Ask some people what country songs or country singers they like and the chances are they'll say 'I don't like country music'. Ask the same people if they like Roy Orbison, Alison Krauss or Lady Antebellum and they'll say 'Yeah, they're OK, but they're not really country music are they?'
Unlike many years ago, the term 'Country' now has many varied styles, ranging from the early sounds of people like Jimmy Rogers or the mountain music of The Carter Family up to the modern sounds of Rascal Flatts or Martina McBride.
Is there a style for everyone?
The range of these different variety's means there's probably a style of country to suit nearly everybody. It's generally accepted that there are at the moment around 12 separate 'genre' or categories of country music, but as with most things this can change very quickly. A new 'tag' could be found next week!
The main 'styles' are currently:
• Alternative & Americana
• Bluegrass
• Contemporary & New Country
• Honky Tonk
• Nashville Sound
• Outlaw
• Country Rock
• Tex Mex
• Traditional
• Western Swing
• Modern
• Country-Pop
So, which kind of country is for you?
If you're not sure, or get a bit confused between the different styles, don't worry a lot of people do - even the singers!
It's not really a question of deciding your favourite style by which singer sings which song in which way - as a lot of these artists sing songs in several different styles, sometimes even on the same album!
Tip: If you're searching for a particular song by a particular singer, but you aren't sure which 'genre' it's under, just search for the artist by name and it should result in all the songs by that singer regardless of 'style'.
Do all country singers have their own style?
Not always. Take a singer like Marty Robbins for example. With the great number of songs recorded by him over the years, it's no great surprise to find some of the songs listed under Honky Tonk, while others can be found under Nashville Sound or Western Swing!
Lady Antebellum's music is another example, and can be found listed under Contemporary & New, Country Rock or Modern depending on the songs she has recorded at the time, so it's quite difficult to 'pigeon-hole' any singer and say they are a particular 'style' of singer, at least not now.
It may have been much easier to do that in years gone by because artists such as Tammy Wynette, Patsy Cline, George Jones or Jean Shepard for example tended to stick to the styles that suited their voices, and there wasn't the willingness then to experiment with the 'unknown' in any big way. That attitude lent itself nicely to the phrase 'If it ain't broke don't fix it' and who's to say they were wrong?
The more traditional sounds of Billy Jo Spears, Tanya Tucker, Hank Williams or Merle Haggard began to give way to people like Dr Hook, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, who managed to take 'country music' to another level and make popular songs that everyone liked. They achieved a sort of 'crossover' from Traditional to early Country-Pop and since then more and more singers have followed the same route.
So the next time someone says to you they don't like country music, ask them who they do like and the chances are they'll mention a singer or song that is really country - but maybe not as we used to know it!
Unlike many years ago, the term 'Country' now has many varied styles, ranging from the early sounds of people like Jimmy Rogers or the mountain music of The Carter Family up to the modern sounds of Rascal Flatts or Martina McBride.
Is there a style for everyone?
The range of these different variety's means there's probably a style of country to suit nearly everybody. It's generally accepted that there are at the moment around 12 separate 'genre' or categories of country music, but as with most things this can change very quickly. A new 'tag' could be found next week!
The main 'styles' are currently:
• Alternative & Americana
• Bluegrass
• Contemporary & New Country
• Honky Tonk
• Nashville Sound
• Outlaw
• Country Rock
• Tex Mex
• Traditional
• Western Swing
• Modern
• Country-Pop
So, which kind of country is for you?
If you're not sure, or get a bit confused between the different styles, don't worry a lot of people do - even the singers!
It's not really a question of deciding your favourite style by which singer sings which song in which way - as a lot of these artists sing songs in several different styles, sometimes even on the same album!
Tip: If you're searching for a particular song by a particular singer, but you aren't sure which 'genre' it's under, just search for the artist by name and it should result in all the songs by that singer regardless of 'style'.
Do all country singers have their own style?
Not always. Take a singer like Marty Robbins for example. With the great number of songs recorded by him over the years, it's no great surprise to find some of the songs listed under Honky Tonk, while others can be found under Nashville Sound or Western Swing!
Lady Antebellum's music is another example, and can be found listed under Contemporary & New, Country Rock or Modern depending on the songs she has recorded at the time, so it's quite difficult to 'pigeon-hole' any singer and say they are a particular 'style' of singer, at least not now.
It may have been much easier to do that in years gone by because artists such as Tammy Wynette, Patsy Cline, George Jones or Jean Shepard for example tended to stick to the styles that suited their voices, and there wasn't the willingness then to experiment with the 'unknown' in any big way. That attitude lent itself nicely to the phrase 'If it ain't broke don't fix it' and who's to say they were wrong?
The more traditional sounds of Billy Jo Spears, Tanya Tucker, Hank Williams or Merle Haggard began to give way to people like Dr Hook, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, who managed to take 'country music' to another level and make popular songs that everyone liked. They achieved a sort of 'crossover' from Traditional to early Country-Pop and since then more and more singers have followed the same route.
So the next time someone says to you they don't like country music, ask them who they do like and the chances are they'll mention a singer or song that is really country - but maybe not as we used to know it!
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