Do You Like Country Music? Think Again

By Author: Lee Atkins
Total Articles: 4762
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Are you a country music fan? Most people claim they either love it or hate it. But do country music haters realize that people like Elvis Presley sang country music? It's actually a more diverse genre than a lot of people think!

Country music has roots in the south (Southern US), and evolved primarily from folk, gospel, and "old time music". It became popular in the early 1900's, and exploded in the late 90's and in the first decade of the 2000's. Prior to around 1950, country music was actually called "hillbilly music"! These days it's also referred to as "country and western" music due to the influence of the southwestern US.

Country music is actually a lot more eclectic than many people realize. The most common instruments used in the genre actually come from around the world…Ireland, Germany, Italy, Spain, and even Africa. The banjo, which is especially typical for hillbilly or deep south music actually originated in West Africa. And the fiddle…it's from Ireland. So while country music is associated with the south, it's been highly influenced by immigrants from across the ...
... globe, not to mention others from different locations throughout America.

Within the country music genre, there are several distinct sub classes or genres, each unique in its own right. There's country rock, sung by well known musicians such as Johnny Cash and Elvis. There's typical Nashville country exemplified by musicians like Owen Bradely and Jim Reeves. There's country soul, sung by the likes of Ray Charles. And that's just the beginning!

Country pop has also been immensely popular, including singers like Olivia Newton John, Anne Murray, Charlie Rich, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, and Barbara Mandrell. Today, many youngsters listen to pop music that's actually more country than anything else. What teenager wouldn't know music by Carrie Underwood? She's pure country. Not only that, but she won American Idol in 2005 and became the first female country artist with 3 singles at the top of the charts at the same time. If that's not popularity I don't know what is!

So while many people claim not to like country music, they may want to give that a second thought. When you realize how diverse country music is, you realize it's pretty likely that you've enjoyed at least a country song or two! Heck, there's even a genre of country Christmas music!
About Author:
Lee Atkins is a country music historian, and you're most likely to find him discussing it passionately with others. He's also a fan of Christmas songs, and spends a great deal of time at http://www.goodwinmusic.com/.