Country Music Research Paper

Country music originated in the 1920s in Tennessee. The genre was influenced by folk music from the Appalachian Mountains and revolved around themes of love, faith,

Southern music known today as country music became popular in the 1920’s. This was music that was based on folk music of cowboys in the southeast (Collins English Dictionary, 2003). In most of the early music the artist played stringed instruments like fiddles, guitars, banjos and some were even playing harmonicas. When this type of music started some people called it

always been what we recognize it as today. Country music began in the 1920’s in a town in Tennessee called Bristol and was recognized for its hillbilly and folk format. Country music artists like Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis are each responsible for creating this music format that was written mostly about everyday life. Today country music is recognized as a more modern contemporary version of music. Today’s country artists have started to change their sound in order to appeal to the mainstream audience in order to make more money. Miranda Lambert said “there’s been a shift: country music is popular now. Every other genre wants to come over to our land.”

There have been many stars throughout the years in country music. Two of the most iconic are Alan Jackson and George Strait. Alan Jackson hit his peak in the late 90s and early 2000s. He has not been as productive as of 2015, but he is still creating some music. George Strait was most productive in the mid to early 90s and like Alan he is at the end of his career. Country music was dramatically affected by these two and they both did it with class. They always made music that was family friendly and anyone could listen to it.

That said, Country Music is a most peculiar genre of musical entertainment. Artists therein often sing about the most mundane aspects of life, and living. Songs usually include words like beer, cheating, cowboys, lying, trailers, trucks, whiskey etc.

Country music has proven as a powerful medium to express the views of the contemporary culture. As a result, the lyrical value of such songs provides listeners an insight to the changing climate of social and political ideologies. During the 1960’s defined gender roles dictated social lifestyles and were mimicked in music. In recent years, a resurgence of idealistic, stereotypical gender-specific roles have cropped up in country songs, creating a subgenre labelled “bro-country.” Jody Rosen of the New York Times first coined the term “bro-country” in order to describe songs that use lyrical tools glorifying prevailing, hegemonic gender roles present in culture. Songs such as Tim McGraw’s “How I’ll Always Be,” Luke Bryan’s “Huntin’, Fishin’, Lovin’, Every Day,” Sam Hunt’s “Make you Miss Me,” and Dierks Bently’s “Different for Girls” use the lyrical discourse, under the lens of “bro-country”, to highlight dominant, male gender-specific roles, while simultaneously reinforcing prominent, often negative, views of women.

Since its inception, country music has proven to be? as a powerful outlet to express the view of the contemporary culture. As a result, the lyrical value of such songs provides listeners an insight to the changing climate of social and political ideologies. During the 60’s defined gender roles dominated social lifestyle and was were? mimicked in music. In recent years, a resurgence of idealistic, stereotypical gender-specific roles have cropped up in country songs, creating a subgenre labelled “bro-country.” Jody Rosen of the New York Times first coined the term “bro-country” in order to describe songs that use lyrical tools idealizing dominant, hegemonic gender roles present in culture. Songs such as Tim McGraw’s “How I’ll Always Be,” Luke Bryan’s “Huntin’, Fishin’, Lovin’, Every Day,” Sam Hunt’s “Make you Miss Me,” and Dierks Bently’s “Different for Girls” use the lyrical discourse, under the lens of “bro-country”, to highlight dominant, male gender-specific roles, while simultaneously reinforcing prominent, often negative, views of women.

Charlie Pride did it in 1971. Darius Rucker did it in 2009. That’s it. Two black men, spanning thirty-eight years, are the only black artists to win a Country Music Association Award. With country music rooted in bluegrass and rhythm and blues, why aren’t there more black country music stars? When considering the roots of country music, and how closely related country is to blues, bluegrass and honky tonk music, an examination of what happened to all the black musicians seems warranted, no? This paper examines the dearth of black artists in country music and the careers of one of the few black artists who has had commercial success in this genre of music.

Pulling a horse trailer, not too many people can do that in New York. Country people have an advantage which is not backing down from anything, and this is what the old country music use to be about. Lane Frost inspired most country musicians in the 90’s. That’s why there used to be so many songs written about bull riding and rodeos. The old stuff use to talk about hard working people, and just real up beat towards work, and nowadays nobody wants to even hear the word work. That’s why all the country music today is about drinking and partying. The newer artist are just trying to draw people into living the way they live. They drink on stage and go to bars in the town after a show. Most people don’t believe that’s what country music is

Country music is a genre that some might absolutely love and some might absolutely hate. It is a style of music that developed in the southern and western U.S. and often contains lyrics relating to the lives of people who live in the country. While there are a lot of different types of country music, a very popular country artist of this time is Eric Church. Church brings a bit of a twist to country music, with really telling us how he feels. Talking about one of his songs in particular, “homeboy” about a lost young man needing to “come on home, boy.”

Nashville has always had a foundation of music, since the earliest settlers arrived on the shores of the Cumberland River, and celebrated with fiddle tunes and buck dancing. Since then, Nashville has gained international recognition for its country music scene – earning it the nickname “Music City”. Today, Nashville

Keeping it all cool and relaxed in a very demanding genre such as country music requires adamant skill and incomparable passion. Not all country musicians have the guts to stay afloat and be resilient, causing some of them to fall off the trail and never regained what they started anymore. Some have succumbed into the notion that being known once and for a short period of time will suit them well already, while for those who planned to stay as soon as their audience needs them, loving the craft and being addicted to fame are key points for you to succeed. We have known bag shot names such as Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Alison Krauss and Shania Twain to have dominated the country music realm, and yet, we know in our subconscious that there are other great artists just waiting for us to unravel. Take for example the admirable Dierks Bentley, a man who got the country music flowing through his blood as if he’s created just to serve this genre.

First, the lyrical content of country music is very distinct. Typically within a country song, the focus of the music is on storytelling. According to the website History of Country Music, this is one of the primary characteristics of country music. Particularly, it is stated “country music should have a strong storyline” (History of Country Music). There are several notable examples of this sort of musical storytelling; one of which is “Cocaine Blues” by Johnny Cash. He recounts the saga of a man on the run from the police for the murder of his wife, who finally gets caught and must accept his punishment in a court of law. The mentioned composition is slightly atypical of country songs in general

The gender messages in country music are different than rap. The ratio of male to female artists in country music is three to one, with a lot of the female artists being of the second type that Andsager and Roe explained. Therefore more often than not, country music reinforces traditional gender messages. The good news is that gender messages are beginning to change. Women are now playing

Appalachian music changed after the 1920’s to more of what those outside Appalachian music liked about the music. Appalachian music was no longer the name for the music of this area and Hillbilly music came about for the commercial spread of Appalachian music (Malone, 1994). With the commercial spread of Appalachian music as Hillbilly music gave a way for the music to transform and continue to make new songs (Malone,