Other important early recording artists were Riley Puckett, Don Richardson, Fiddlin' John Carson, Ernest Stoneman, Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers and The Skillet Lickers. Vernon Dalhart was the first country singer to have a nationwide hit (May 1924, with 'The Wreck of Old '97') (see External Links below). Elvis Presley, “The Hillbilly Cat,” appeared on the Louisiana Hayride for three years, went on help define rock ‘n’ roll, and became known as “The King.” Garth Brooksis another other top selling solo artist. While often maligned, country music has produced the two top selling solo artists of all time. One example is the tune 'Milk Cow Blues,' an early blues tune by Kokomo Arnold that has been performed in a wide variety of country styles by everyone from Aerosmith to Bob Wills to Willie Nelson, George Strait to Ricky Nelson and Elvis Presley. However, country music is actually a catch-all category that embraces several different genres of music: Nashville sound (the pop-like music very popular in the 1960s) bluegrass, a fast mandolin, banjo and fiddle-based music popularized by Bill Monroe and by Flatt and Scruggs Western, which encompasses traditional Western cowboy campfire ballads and Hollywood cowboy music made famous by Roy Rogers, The Sons of the Pioneers, and Gene Autry Western swing, a sophisticated dance music popularized by Bob Wills the Bakersfield sound which used the new Fender Telecaster guitars, a big drum beat, and dance style music that would catch your attention like 'a freight train running (Buck Owens)' (popularized by Buck Owens and Merle Haggard) outlaw country made famous in the 1970's by Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver, David Alan Coe, Jerry Jeff Walker, Mickey Newbury, Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard, and Hank Williams, Jr., Cajun style music from the Louisiana Bayou zydeco Evangelical Christian inspired gospel oldtime (generally pre-1930 folk music) honky tonk Appalachian rockabilly neotraditional country and jug band.Įach style is unique in its execution, its use of rhythms, and its chord structures, though many songs have been adapted to the different country styles. Blackie Rad at left Christy McWilson, of course, at center other musicians unidentified.

The Christy McWilson Band perform at the Ballard Seafood Fest, Ballard, Seattle, Washington. It has roots in traditional folk music, Celtic music, blues, gospel music, and old-time music and evolved rapidly in the 1920s. Musicians - List of years in Country MusicĬountry music, the first half of Billboard's country and western music category, is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States. Much, worldwide, especially the Nashville Soundīakersfield Sound - Bluegrass - Close harmony - Country folk - Honky tonk - Jug band - Lubbock Sound - Nashville Sound - Neotraditional Country - Outlaw country - Red Dirt - Texas Country - Chippy GothĪlternative country - Country rock - Psychobilly - Deathcountry - Rockabilly - Country-rap - Country pop Guitar - Steel guitar - Dobro - Harmonica - Bass - Fiddle - Drums - Mandolin - Banjo Appalachian folk music, blues, spirituals and Anglo-Celtic musicĮarly twentieth century Appalachia, especially Tennessee, West Virginia, and Kentucky

Long haired hillbilly rock stars