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Country Pop/Cosmopolitan

 
 

Description of Country Pop/Cosmopolitan

 
Since country's earliest days, many of its artists have tried to expand their audience by catering to the mainstream. The Nashville sound of the 1950s and '60s succeeded at this. In the '70s, artists such as Ronnie Milsap and Kenny Rogers perfected the formula, the latter selling millions of records thanks to smooth-edged, virtually twang-less songs including "Daytime Friends," "The Gambler," and "You Decorated My Life." Nashville was enamored with this new sound that strived for worldwide accessibility, and pop artists such as Olivia Newton-John, Debby Boone, Marie Osmond and John Denver began cropping up on country radio stations and winning country music awards. Dolly Parton jumped on the bandwagon too, leaving her traditional country sound behind for a pepped-up and far glitzier persona. Country pop's influence is apparent in many contemporary country artists such as Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson, who meld country pop's glitz with touches of rock and new traditional country songwriting.
 

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Country  >  Country Pop/Cosmopolitan
 

Country Pop/Cosmopolitan Key Artists

 
Alabama

With arena rock aesthetics
and pure mountain songs,
Alabama tapped a mother
lode of a fan-base with a
country rock sound. Sing...

Barbara Mandrell

Mandrell's classy Country
Pop was the most popular
for any female singer of the
'70s/early '80s with her own
television show. In 1978,...

Billy Ray Cyrus

Known more for his mullet
than his music, Cyrus plays
saucy, one-hit wonder
country pop for those with
achy breaky hearts. Cyru...

Brenda Lee

Although her country voice
drew comparisons to Patsy
Cline (this was during the
'50s), Lee fared better as a
'60s pop singer. Though B...

Charlie Rich

Charlie Rich's velvety
singing voice was as buttery
as that of country crooner
George Jones. Dubbed "The
Silver Fox" by his contem...

Conway Twitty

Conway Twitty's deep,
rural vocal inflections gave
Nashville some of the most
amazingly sung ballads of
the country pop era. Con...

Crystal Gayle

Loretta Lynn's sultry sister
Crystal Gayle is best known
for the wonderful 1977 hit
"Don't It Make My Brown
Eyes Blue." In 1982 Crystal...

Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton began playing
Traditional Country,
achieving success with
catchy Country Pop before
returning to her roots. Sh...

Eddie Rabbitt

Eddie Rabbit coupled urban
rock hooks with the
traditional Nashville sound
and sold millions of records
in the process. Eddie Rab...

Faith Hill

Faith Hill sounds like a
graduate of the Reba
McEntire school of blending
traditional twang with shiny
pop hooks. With big budg...

Faron Young

Faron Young blended
buttery, smooth vocals over
nitty, gritty Honky-Tonk
songs and became a
country music star in the '...

Glen Campbell

Glen Campbell's deep and
creamy country vocals
made it easy for him to
traverse between country
pop and urban cowboy s...

Hoyt Axton

Axton was a
singer-songwriter whose
effortless blend of folk,
country, and pop earned
him millions from covers o...

Jim Reeves

The smooth, satin voice of
Jim Reeves floated over
hushed orchestration to
provide the epitome of the
Nashville sound. Jim Reev...

John Denver

Although it's easy to poke
fun at John Denver, his
environmentally conscious
twang folk has inspired
fathoms of songwriters. D...

Kenny Rogers

With huge crossover hits
such as "The Gambler,"
Rogers is a Country Pop
veteran who brought
country music to the mass...

LeAnn Rimes

Some folks say that LeAnn
Rimes is a reincarnated
Patsy Cline. Others say that
she's Nashville's very own
Britney Spears. LeAnn Ri...

Roy Clark

Roy Clark's voice carried a
true grit behind his warm
personality that translated
well to television audiences
everywhere.

Sawyer Brown

Sawyer Brown has been
churning out slick New
Country since their early
days as a solid touring unit
back in the late 1970s. Ex...

Shania Twain

Shania Twain gave country
pop a sexy new stadium
rock image and paved the
way for Jo Dee Messina and
the Dixie Chicks. In an od...

Tammy Wynette

Tammy Wynette fused the
grit of honky-tonk with
pristine Nashville
production to create her
signature sound. Once ma...

Tanya Tucker

Tucker was one of the
biggest country stars of the
'70s. Her big, slightly raspy
voice and choice material
won her many hits. Tanya...

The Judds

Naomi Judd and her
daughter Wynonna's
beautiful, soaring country
harmonies brought them
both enormous success i...

The Oak Ridge Boys

The Oak Ridge Boys had
begun singing secular music
in earnest and became one
of the biggest vocal groups
in country music. The Oa...

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