From the Back Roads to Mainstream

"You've got to have smelt a lot of mule manure before you can sing like a hillbilly" -Hank Williams

Over the years this quote has been repeated many times, partially because of the humor in it, but also because it speaks to the type of person fans and country musicians thought you needed to be to be considered a "country" artist. Without this connection to an agricultural lifestyle, anyone who was interested in country music was not considered to be authentic. (Hill)

Hank Williams was coined as country's first star and was the standard of what was considered to be country music during his time.

"In 1949, pre-Nashville sound, country legend Hank Williams released his version of the 1922 Cliff Friend and Irving Mills song ‘Lovesick Blues.’ Williams’ version sat at number one on the Billboard charts for more than four consecutive months." (Miller)

Hank Williams died in 1953 and the popularity of country music started to decline (Ching).

Country music was at a low point in popularity compared to other genres around the 1960's and had a desire for profit. (Ching)

The genre had no diversity. People claimed (and still claim today) that country music needs to be rooted “in the country” but with that mindset the genre has diversity and with that, only resonated with a small number of people in a particular geographic area (Hill).

"“ As rock' ‘n’ roll gained national traction, traditional country music – filled with the rough-edged sounds of fiddles and steel guitar – started to decline in popularity, leading sales to plummet and forcing many industry professionals to re-evaluate their approach to the genre altogether. As a result of this cultural shift, executives at a number of Nashville-based record labels (including Decca Records, RCA records, and Columbia Records) began to tinker with their sound by infusing country music with many of the smoother, more easily digestible sound elements common to jazz and pop music at the time. Steel guitars, fiddles and rough-sounding singers were replaced with string sections, background vocals and velvety lead voices.” (Miller)

In this website, you can see decade by decade what is going on in the country socially, economically, and politically, as well as in music across the board, to get a better idea of what is happening in country music and what is causing changes each decade.

(Quine)

In 1958, there was an article written in the Music Reporter which was the first time people were introduced to the phrase “Nashville Sound”. The article was about country singer, Jim Reeves. It was written because during his time, Reeves’ songs were topping both the country music charts as well as the pop charts which is something that had not been seen before. The magazine articles coined the the term “Nashville Sound” to describe the unique and popular style of music Reeves was playing. Nashville Sound was mentioned again in a 1960 Time article . (Miller)

"Now the term describes not just a locale but a state of mind and style of taste, as much beloved downtown as on the farm" -Richard Nixon (Hill p.90)

Country music was started to be redefined.

The talk of the Nashville sound movement was short lived as it began to decline by the 1960’s. Despite its prevalence being short, it propelled country music into greater revolution in the years to come, starting with the emergence of a movement that known most recently as “countrypolitan”. This movement is characterized by an even smoother sound, a background orchestra, and background vocals. The “countrypolitan” style is what developed the mainstream “country pop” that we hear topping the charts today (Miller).

Following Hank Williams country music career, a new star emerged on the scene as the “King of Country”. Garth Brooks redefined what it meant to be a country singer and brought a glamour to the genre that it had never quite seen before.

A major push in the evolution of the genre is this idea that country music does not need to be set in a geographical area but rather country needs to embody a certain mindset and be rooted in the values that its origins instilled so that it can reach a broader audience (Hill). If the audience of country music could evolve, then surely the genre of music would grow in popularity.

To me, this is one of the major factors in why country music has changed so much because not only is it evolving to keep up with other genres, but what it's listeners value and their way of life has dramatically changed as well.

Florida Georgia Line is one of country’s most decorated groups in music today with numerous chart topping hits, being awarded at music shows, and recognizable fame worldwide. But, according to some people, they feel the group is in an identity crisis because of the way they have blended rap and hip-hop into their songs. On the other hand, many of their fans believe this fuse of styles is wildly successful and have credited them with being major influencers in the revolution of modern country music.

For those who believe that it is imperative that country stick to a more traditional sound, found Florida Georgia Line's hit, "Cruise", to be quite controversial as it gained popularity. The song greatly propelled the groups fame, hitting the top of the charts and going multi-platinum. When the song first was released, Florida Georgia line sang it just as a group but the song became even more popular when it featured rapper, Nelly, on the remixed version of the track (Yahr).

Many people disputed the authenticity of this as it was labeled country and very clearly featured a hip-hop spin on the track. Critics questioned whether or not this was really country music.

Because "Cruise" was such a popular song, Florida Georgia Line has found themselves featured and experimenting in other genres consistently. Despite what people think, these songs are finding themselves at the top of the music charts as well.

Florida Georgia Line's collaboration with Bebe Rexha is just another example of how dynamic this group can be when it comes to mixing country with other genre's. When people first told her she was going to write alongside Florida Georgia Line, Rexha was extremely reluctant because she claimed she didn't like country music. But after creating this song, she felt that this was one of the best songs she had ever been a part of.

"It's like a country-pop crossover record" -Bebe Rexha on the song "Meant to Be"

"There’s a big magnifying glass on country music and there always has been…there’s so many different sub-brands and sub-genres, and to me, that’s what makes it so special. I think we should celebrate that." - Brian Kelly (Florida Georgia Line)

(Yahr)

Throughout their fame, many people have criticized the group for not being country but regardless of what people say they believe they are country and are going to continue making fresh tracks in order to better their music and keep things new and exciting.

For example, one of their newest songs "Can't Say I Ain't Country" is aimed at addressing people who do not consider their music to be authentic of the country style. They believe they are country singers and have something to say to those that think differently.

Interestingly enough, when trying to find the source of the critics who are against Florida Georgia Line identifying as a country group, the critics are people who have no significance to the country genre as a whole. They are mostly bloggers and people who simply do not like the new style of music they are producing. Organizations that police country music's authenticity, such as Billboard and CMT, to name a few, believe that Florida Georgia Line is in fact country music which is why they continue to dominate the genres popularity (I Can (& Will) Say Florida Georgia Line Ain't Country”).

Sam Hunt grew up in Cedartown, Georgia and grew up listening to what he considers to be traditional country music. He went to college to play football at Middle Tennessee State University and then transferred to the University of Alabama at Birmingham to finish out his career. Despite being signed as a free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs, he ultimately decided to pursue music over football and moved to Nashville to begin his career.

He got his early start in music writing for Billy Currington, who at times has a more traditional sound, and also for Keith Urban, who is described as having a more blended country sound (Patton).

When Hunt emerged as a popular name on the country music scene in 2014, he found his own music to have a blend of pop and hip-hop mixed into his records rather than the traditional sound he has been hearing his whole life since he had grown up listening to more traditional country. Despite that his albums were country, he has pop sounds in his tracks and this was considered to be a different sound than what other people had heard in country music prior to Hunt's rise to fame. This was during the time when he debuted his first album, Montevallo, which was released in 2014 . People have described Hunt as one of country music’s game changers.

Like Florida Georgia Line, there are critics who considered this style to not be country but Hunt’s fans are assured that this sound is rooted deep in the traditional country sound and that is mostly a result of the lyrics in his songs (Stephens).  

Not only does Sam Hunt’s sound trend toward non-traditional country but also the way he dresses does not align with the style of traditional country stars. The style he presents to the country world is knocking down barriers of what is expected. Typically, country is associated with cowboys hats and boots where Hunt typically sports flat billed hats and sneakers. The style he presents has been described as one that vibes more with a California surfer and less with others in the same profession (Patton). Although this is a minor detail, it changes the way people view country and deviates from what is considered conventional. 

Kane Brown is another name in country music today that is breaking down walls about what is considered to be a country star. The 23 year old singer who is mixed race, grew up in Georgia before moving to Tennessee. He has a very difficult childhood surviving both homelessness and physical abuse. 

Brown grew up listening to country music but wasn’t overly interested in pursuing music as a career until 11th grade when he won the school’s talent show.

His rise to fame is quite interesting compared to other artists in the genre. He was first featured on the show X Factor but quit because he was not interested in being a part of a boy band. After that, he began singing and videotaping his music and putting it on YouTube hoping to gain some exposure. After posting a number of videos, he was recognized for his cover of George Strait’s, “Check Yes or No” and became what is considered country’s first viral star (Dukes). 

The country sound he is producing today also teters toward a non-traditional style. Brown draws influence from hip-hop, dance-pop, R&B, and rock in his music (Levy).

 His song, “Learning”, has country roots with an R&B twist that is an autobiography about his hardships as a child (Dukes).

On Kane Brown's album, Experiment, which was released in 2018, he is continuing to give his listeners a fresh take on country. The name of the album points to the fact that he has a new style of country music that he is presenting but he is also trying to incorporate traditional country into his music which is why he describes it as an “experiment”. 

“It’s new school with old-school country,” he says. “It’s an experiment.”

Another track that is indicative of Kane Brown’s style is one of his top hits “What Ifs”. In the infancy of the song, Brown describes playing the song down in Texas and all of a sudden two fiddle players jumped in and started playing along with the song. From that point forward, he started including more fiddle and steel guitar into his song because he liked the sound and he realized they are instruments that “are going extinct” and he wants to keep that sound alive (Levy).

Despite all the changes that have happened over the years with the influence of other genres and need for change to gain popularity, country still has strong ties to the south which shows that there is a connection to its traditional roots. Even so, artists that venture out of the southern region still tend to mention southern most cities in many of their top songs. Although country music has made some dramatic changes over the years, we can still count on this style of music to draw on tradition in one way or another.

And although country music still has strong ties to Nashville and the south, the rise in popularity has allowed for country music to be listened to, recorded, and played all over the country.

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