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Description of Country

 
Country music is the sound of America's heartland, with roots in traditional Folk, as well as in the hillbilly sounds of Appalachia. It is characterized mostly by its lyrical content -- heartbreak, loss, cheating, loss, more loss -- and a distinctive twang that you just can't describe, but you know it when you hear it. Country as a broad category encompasses everything from the pure Honky-Tonk of Hank Williams and his kin, to the Bluegrass Folk music of Bill Monroe, to the New Country of superstars Garth Brooks and Shania Twain.
 

Country Key Artists

 
Alan Jackson

Throughout his incredibly
successful career, Jackson
has tried to maintain a pure
fiddle and steel guitar
sound. Before Alan Jacks...

Bill Monroe

Monroe was one of the first
to popularize the Bluegrass
band paradigm of guitar,
acoustic bass, fiddle
mandolin, and banjo. The...

Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood was the
champion on season four of
"American Idol."
Underwood's career shifted
into high gear with the rel...

Dixie Chicks

By fusing a passion for
old-timey Bluegrass with a
love of modern pop, the
Dixie Chicks take country
music to new ground. Cha...

Dolly Parton

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

Emmylou Harris

The otherworldly and yet
accessible cosmic American
musical voice of Harris
helped to bring country
music to wider audiences...

George Jones

Jones' beer joint songs
earned him the title, "King
Of The Broken Hearts." His
voice remains one of
country music's richest....

Hank Williams

Hank Williams is country's
patron saint. He sang
weepy tear-in-beer ballads
like the world's weight was
hunching his back. Hank'...

Johnny Cash

Cash's trademark baritone
growl and disdainful sneer
were the crown and
scepter he bore as the king
of outlaw country music....

Loretta Lynn

One of the first female
country singers to address
feminist issues, she was
considered an industry
maverick during the '70s....

Merle Haggard

Merle Haggard personifies
Bakersfield, Calif. Like Buck
Owens, he provides a gritty
alternative to Nashville's
slickness. In the early '60s...

Patsy Cline

Country singer Patsy Cline's
deeply romantic songs and
honeyed voice helped
inspire and influence
women musicians everyw...

Rascal Flatts

Rascal Flatts mix twangy
pedal steel licks with
contemporary R&B to create
a soulful yet countrified
version of a boy band. So...

The Carter Family

The Carter Family's
Appalachian mountain
music has been a titanic
influence on country,
bluegrass and folk. One of...

Tim McGraw

Tim McGraw mostly blends
roadhouse honky-tonk with
country rock to make gritty
country songs, but he also
sings ballads. He is the so...

Toby Keith

Toby Keith plays
chart-topping new
traditional country music
with hot Telecaster tones
and engaging song arrang...

Waylon Jennings

Jennings made the music
industry understand that
country music's appeal
stretches further than
record executives realize...

Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson is one of the
founding fathers of the
outlaw country music
movement. Willie started off
as a songwriter. He wrote...

Wynonna Judd

Wynonna Judd is a country
music superstar with more
than a hint of soul in her
dynamic voice. Abandoned
by her father, Wynonna g...

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