Roots

In the 1980s, rock bands with a taste for the rustic -- with echoes of folk, blues, Rockabilly, or country in their music -- were dubbed "Roots Rock." Playing no-frills music with straight-ahead lyrics, bands like the BoDeans, the Blasters, and Jason and the Scorchers found varying levels of mainstream acceptance for their rural rock. The most recognizable Roots strains in contemporary music can be found in groups as varied as Counting Crows, Cracker, and Wilco. Arguably, the entire Alt-Country movement is a direct descendant of this true blue form.