Country
Country music is a sprawling genre covering more than a century and pre-dating recorded music. Originating in Appalachia and the American South, it has its history in European Americans adapting Irish Folk Music and English Folk Music. The first widely available recordings of the style, which emphasized fiddles, guitars, and banjos along with other string instruments were made in the early 1920s. Jimmie Rodgers and The Carter Family became the genre's first national stars in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Their styles of Country Yodeling and Country Gospel came to be known as Traditional Country.
In the 1930s and 1940s, as the form began to move in different directions, the dominant styles were Western Swing (e.g. Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys) and Honky Tonk (e.g. Ernest Tubb). Bluegrass remained a popular form of traditional country even as it evolved in sophistication from Bill Monroe to Flatt and Scruggs. Early country music was also called American Folk Music or hillbilly music, and that's reflected in the first Billboard jukebox charts in the 1940s. The first jukebox country charts, which were published as "juke box folk records" or "juke box hillbilly records" until 1949, became the Country & Western chart.
Honky tonk stayed popular in the 1950s, and the Hank Williams records from the early 1950s continue to be hugely influential, but country music was also part of the larger changes in popular music in the mid-50s. The Rockabilly recordings, especially on the Sun Records label, were a critical link between hillbilly music and Rock & Roll, though the relative influence of country music, Country Boogie and Rhythm & Blues on what ultimately became rock music is a matter of much debate. In the late 50s, honky tonk faded in popularity in favor of richer instrumentation and production, often including orchestras. This came to be known as Nashville Sound.
It would seem that for every movement in country towards a more Pop sound, there was a countervailing movement towards a harder sound or a more traditional sound. The first of these was Bakersfield Sound, a movement that eschewed orchestras in favor of more traditional honky tonk instrumentation, but which also embraced electric instruments. Buck Owens and Merle Haggard were the biggest Bakersfield stars.
In the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s, Country Pop sometimes blurred the boundaries between country and other mainstream American music, while Outlaw Country had a rougher sound and relied more heavily on individual singer-songwriters as opposed to Nashville's commercial model. Country Rock acts such as The Byrds and Eagles became very successful Rock bands, but were generally not accepted by the country music audience.
Contemporary Country continues to be one of the most popular genres in the United States, particularly in the South and the Midwest. Names such as new country and mainstream country are sometimes used to distinguish the most popular country of the past 30 years from traditional country and honky tonk, but neo-traditionalists provide a strong current well within the mainstream of contemporary country pulling country back to its roots. Concurrently, subgenres such as Alt-Country and Americana exist primarily outside of mainstream country, but also rely heavily on country roots from the first half of the 20th century.
Alt-Country
In the 1980s, Punk Rock bands that incorporated Country influences were called Cowpunk and the music was almost invariably uptempo. Uncle Tupelo's 1990 album No Depression, released on the Indie label Rockville Records, differed from what had come before it with a greater respect for the country tradition of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. The title track, recorded as "No Depression in Heaven" by The Carter Family in 1936, also became the name of a 'zine covering alt-country.
By the mid-1990s, the creative partnership behind Uncle Tupelo had split with Jeff Tweedy going on to form Wilco and Jay Farrar forming Son Volt, and the genre was increasingly referred to as "alt-country". This reflected not only an alternative to the artists that dominated mainstream country radio, but also a greater shared audience with alternative rock and indie rock. The term "insurgent country" was also used, as on a string of various artists releases on the alt-country label Bloodshot Records.
Other prominent bands in the 1990s that defined the genre were The Jayhawks, Old 97's, and the Ryan Adams-led Whiskeytown. In the late 1990s, artists such as Drive-By Truckers, Calexico and Neko Case further expanded the genre with greater Southern Rock, Americana, and Singer/Songwriter sensibilities respectively.
Although the sound of alt-country is firmly rooted in 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s Country, there has been very little cross-over in the 1990s and 2000s. Thus, unlike the relationship between alt-rock and rock, the most successful alt-country artists have not broken through on American country music charts. In contrast, many (e.g. Wilco and Neko Case) have made successful transitions to become well-established Alternative Rock / Indie Rock artists.
Americana
Americana is a term that is sometimes used interchangeably with Alt-Country, and the two genres do have a great deal of overlap, but there are important distinctions between the two. First, Americana represents a revival of a broader swath of American roots music and Roots Rock with intermingling influences of Country, Bluegrass, American Folk Music, and Blues. Second, Americana generally eschews the rowdier Cowpunk and Indie Rock influences that are often evident in alt-country.
Artists who helped to define the genre include Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, and Dave Alvin while artists such as Calexico brought in distinct Tex-Mex influences. Beginning in 2010, a Grammy Award was given for Americana, and the 2011 award for Mavis Staples illustrates the breadth of the genre, particularly with respect to Gospel and Blues compared to Alt-Country.
Bakersfield Sound
Bakersfield Sound is a genre of Country music from the 1950s and named after its origin in Bakersfield, California. The sound is based heavily on electric instrumentation and a defined backbeat, like incorporating Rock & Roll into Country. Well-known artists include: Wynn Stewart, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and Dwight Yoakam.
Bluegrass
Bluegrass is a style of American Country music born in the Appalachian Mountain region during the late 1930s. Rooted in the traditions of Old-Time, it is also sometimes called 'Mountain Music'. Bluegrass today is much the same as it ever was, using the traditional instruments of banjo, fiddle, mandolin, guitar (a type of resonator guitar known as a Dobro), and bass. Elements of Blues, Gospel, and Work Songs combine with Traditional Country over a vocal style that its practitioners call 'the high lonesome' sound.
Bill Monroe (and the Blue Grass Boys) is generally credited with formalizing the Bluegrass sound as it is known today. Former bandmates of his, Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatt (along with their project together, Flatt and Scruggs), were also popularizers and innovators of the style.
Bluegrass Gospel
Religion has been a predominant subject matter in Bluegrass music since its inception, and continues to be a major theme to the present day. Bluegrass Gospel explores the same topics as Country Gospel, utilizing bluegrass instrumentation and vocals. Christian lyrics, intricate, fast tempos, expressive three and four part harmony vocals and the occasional A cappella chorus are popular distinguishing features of the genre. Significant practitioners include traditional artists like Bill Monroe, The Stanley Brothers and The Louvin Brothers, as well as modern artists like The Isaacs, IIIrd Tyme Out and Ricky Skaggs.
Bro-Country
Bro country is style of country originating in the 21st century and takes its cues from Hip Hop, Pop and Contemporary Country. This style is heavily reliant on lyrics about girls, partying and drinking beer. This musical style shies away from Traditional Country to feature more modern pop styles such as electronic beats, auto-tune and repetitive choruses. Some artists in this style include Florida Georgia Line, Fast Ryde, Luke Bryan, Tyler Farr, Billy Currington, Jason Aldean and Chase Rice.
Close Harmony
(also known as Brother Duets)
A traditional style of two-part harmony singing in Country music, performed mostly by brothers. It became popular in the 1930s and is best represented by acts like The Delmore Brothers, The Blue Sky Boys and The Louvin Brothers. In the 1950s, The Everly Brothers brought the style to a wider, international audience.
Contemporary Country
Contemporary country is essentially a new traditionalist movement of country that incorporates both heavily pop-influenced styles, and the more pop-averse movement of Neo-Traditionalist Country, with the common thread between them being modern styles of production and instrumentation. In the late 80's, and early 90's, Country artists such as Lee Greenwood and Hank Williams Jr. began to experiment with the modern equipment and updated sound production techniques of the new traditionalist movement but added more danceable rhythms and a pop rock sensibility to a country spirit. While initially, this type of music didn't have very much pop crossover, through out the 90's, artists such as Garth Brooks, Shania Twain and Dixie Chicks brought the style to a radio audience. As more traditional and folk-inspired styles of country died out in the late 90's and 2000's, contemporary country began to completely dominate the country radio stations, and brought a whole slew of new country artists, such as Toby Keith, Alan Jackson, and Keith Urban.
Contemporary country artists retain a traditional vocal style, and lyrics tend to focus on themes of the working class, modern farm machinery, alcohol, reminiscence of older times, and an extremely strong sense of American patriotism. Musically, pop-rock esque setups of a guitar, drums, and bass are used while keeping a comercial and radio friendly sound. However, mandolin, fiddle, dobro, and even subtle synths can also be utilized. Contemporary country also almost completely loses the folk, blues, and singer/songwriter influences of other types of country.
Country Rap
(also known as Hick-hop, Rural Rap)
Country rap is a musical style that combines the flow, production-emphasis, and demeanour of Hip Hop with the lyrical content and general approach of Country music. Pioneered in the early 2000s by Bubba Sparxxx and brought to the mainstream by the likes of Colt Ford, Cowboy Troy, and Big Smo during the latter end of the decade, the merges both rural and urban conventions to create a sound that is uniformly distinct from Contemporary Country music and often not as vulgar as hip-hop.
Country & Irish
(also known as Irish Country)
A musical style developed in Ireland that combines North American Country with Irish Folk Music influences, often in the form of traditional Irish songs that have been adapted into country numbers. Originating from the Irish showband scene of the 1960s through bands like Big Tom & The Mainliners, the style attained widespread popularity with such artists as Daniel O'Donnell and Johnny McEvoy.
Country Pop
Country pop is a subgenre of Country and Pop which combines the two genres in order to appeal to a larger audience. Country pop takes Traditional Country elements and adds many styles and structures from Pop music of multiple eras.
Nashville Sound is considered to be the first effort in blending country and pop, pioneered by Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley. Dominated by artists from Nashville, Tennessee, it resulted in many songs removing traditional instrumentation such as fiddle and banjo and challenged the Honky Tonk dominance in music charts with smoother choruses and more sophisticated production. Such music helped artists like Patsy Cline and Glen Campbell gain acceptance from both country and pop fans, but upset country purists.
Country pop continued to remain popular in the late 1960s and 1970s, with "Countrypolitan" becoming a new term to refer to popular Nashville Sound music during this period, implementing lush string arrangements, background vocals and more elementary subject matter. The genre faced competition from other country subgenres in an effort to return to the genre's roots.
The dawn of the 1980s saw the popularity of the movie soundtrack Urban Cowboy and, in turn, resulted in the genre Urban Cowboy, which saw the genre develop into a sound more influenced from late 1970s pop, including elements of Disco which was popular at the time. No longer based in Nashville, many of these artists originated from the West Coast. However, in the succeeding years, country pop had to contend with more traditionalist country subgenres, once again another reaction in an effort to return the genre to its roots.
Country pop continued to evolve its sound in the 1990s and 2000s, with popular artists such as Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, LeAnn Rimes and Dixie Chicks becoming among the best selling country artists of all time during this period. Such popularity can be attributed to the proliferation of country music to the FM radio dial, and the use of new marketing strategies, with many artists taking the sound of Contemporary Country and developing a much more radio-friendly style.
In the 2010s, Bro-Country began to form by taking subject matter and mass audience appeal of country pop and applying Hip Hop, Contemporary R&B and Electronic musical influences.
Country Yodeling
Using the vocal technique of Yodeling brought to America by German settlers, and sung over Traditional Country instrumentation, Country Yodeling was introduced as a distinct style in the music of Jimmie Rodgers, from whom it was popularized by Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. Only a few years later, this American style was transplanted to Europe by the Swiss artist Peter Hinnen.
Cowboy
(also known as Western Music)
Cowboy music is a genre of American Folk Music which developed in the Western United States and parts of Western Canada during the nineteenth century. It is known as cowboy music due to its recurring lyrical themes, or western music (or simply western) due to the geographical location of its origin.
Cowboy music emerged separately from the Country music of the Southern United States. Initially borrowing heavily from European Folk Music traditions, particularly the ballads of the British Isles, it developed to reflect the open range and ranch houses where the music originated. String bands and harmonica dominate musically with some artists also using acoustic guitar.
The genre gained mainstream popularity in the 1930s and 1940s through the music of "Singing Cowboys" such as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. By the 1960s artists were being marketed, along with country acts, as "country and western" music and the increasing popularity of other country genres such as the Nashville Sound led to cowboy music being subsumed. More recently there has been something of a revival with acts such as Michael Martin Murphey and Riders in the Sky resurrecting the genre.
Gothic Country
(also known as Southern Gothic, Death Country, Dark Country)
Gothic Country is a subgenre of Alt-Country heavily influenced by the Southern Gothic literary genre. Many artists also draw influence from American Folk Music, Country Gospel, Bluegrass, and various subgenres of Punk Rock. The genre was pioneered in the late 1990s and early 2000s in Denver, Colorado through the music of 16 Horsepower, Slim Cessna's Auto Club, and a number of affiliated artists including Jay Munly, DeVotchKa, The Denver Gentlemen, and Wovenhand.
Honky Tonk
Honky Tonk is a rowdy style of country often dealing with the wild side of life, like drinking and cheating. It got its name from the southern bars and taverns where people went to pick up a partner and dance to a live band. The sound is an upbeat version of Traditional Country with strumming guitars, fiddle, string bass and the addition of the then so popular Hawaiian steel-guitar. The vocals usually had a nasal tone, the so called high and lonesome sound. Honky Tonk Country started out around WWII and had its golden age during the mid 1950s (Then it lost in popularity when Rock & Roll hit the scene in the later 1950s). Well-known artists includes: Ernest Tubb, Hank Williams, Lefty Frizzell and George Jones.
Nashville Sound
(also known as Countrypolitan)
The Nashville Sound emerged in the 1950s with the idea of broadening the audience of Country music by adding Pop elements. It was established by the productions of Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley. The late 1960s/70s version of the Nashville Sound is also known as Countrypolitan with Billy Sherrill and Glenn Sutton being its most important producers.
Neo-Traditionalist Country
Neo-Traditionalist Country is primarily a mix of Honky Tonk with Pop Rock and Singer/Songwriter. It emerged in the late 1980s as a reaction to the increasingly Pop-oriented sound of then-popular Country music. Neo-Traditionalist ultimately became one of the dominant strains of country music in the 1990s and into the 2000s. Examples include Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, and Joe Nichols.
Neo-Traditionalist Country should not be confused with the similarly named "New Traditionalist" movement that arose in country music around the same time. The New Traditionalists likewise sought some return to a traditional country sound, but were less pop-averse than the neo-traditionalists.
Old-Time
(also known as Old-Timey)
Originally a marketing term used by OKeh Records to describe the music of Fiddlin' John Carson, "Old-Time" is now generally used to describe the music of those who seek to preserve pre-Bluegrass styles of North American string band music. Usually led by a fiddle, Old-Time bands frequently feature a banjo played clawhammer, as opposed to three-finger, or Scruggs, style. A fiddle playing melody to the rhythmic accompaniment of a banjo is considered to be the classic form of Appalachian Old-Time, perhaps the best-known variant of the genre. Carson's Old-Time contemporaries included Gid Tanner. During the folk boom of the sixties, The New Lost City Ramblers were Old-Time's most prominent act. More recently, artists such as Old Crow Medicine Show and Uncle Earl have renewed interest in the genre.
Outlaw Country
Developed as a response to the Nashville Sound, artists in this style grew their hair long, wore denim and generally bucked the rules of society. Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson embodied this style. Outlaws also employed more of a rock sound, or at least retreated from the swirling strings of the Nashville Sound towards country's roots in more folksy music.
Progressive Bluegrass
(also known as Newgrass)
Progressive Bluegrass distinguishes itself from pure Bluegrass by allowing many different influences far away from its Appalachian origins, adding elements of Jazz, Folk and Rock, as well as mixing in other forms of Country. Many Progressive Bluegrass bands also use amplified instruments, a departure from the acoustic-based traditional bluegrass sound. Jam Band-style improvisation is also a frequently heard element.
Progressive Country
A reaction to the slick Country Pop of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Progressive Country artists mixed Singer/Songwriter, Honky Tonk, and Rock & Roll with Traditional Country styles. The result was a rootsy, raw sound that stood in stark contrast to the mainstream country artists of the day. Although not a lyric-based genre, Progressive Country artists tended to have more introspective, intellectual lyrics and rarely relied on outside songwriters (another break from the predominant Nashville business model).
Red Dirt
Hailing from Oklahoma and Texas, Red Dirt music draws principally from Outlaw Country and Southern Rock. That is to say - it typically features bluesy riffs, along with progressive sensibilities drawn from outlaw country in terms of overall structure. Cross Canadian Ragweed is representative of the sub-genre.
Traditional Country
Traditional country refers to several forms of Country music that are most closely aligned with the genre's pure American Folk Music and Blues roots, from country music's inception in Appalachia and the American South (the first widely available country records were produced in the 1920s) until the popularity of Honky Tonk and Country Pop in the 1950s.
The beginnings of country music arguably lie in the Appalachian Folk Music style Old-Time. Typically featuring fiddle and banjo, the term was initially used by OKeh Records to describe the music of Fiddlin' John Carson in the 1920s. By the late 1920s, recordings of 'hillbilly music' became widely available, with the term 'country' not being popularly used until the 1940s. The Carter Family defined early traditional country, becoming major stars and releasing several singles that crossed over into Gospel music (Country Gospel). The European-derived technique of Yodeling was also introduced into country music, pioneered by Jimmie Rodgers and Riley Puckett, with the first Country Yodeling record believed to be the latter's "Rock All Our Babies to Sleep" (1924).
In the 1930s the distinctive two-part Close Harmony style emerged, often performed by brothers such as The Blue Sky Boys. Later on in the decade, another Appalachian style, Bluegrass, developed, with innovator Bill Monroe drawing on old-time music and using various string instruments (most popularly banjo, fiddle, mandolin and guitar).
The parallel development of Cowboy music (also widely known as 'Western' music due to its origins in Western USA and Canada) in the 1920s and 1930s was initially separate from hillbilly/country music, but was later subsumed in the latter's overall lineage after marketing of 'country and western' music became popular in the 1960s. Western music and cowboy singers such as Gene Autry drew from European Folk Music and ballads.
Hank Williams' traditional country style in the late 1940s paved the way for the lively, upbeat honky tonk style. This soon became popular during the 1950s and, alongside country pop, led to country becoming mainstream. Newer country styles such as the Nashville Sound began to dominate the scene whilst traditional country styles became less popular and were soon performed by select groups of musicians. Various revivals have appeared since, including 21st century acts Old Crow Medicine Show and Carolina Chocolate Drops performing old-time and bluegrass.
Truck Driving Country
(also known as Trucking Music)
Truck Driving Country is a Country music style derived from Honky Tonk, Country Rock and Bakersfield Sound aimed at the truck driving community. The music usually has a driving beat to suit the uptempo of speeding truckdrivers, and the lyrics focus around trucks and the drivers everyday life. The genre went mainstream in the late '70s when the CB phenomenon hit pop culture with the success of films like "Convoy" and "Smokey and the Bandit". Well-known artists includes Dave Dudley, Red Sovine, Dick Curless, Red Simpson and Dale Watson.
Urban Cowboy
A style of Country music first made popular in the early 1980s largely because of (and named after) the 1980 film of the same name, Urban Cowboy. Its distinguishing sound was the melding of country and Pop music (best described as 70s L.A. soft pop), and sometimes leaning towards Disco. It was very common to see these types of recordings done outside Nashville, in particular on the USA west coast. Some examples of country artists receiving recognition in this genre include Mickey Gilley, Johnny Lee, Johnny Paycheck and Moe Bandy.
Western Swing
Western swing is the Country genre with the strongest Jazz and Blues influence. In 1932, Light Crust Doughboys featured Bob Wills on fiddle and Milton Brown on vocals, and the two are credited as the co-founders of the genre. They recorded their first single, Sunbonnet Sue / Nancy Jane, under the name of Fort Worth Doughboys. With Tommy Duncan on vocals, Bob Wills formed Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys and Milton Brown formed his own band, Milton Brown and His Brownies. The influences of Swing and Dixieland on early western swing are so strong that some songs can only be distinctly identified as western swing due to the way the fiddle, banjo, or steel guitar are featured. Like swing, western swing was popular dance music and, unlike Traditional Country, featured a strong beat. Bob Wills has also spoken of the influence of Bessie Smith.
Because of the early death of Milton Brown in 1936, Bob Wills dwarfs the influence of all other western swing artists, though Spade Cooley also called himself the king of western swing. The style was most popular in Texas, Oklahoma and California, and one of the performers with several of the most popular bands, W. Lee O'Daniel, went on to become governor of Texas. In the late 1940s Hank Thompson and His Brazos Valley Boys were one of the biggest stars of the genre, but western swing was soon eclipsed in popularity by Honky Tonk. A limited western swing revival was led by Asleep at the Wheel in the 1970s.
Definitions courtesy of rateyourmusic.com