Nashville Sound

When Rockabilly stole away much of country music's youth audience in the mid-1950s, Nashville started to aim for a more adult market. Studio executives Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley took their cues from the pop music world, cutting out the sharp edges of fiddle and banjo and adding smoother, lusher tones with string sections and background choruses. This became known as the Nashville Sound, which dominated country music from the '50s through the '70s. Crooners like Eddy Arnold, Jim Reeves, and Patsy Cline were the early stars. The style peaked with the work of producer Billy Sherrill, who created a sound that was fuller and lusher than ever with such artists as one-time Memphis Rockabilly-soul singer Charlie Rich, Honky-Tonker Johnny Paycheck, and even Mr. Country Music himself, George Jones.