Pop Country: From the 60s to the 90s
Country artists crossing over into pop music began in Nashville, the traditional home of country music, in the early 1960s, when singers such as Eddy Arnold and Jim Reeves enjoyed hits on the pop charts.
In the late 1980s, pop country once again came strongly to the fore, after having been replaced in popularity in the previous decade by the stripped-down honky tonk of the Texas-based "outlaw" movement.
Although many artists in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s enjoyed great critical and commercial acclaim, it was one in particular that single-handedly brought country music to the masses and caused arguably its biggest boom since the world first discovered Jimmie Rodgers in 1927.
The Impact of Garth Brooks on Country Music
In terms of worldwide record sales, awards won and concert tickets sold, Garth Brooks is the most popular artist in country music history.
His second album, No Fences was the bigest-selling country album of all time, before being surpassed by Shania Twain's Come on Over, and his epic live shows, in stadiums more used to rock concerts, sold out around the world. He has now sold over 120 million albums, more than any other solo artist.
"Before Brooks, it was inconceivable for a country artist to go multi-platinum," writes Stephen Thomas Erlewine on the All Music Guide. "He shattered that barrier in 1991, when his second album, No Fences, began its chart domination, and its follow-up, Ropin' the Wind, became the first country album to debut at the top of the pop charts."
Following in Garth Brooks' Footsteps: The Continued Success of Pop Country
The 1990s saw a sharp increase in the popularity of country music. Singers like Tim McGraw, Travis Tritt, Shania Twain, LeAnn Rimes and Clint Black all found themselves in great demand and sold millions of records worldwide, arguably on the back of Brooks' unprecedented success. Shania's aforementioned Come on Over went ten times platinum in the UK alone.
Pop country is alive and well in 2009, with artists such as Rascal Flatts, Sugarland and Taylor Swift (who was not even born when Garth Brooks had his first hit) continuing to take "America's music" well beyond the traditional confines of the genre.
Pop Country: Murder on Music Row?
The song, Murder on Music Row, originally recorded by bluegrass group, Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time, but made famous by Alan Jackson and George Strait claims that "someone killed country music, cut out its heart and soul," and describes why traditional country fans hate the more "polished" mainstream country sound:
"For the steel guitars no longer cry and the fiddles barely play, but drums and rock 'n' roll guitars are mixed up in your face."
It goes on to say that the classic country of legends such as Hank Williams and Merle Haggard "wouldn't stand a chance on today's radio."
More Criticism of Pop Country
Perhaps the strongest critic of pop country is Hank Williams' grandson, Hank III. In Dick in Dixie he sings:
"Well, we're losing all the outlaws that had to stand their ground, and they're being replaced by these kids from a manufactured town. And they don't have no idea about sorrow and woe, 'cause they're all just too damn busy kissin' ass on Music Row."
Pop Country: Conclusion
While it is understandable that fans of traditional country music loathe the commercialised sound of modern Nashville, pop country has undoubtedly done a huge amount to raise awareness of country music and to popularise it, for people of all ages, in countries where it had previously been ignored. Also, as music is constantly changing and evolving, it is unrealistic to expect it to stay the same.
The roots-driven sound of Texas Country offers the more discerning listener a style of country more reminiscent of the old days and is doing its best to keep traditional country music alive. So maybe there is a place for pop country after all.
 |
