Toby Keith

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.”

George has come out with a total of 45 albums. Many of them were just his top hits and did not have any new content. George’s first album was released in 1981 and was called Strait Country. On the album he had one number one called Unwound and thats when George’s success started to grow (Schrute, D). He had multiple number one albums in the 80’s including Strait from the Heart, Does Fort Worth Ever Cross your Mind, Something Special, Ocean Front Property, and Beyond the Blue Neon. Also, George was named Entertainer of the Year in 1989 and 1990. He continued to have great success in the 90’s with three albums that also were number ones. Then in the 2000s George released 4 new albums that have had multiple number ones. In all George has had three Entertainer of the Year awards, 60 number one hits, and multiple platinum records (Schrute, D). He has been the most successful country singer of all time and has continued to have great success throughout his later

Life is all about what you make it. More so now than ever, lives are taken so much for granted and the small things are so overlooked. Many lives are lived by the wrong priorities, in my opinion. Every day is up for grabs and every moment matters.

His wife Mary Davis-Travis got up on stage and spoke out about everything that Randy has been through over the years. Alan Jackson was there and performed the song On the Other Hand. He also spoke out about touring with Travis years ago saying, "When he sang, the women were screaming and fainting and it was crazy. I loved it. Someone singing real country music and having that effect and selling all those records, it just made me so happy."

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.

Have you ever wondered who the best country music artist is? Well the answer is simple, George Strait King of Country. George Strait should win Best Country Music Artist of all Time.

Even though Hank was pushed/encourages to become a country music performer, he enjoys what he does. In result, he is one of the most well known “rock” country singer. He has several top hits and many awards. Some awards include 4 emmys, 10 #1 singles, 13 #1 albums, 20 gold albums, and 6 platinums. Also, he won a grammy award for best album/track “There’s a tear in My Beer”, which was released in 2002.

The contribution to music demonstrated by the career of Luke Bryan proves beyond a doubt that the country music singer should be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. His worthiness of this award is shown in his, charity work, the awards he has won and all the achievements he has made, and everyone who has inspired him to become a country music singer in the first place. Bryan would not be where he is today with the support of his wife and 2 kids. Bryan’s parents are peanut farmers and he used to help them when he was in high school. His brother died in a car accident 2 years ago and Bryan and his sister went through a tuff time when that happened. Luke Bryan was born July 17, 1976 in Leesburg, Georgia. Bryan got his first guitar at the age of fourteen and by the age of fifteen he was able to entertain a small crowd. It was all uphill from there. ("Luke Bryan Biography.")

He’s released at least one single a year for every year since the beginning of his career.  The first single released in 1981, called “Unwound”, is one of the top ten hot country (Taste of Country ).  Strait out of the box (1995) is his highest certified multi-platinum album, which has sold more than 5 Million copies.  Some noteworthy number one hits include Give it away, I saw God Today, Heartland, I Cross My Heart, I Hate Everything, Right or Wrong, The Chair, I am Blue, Baby Blue, Ace in the Hole, Love Without End, Amen, Carried Away, and Run. (Spong).  Therefore in his life George had many number one hits and albums, no wonder he’s considered to be

Eric Church is a good ole' country boy from Granite Falls, North Carolina. At thirteen is when Church started writing songs and playing guitar. His passion for music grew later in life and he moved to Nashville, where he was signed with Sony Tree Records. His last album Chief won Album of the Year from both the CMA and ACM in the last awards cycle, as it probably should have compared to its competition. Eric Church will never win the popularity contests like “Entertainer” or “Male Vocalist” categories because he has made more enemies than friends in the industry and beyond. But his music’s unpredictability is the magic quotient that can’t be denied, and continues to win him loyal fans.

For generations, singers and songwriters of country music have been working to evoke emotions in listeners by performing and writing songs that the listeners will be able to relate to. Country music traditionally reveals stories of life, love, death, and values, all of which can be seen in the works of great singers and songwriters like George Strait, Alabama, Brooks & Dunn, and Alan Jackson. One artist in particular, Garth Brooks, forever left his stamp on country music and on the hearts of his millions of listeners with his hit songs, “The Beaches of Cheyenne”, “Callin’ Baton Rouge”, and “The River”. “The Beaches of Cheyenne” has a storyline containing themes of life, death, love, and regret. The themes of this song branch out much

Chris Stapleton released his debut album, Traveller, in the Spring of 2015. This album is characterized by what I would describe as a traditional country feel, but with a slightly more modern sound, or to be more technical, a country rock meets blues album. This record, and Chris Stapleton himself, went relatively unnoticed by the general public after initial release. It was not until the 2015 CMA awards when Stapleton performed “Tennessee Whiskey” with Justin Timberlake that his album truly took off (Welch). Since then, songs from Traveller can frequently be heard on national country radio stations, as well as on tour, a show I will be attending in May.

Brantley Gilbert is a popular country music star. Mr. Gilbert has written/recorded seventy-one songs, and a total of 3 albums and received several awards. He is known for speaking his mind and being able to defend his family and friends. Brantley Gilbert is a successful artist, with a complicated past.

His 2013-2014 tour “Cowboy Rides Away,” is his last tour but he's not done making music and earning awards yet. In November 2013, he received the ASCAP Founder's Award (Toczylowski), and won CMA's Entertainer of the Year Award for the second time (Jamik). He also accepted Billboard's highest accolade, the Legend of Live Award and was honored with the Country Radio Broadcasters Career Achievement Award (Billboard).

Are you aware of the meaning of true love when the money and the power are sitting comfortably in your hands? In the song “When I was your Man” by Bruno Mars, he expresses his regret of putting aside a loyal woman. Serving him as a lesson learned, he found the true meaning of appreciation of a good woman. Bruno Mars expresses the consequences of his decisions. Unfortunately, his choices threw away an opportunity that was standing at his door step. This song conveys situations in which Bruno Mars could have done more than he did. Throughout “When I was your Man,” he is continually stating things he once took for granted. Therefore forcing him to love and live