comedian Billy Connolly topped the UK Singles Chart with "D.I.V.O.R.C.E.", a parody of the Tammy Wynette song "D-I-V-O-R-C-E".[196] The British Country Music Festival is an annual three-day festival held in the seaside resort of Blackpool. It uniquely promotes artists from the United Kingdom and Ireland to celebrate the impact that Celtic and British settlers to America had on the origins of country music. Past headline artists have included Amy Wadge, Ward Thomas, Tom Odell, Nathan Carter, Lisa McHugh, Catherine McGrath, Wildwood Kin, The Wandering Hearts and Henry Priestman.[197] Ireland Main article: Country and Irish In Ireland, Country and Irish is a music genre that combines traditional Irish folk music with US country music. Television channel TG4 began a quest for Ireland's next country star called Glór Tíre, translated as "Country Voice". It is now in its sixth season and is one of TG4's most-watched TV shows. Over the past ten years, country and gospel recording artist James Kilbane has reached multi-platinum success with his mix of Christian and traditional country influenced albums. James Kilbane like many other Irish artists is today working closer with Nashville. Daniel O'Donnell achieved international success with his brand of music crossing country, Irish folk and European easy listening, earning a strong following among older women[198] both in the British Isles and in North America. A recent success in the Irish arena has been Crystal Swing. Japan and Asia Charlie Nagatani performing at the Grand Ole Opry In Japan, there are forms of J-country and J-western similar to other J-pop movements, J-hip hop and J-rock.[199][200] One of the first J-western musicians was Biji Kuroda & The Chuck Wagon Boys, other vintage artists included Jimmie Tokita and His Mountain Playboys, The Blue Rangers, Wagon Aces, and Tomi Fujiyama.[199] J-country continues to have a dedicated following in Japan, thanks to Charlie Nagatani, Katsuoshi Suga, J.T. Kanehira, Dicky Kitano, and Manami Sekiya.[199] Country and western venues in Japan include the former annual Country Gold which were put together by Charlie Nagatani, and the modern honky tonks at Little Texas in Tokyo and Armadillo in Nagoya.[201][202][203] In India, there is an annual concert festival called "Blazing Guitars"[204] held in Chennai brings together Anglo-Indian musicians from all over the country (including some who have emigrated to places like Australia). The year 2003 brought home-grown Indian, Bobby Cash to the forefront of the country music culture in India when he became India's first international country music artist to chart singles in Australia. In the Philippines, country music has found their way into Cordilleran way of life, which often compares the Igorot lifestyle to that of US cowboys. Baguio City has an FM station that caters to country music, DZWR 99.9 Country, which is part of the Catholic Media Network. Bombo Radyo Baguio has a segment on its Sunday slot for Igorot, Ilocano and country music. And as of recently, DWUB occasionally plays country music. Many country music musicians tour the Philippines. Original Pinoy Music has influences from country. Other international country music Tom Roland, from the Country Music Association International, explains country music's global popularity: "In this respect, at least, Country Music listeners around the globe have something in common with those in the United States. In Germany, for instance, Rohrbach identifies three general groups that gravitate to the genre: people intrigued with the US cowboy icon, middle-aged fans who seek an alternative to harder rock music and younger listeners drawn to the pop-influenced sound that underscores many current Country hits."[205] One of the first US people to perform country music abroad was George Hamilton IV. He was the first country musician to perform in the Soviet Union; he also toured in Australia and the Middle East. He was deemed the "International Ambassador of Country Music" for his contributions to the globalization of country music.[206] Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Keith Urban, and Dwight Yoakam have also made numerous international tours.[205] The Country Music Association undertakes various initiatives to promote country music internationally.[205] Middle East In Iran, country music has appeared in recent years. According to Melody Music Magazine, the pioneer of country music in Iran is the English-speaking country music band Dream Rovers, whose founder, singer and songwriter is Erfan Rezayatbakhsh (elf).[207] The band was formed in 2007 in Tehran,[208] and during this time they have been trying to introduce and popularize country music in Iran by releasing two studio albums[209] and performing live at concerts, despite the difficulties that the Islamic regime in Iran makes for bands that are active in the western music field.[210] Musician Toby Keith performed alongside Saudi Arabian folk musician Rabeh Sager in 2017.[211][212] This concert was similar to the performances of Jazz ambassadors that performed distinctively American style music internationally.[213] Continental Europe This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Vanha Isäntä, a Finnish country rock band, performing at the Helsinki Festival's open-air concert in Kaivopuisto in 1974. Seppo Sillanpää (violin) on the left and Olli Haavisto (guitar) on the right. In Sweden, Rednex rose to stardom combining country music with electro-pop in the 1990s. In 1994, the group had a worldwide hit with their version of the traditional Southern tune "Cotton-Eyed Joe". Artists popularizing more traditional country music in Sweden have been Ann-Louise Hanson, Hasse Andersson, Kikki Danielsson, Elisabeth Andreassen and Jill Johnson. In Poland an international country music festival, known as Piknik Country, has been organised in Mrągowo in Masuria since 1983. The number of country music artists in France has increased. Some of the most important[according to whom?] are Liane Edwards, Annabel, Rockie Mountains, Tahiana, and Lili West. French rock and roll singer Eddy Mitchell is also inspired by Americana and country music. In the Netherlands there are many artists producing popular country and Americana music, which is mostly in the English language, as well as Dutch country and country-like music in the Dutch language. The latter is mainly popular on the countrysides in the northern and eastern parts of the Netherlands and is less associated with its US brethren, although it sounds sometimes very similar. Well-known popular artists mainly performing in English are Waylon, Danny Vera, Ilse DeLange, Douwe Bob and Henk Wijngaard. Performers and shows Main articles: List of country music performers, List of country performers by era, and List of country television and radio shows US cable television Several US television networks are at least partly devoted to the genre: Country Music Television (the first channel devoted to country music) and CMT Music (both owned by Paramount Global), RFD-TV and The Cowboy Channel (both owned by Rural Media Group), Heartland (owned by Get After It Media), Circle (a joint venture of the Grand Ole Opry and Gray Television), and The Country Network (owned by TCN Country, LLC). The Nashville Network (TNN) was launched in 1983 as a channel devoted to country music, and later added sports and outdoor lifestyle programming. It actually launched just two days after CMT. In 2000, after TNN and CMT fell under the same corporate ownership, TNN was stripped of its country format and rebranded as The National Network, then Spike TV in 2003, Spike in 2006, and finally Paramount Network in 2018. TNN was later revived from 2012 to 2013 after Jim Owens Entertainment (the company responsible for prominent TNN hosts Crook & Chase) acquired the trademark and licensed it to Luken Communications; that channel renamed itself Heartland after Luken was embroiled in an unrelated dispute that left the company bankrupt. Great American Country (GAC) was launched in 1995, also as a country music-oriented channel that would later add lifestyle programming pertaining to the American Heartland and South. In Spring 2021, GAC's then-owner, Discovery, Inc. divested the network to GAC Media, which also acquired the equestrian network Ride TV. Later, in the summer of that year, GAC Media relaunched Great American Country as GAC Family, a family-oriented general entertainment network, while Ride TV was relaunched as GAC Living, a network devoted to programming pertaining to lifestyles of the American South. The GAC acronym which once stood for "Great American Country" now stands for "Great American Channels". Canadian television This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Only one television channel was dedicated to country music in Canada: CMT owned by Corus Entertainment (90%) and Viacom (10%). However, the lifting of strict genre licensing restrictions saw the network remove the last of its music programming at the end of August 2017 for a schedule of generic off-network family sitcoms, Cancom-compliant lifestyle programming, and reality programming. In the past, the current-day Cottage Life network saw some country focus as Country Canada and later, CBC Country Canada before that network drifted into an alternate network for overflow CBC content as Bold. Stingray Music continues to maintain several country music audio-only channels on cable radio. In the past, country music had an extensive presence, especially on the Canadian national broadcaster, CBC Television. The show Don Messer's Jubilee significantly affected country music in Canada; for instance, it was the program that launched Anne Murray's career. Gordie Tapp's Country Hoedown and its successor, The Tommy Hunter Show, ran for a combined 36 years on the CBC, from 1956 to 1992; in its last nine years on air, the U.S. cable network TNN carried Hunter's show. Australian cable television The only network dedicated to country music in Australia was the Country Music Channel owned by Foxtel. It ceased operations in June 2020 and was replaced by CMT (owned by Network 10 parent company Paramount Networks UK & Australia).[citation needed] British digital television One music video channel is now dedicated to country music in the United Kingdom: Spotlight TV, owned by Canis Media. Festivals Main article: List of country music festivals Criticism This article's Criticism or Controversy section may compromise the article's neutrality by separating out potentially negative information. Please integrate the section's contents into the article as a whole, or rewrite the material. (July 2022) Subgenres misrepresented on streaming services Computer science and music experts identified issues with algorithms on streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music, specifically the categorical homogenization of music curation and metadata within larger genres such as country music. Musicians and songs from minority heritage styles, such as Appalachian, Cajun, New Mexico, and Tejano music, underperform on these platforms due to underrepresentation and miscategorization of these subgenres.[214][215][216][217] Race issue in modern country music The Country Music Association has awarded the New Artist award to a black American only twice in 63 years, and never to a Hispanic musician. The broader modern Nashville-based Country music industry has underrepresented significant black and Latino contributions within Country music, including popular subgenres such as Cajun, Creole, Tejano, and New Mexico music.[218][219][220] A 2021 CNN article states, "Some in country music have signaled that they are no longer content to be associated with a painful history of racism. "[219][221][222] Black country-music artist Mickey Guyton had been included among the nominees for the 2021 award, effectively creating a litmus-test for the genre. Guyton has expressed bewilderment that, despite substantial coverage by online platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, her music, like that of Valerie June,[citation needed] another black musician who embraces aspects of country in her Appalachian- and Gospel-tinged work and who has been embraced by international music audiences, is still effectively ignored by American broadcast country-music radio.[223] Guyton's 2021 album Remember Her Name in part references the case of black health-care professional Breonna Taylor,[citation needed] who was killed in her home by police.[224] In 2023, "Try That in a Small Town" by Jason Aldean became the subject of widespread controversy and media attention following the release of its music video. Tennessee state representative Justin Jones referred to the song as a "heinous vile racist song" which attempts to normalize "racist, violence, vigilantism and white nationalism".[225] Others thought the lyrics were supportive of lynchings and sundown towns.[226][227] Amanda Marie Martinez of NPR wrote that the song "builds on a lineage of anti-city songs in country music that place the rural and urban along not only a moral versus immoral binary, but an implicitly racialized one as well...selective availability of home loans in suburbs and racially restrictive housing covenants in cities furthered white flight, making cities synonymous with non-whiteness." She concluded by stating that such songs are "why country music continues to be a frightening space for marginalized communities".[228] See also Music portal American Country Countdown Awards Canadian Country Music Association CMT Music Awards Country (identity) Country and Irish Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Country-western dance Culture of the Southern United States Music genre List of country music performers List of RPM number-one country singles Music of the United States Pop music Western Music Association 2021 in country music THE DAY THE music died. That’s how songwriter Don McLean memorialized February 3rd, 1959, in his 1972 single “American Pie,” an epic, eight-minute music-history lesson that begins with a reference to the plane crash that killed musicians Buddy Holly, J.P. Richardson (a.k.a. the Big Bopper) and Ritchie Valens, along with the pilot of the 1947 Beechcraft Bonanza that had been chartered to transport the performers from Iowa to their next show in Minnesota. Less than six miles northwest of the airport where it took off, the plane went down, killing all onboard. One member of Holly’s band who did not make the trip went on to become a country music trailblazer, one of the genre’s original “outlaws.” Waylon Jennings was hired by Holly to play bass for him on the Winter Dance Party Tour, which began January 23rd, 1959, in Milwaukee. Jennings, 21 at the time, had been in New York City recording sessions produced by Holly, and after taking a train to Chicago, met up with the rest of Holly’s band. Problems first arose when the tour buses hired to transport the group began breaking down. After a show in Clear Lake, Iowa, on February 2nd, Holly decided to charter a plane for himself, guitarist Tommy Allsup and Jennings so they could fly to Fargo, North Dakota, instead of taking the long, frozen bus trip. Richardson, who was suffering from the flu, asked Jennings for his seat on the plane, and Valens asked the same of Allsup. When Jennings told Holly that he was going to take the bus, Holly jokingly told him he hoped the bus broke down, to which Jennings replied, “I hope your ol’ plane crashes.” “God almighty, for years I thought I caused it,” the country legend said decades later in a CMT interview. Although “Jole Blon,” one of the tracks produced by Holly, was only a minor success for Jennings, he would go on to become one of the most influential country acts of the Seventies. In 1976, Wanted: The Outlaws, which also featured his wife Jessi Colter, Willie Nelson and Tompall Glaser, was the first country album ever to be certified as a million-seller. In 2001, Jennings was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, although the ailing icon sent his son Shooter to accept the honor in his place. Following complications from diabetes, Jennings died in Arizona in February 2002. In the 1971 classic "American Pie," Don McLean wrote about "The Day the Music Died" — a.k.a. Feb. 3, 1959, when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and "The Big Bopper" J.P. Richardson were famously killed in a plane crash during a United States concert tour. Five decades later, the tragedy was explored in a July 2022 episode of iHeartRadio's Too Much Information podcast, where hosts Jordan Runtagh and Alex Heigl break down McLean's hit song and discuss the events leading up to the plane crash. Long before boarding the plane, Holly — famous for songs like "That'll Be the Day" and "Peggy Sue" — was performing shows throughout the Midwest on the Winter Dance Party tour alongside Valens, Richardson, Dion and the Belmonts as well as Frankie Sardo. The musicians referred to the shows as "the tour from hell," as they had to travel hundreds of miles each day and move all their own equipment in temperatures as low as -35 degrees Fahrenheit, per the podcast. Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper Ritchie Valens, "The Big Bopper" J.P. Richardson. RICHARD C. MILLER/DONALDSON COLLECTION/GETTY; MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/GETTY Weather conditions caused one performer to be hospitalized for frostbite, and many others came down with the flu. Holly was in a terrible mood in the hours leading up to a Feb. 2 concert in Clear Lake, Iowa — which would unknowingly be his last performance. After the show, he decided to avoid the cold and rent a private plane to fly himself and some of the musicians to their next gig in Fargo, North Dakota. According to TMI, Holly planned to bring his band members, Jennings and Tommy Allsup, on the three-passenger plane. However, it's believed that Allsup was challenged to a coin toss by Valens, who ended up winning his seat on the ill-fated flight. Jennings also gave up his seat to Richardson, who'd gotten the flu and wanted to see a doctor before the next performance.  Celebrities Who Died in Plane and Helicopter Crashes Supposedly, after hearing about the seat switch, Holly told Jennings, "Well, I hope your ol' bus freezes up." In an eerie response that allegedly haunted Jennings until his death in 2002, he replied, "Well, I hope your ol' plane crashes." The flight took off at 12:55 a.m. on Feb. 3 and crashed into a cornfield about five minutes later, with the cause believed to be a weather-induced error on 21-year-old pilot Roger Peterson's part. He wasn't trained to fly in such poor conditions, which led to the crash that killed Holly at 22, Valens at 17 and Richardson at 28. The wreckage of the plane crash that killed rock stars Buddy Holly (Charles Hardin Holley), Ritchie Valens (Richard Steven Valenzuela), and The Big Bopper (Jiles Perry Richardson, Jr.) On February 3, 1959 outside of Clearlake, Iowa. "The Day the Music Died". MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/GETTY In the aftermath, Holly's wife Maria learned about his death on television and later suffered a miscarriage due to "psychological trauma," per the podcast. Similarly, his mother learned of his death while listening to the radio. The tragedy allegedly caused authorities to instate protocols requiring names of the deceased to be concealed from the public until family has been notified. McLean, 77, wrote an essay for CNN about "American Pie" in 2009, noting that his appreciation for Holly's music partially inspired the song: "Buddy's death, for me, an impressionable 13-year-old, delivering papers, was an enormous tragedy. The cover photo of the posthumously released 'Buddy Holly Story' and 'The Buddy Holly Story, Vol. 2,' coupled with liner notes written by his widow, Maria, created a sense of grief that lived inside of me, until I was able to exorcize it with the opening verse of 'American Pie.'"  Taylor Swift Sends Flowers to Don McLean After Beating 'American Pie' for Longest-Ever No. 1 Hit He wrote the song in 1970 inspired by America as a whole, with the plane crash contributing to its lyrics. "All of a sudden this memory of Buddy's death had the dramatic power that I needed and started my mind operating on a different level. And I was able to see where this song had to go, how big it had to be, how long it had to be," wrote McLean. "Through my relationship with Buddy, I was able to discover my peculiar writing talent and, much to my amazement, help bring Buddy and his music back from the dead," continued the musician. "In a sense, 'American Pie' contains the spiritual connection to Buddy Holly that was always in me. It's as if we both gave each other new life." Today is Feb. 8, 2023, probably, if you are reading this in a physical, ink and wood pulp newspaper on Wednesday, and not stumbling across it on the internet some other day in the tractless span of time before, or after. Whatever day it is, were I to ask you what significant event occurred on Feb. 8, you might be stumped. Now the third of February might be easier. On Feb. 3, 1959, in what would be widely remembered as the “Day the Music Died,” pop stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, J.D. “Big Bopper” Richardson, along with young pilot Roger Peterson, died in a plane crash the morning after playing the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. The on-this-day-in-history vignette usually ends with Don McLean penning his homage, “American Pie,” a cryptic, 8 minute and 42 second hit song released in 1971. Opinion A shame to stop here. Because this is where the story starts to get interesting. The music did not die Feb. 3. Only the musicians did, and then just the top stars of the 24-date “Winter Dance Party Tour” of the Midwest. The rest of the performers went by balky, cold, broken-down bus. Where the Big Bopper, singer of “Chantilly Lace,” was supposed to ride. But he had a cold, and asked 21-year-old Waylon Jennings, Holly’s bassist, for his seat on the airplane, and the two swapped. Valens won his fatal seat in a coin toss. The surviving musicians, shocked and grief-stricken, performed the day of the crash, in Moorhead, Minnesota. They played Sioux City the day after the crash. And Des Moines the day after that. Cedar Rapids the day after that. Spring Valley, Illinois the day after that. The next night, Feb. 8, was the Aragon Ballroom in Uptown. Two observations: First, as a nation we are more sensitive — or, if you insist, soft, though I prefer “humane.” Under those same circumstances today, I can’t imagine a musical tour would continue. Contrast the Winter Dance Party to what happened when Damar Hamlin collapsed of a cardiac arrest in the first quarter of a Monday Night Football game — the game was canceled, the fans sent home. And he survived. Second, the youth culture that would dominate society in the 1960s had not yet flexed its grip. We forget how marginal kids used to be. Children were seen and not heard. Especially their music. The Tribune ran a brief item on the crash on page 12. The Daily News and the Sun-Times ran the stories on their front pages, the Times noting that at first the surviving musicians were too sad to do the show that night in Moorhead, ”but they changed their minds and remained true to the ‘show must go on’ tradition. Actually, tour promoter, Irv Feld, of Chicago, refused to pay them unless they continued. Neither the Daily News or the Tribune so much as mentioned Holly’s name the rest of the year. The Sun-Times noted the Civil Aeronautics Board blaming the inexperienced pilot for the crash in a brief squib on page 61, under the obituary of a cheese expert. Seven months after the crash. A monument depicting musician Buddy Holly’s distinctive glasses, photographed in 2016, stands at the edge of a snowy field near the spot where the plane carrying Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson crashed near Clear Lake, Iowa in 1959. A monument depicting musician Buddy Holly’s distinctive glasses, photographed in 2016, stands at the edge of a snowy field near the spot where the plane carrying Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson crashed near Clear Lake, Iowa in 1959.Associated Press I was uncertain whether the scheduled Feb. 8 Aragon concert really occurred. Documentary filmmakers spent five years tracking down fans who attended Winter Party Dance Tour gigs without locating anyone claiming to have seen the Aragon show. I had to dig a little to reassure myself the Aragon concert probably took place, striking paydirt in the autobiography of Waylon Jennings, who went on to become a country music star. Jennings had to step up and sing Holly’s songs. “I was out there all alone, lost and scared to death. I had no clue. It seemed to take forever, crawling through Ohio and Iowa and Illinois,” he wrote. “In Chicago, we played the Aragon Ballroom and a girl named Penny took me under her wing.” Jennings was shocked that the promoter forced them to play, and that venues tried to steal their share of the gate. “I couldn’t believe people would act so unfeeling,” he wrote. For years, Jennings also felt responsible for the crash, because of some innocent bandmate needling. Holly wasn’t happy that his bassist wouldn’t be accompanying him on the plane ride. “You’re not going with me tonight, huh? Did you chicken out?” Holly asked, just before the chartered Beechcraft Bonanza took off. “I hope your damn bus freezes up again.” “Well,” Jennings replied. “I hope your ol’ plane crashes.” When country singer and “Outlaw” legend, Waylon Jennings, was still early in his music career, he played in Buddy Holly’s band. And he was even supposed to have a seat on the plane that went down with the beloved singer and other stars on board. What made Jennings change his mind about taking a seat on Holly’s final flight? And what were the last words he spoke to his friend before he got on that ill-fated plane? (L) Buddy Holly playing a guitar and singing (R) Waylon Jennings playing guitar (L) Buddy Holly | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images (R) Waylon Jennings | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Buddy Holly’s bus broke down in freezing weather As Jennings would later recall, he was playing in Holly’s band on tour in the winter of 1959. The “Peggy Sue” singer decided to charter a plane to his next tour stop because their bus had been having some mechanical problems. And those problems caused the vehicle to break down in freezing temperatures, leading to frostbite and a hospital stay for one band member. Determined to avoid a repeat of the same misery, Holly rented a small, private plane to get him to the next stop on his tour. But there were only three seats aside from the one for the pilot. So, Holly picked Jennings and another bandmate to go along with him on the flight. But as time for boarding drew closer, the seating plans began to change. And Jennings made a decision that changed his life, as well as that of another. Waylon Jennings gave his seat up to ‘the Big Bopper’ because he was sick Though Jennings originally had a seat on the plane, he decided to give it up. He said J.P. Richardson, also known as “the Big Bopper,” had been fighting illness and, as his nickname suggests, he was a “big guy” (per Los Angeles Times.) “We’d been driving around in this dinky school bus, and the seats were real uncomfortable for him; he just couldn’t get any rest at all. I can sleep anywhere, so I let him take the plane on ahead,” Jennings said. Ritchie Valens wasn’t originally supposed to be on the plane, either, but he also ended up with a seat in a coin toss, as the stories go. As Jennings recalled, Holly teased him for backing out of the flight and told him he hoped the bus froze up again. Next, Jennings spoke words which he said haunted him for decades: “Well, I hope your ol’ plane crashes!” Buddy Holly was Waylon Jennings’ friend and mentor RELATED The Plane Crash That Killed Patsy Cline and the Other Country Tragedies Surrounding It The plane went down and Holly died at age 22 on Feb. 3, 1959. The day is now known as “the day the music died” thanks to the song, “American Pie,” by Don McLean. Of important note, Richardson, 17-year-old Valens, and the pilot were also killed in the crash. Jennings went on to build an esteemed career in country music, but he never forgot Holly’s place in his life. He told CMT, “If anything I’ve ever done is remembered, part of it is because of Buddy Holly.” “Buddy was the first guy who had confidence in me,” he explained. “Hell, I had as much star quality as an old shoe. But he really liked me and believed in me.” aylon Jennings rose from hardscrabble poverty in West Texas to become Buddy Holly’s bassist. Then, he went from Nashville rebel to Outlaw star. Jennings escaped what he considered the futureless world of Littlefield, Texas, by working in radio in Lubbock, and by picking up the guitar. His big break came when Buddy Holly tapped Jennings to play bass in his new band on a tour through the Midwest in late 1958 and early 1959. In an oft-told moment, Jennings gave up his seat on an ill-fated flight that would claim the lives of Holly, J. P. Richardson (“the Big Bopper”), and Ritchie Valens. After the crash, Jennings’s musical world crashed around him. Holly had been his mentor, producing his first record (“Jole Blon,” Brunswick, 1958), and Jennings felt responsible, because his last words to Holly had been the joking refrain, “I hope your ole plane crashes” (in response to Holly’s “I hope your damned bus freezes up again”). From West Texas to Phoenix to Nashville It took Jennings years to regain some career equilibrium. He first went back to radio in West Texas, then began performing again, ending up at a bar in Phoenix, Arizona, called J. D.’s. Jennings became a local celebrity there, and when Nashville performer Bobby Bare passed through Phoenix and heard Jennings, Bare headed for a pay phone to tell his producer, Chet Atkins at RCA in Nashville, about this raw young talent out in Arizona. Jennings had already cut some songs in the country-folk vein for then-fledgling A&M Records in Los Angeles, but A&M demurred to Atkins, who signed Jennings to RCA. The singer’s first session for RCA took place on March 16, 1965. Jennings moved to Nashville and, by sheer chance, became roommates with Johnny Cash; the pair soon cemented their legends as hellraisers. Jennings starred in the 1966 movie Nashville Rebel, scored Top Ten hits with songs such as “The Chokin’ Kind” (#8, 1967) and “Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line” (#2, 1968), and his 1969 collaboration with the Kimberlys on “MacArthur Park” won a Grammy. But Jennings chafed under RCA’s tight rein, and at one point he also took a dramatic stand against the status quo: when Chet Atkins turned him over to staff producer Danny Davis, Jennings pulled out a pistol in the studio to protest Davis’s practice of what Jennings felt was studio bullying.
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