The Origin of Country Music

I guess I've never really thought about where the different music genres came from. For example, if you asked me where country music started, I'd probably say that someone around Nashville or Oklahoma or somewhere that has a Southern accent picked up an acoustic guitar one day and just started playing country music. It started out in the countryside? I suppose I just picture plains and fields of tall grasses swaying in the wind with the banjo playing. That is my version of the origin of country music.

Don't worry. I am aware of how naiive my version is.

Country music was, in fact, founded in the Southern United States around the 1920's. Hillbillies do exist. In the 1940's, this was the movement in country music. It's the kind of picture painted by banjos and guitars on an old wooden front porch with a glass of iced tea.

I feel as though we might only picture country music as being something that is a form of Western entertainment, but other places have their own versions of country music. The United Kingdom and Ireland have their own versions of country music, as well as Australia. Go youtube their versions of country music; it's not the same "My dog died, my woman left me, etc" story, but it's still country music.

After doing a tiny bit of research, I was so shocked to learn that Elvis Presley was known as "the Hillbilly Cat" and a top selling solo artist for country music. WHAT?? He defined rock and roll! It never occurred to me that this is where he began. He could definitely be considered as a crossover artist.

While many of my peers hate country, it is obviously a very popular genre. Statistics show that "while album sales of most musical genres have declined since about 2005, country music experienced one of its best years in 2006, when, during the first six months, U.S. sales of country albums increased by 17.7 percent to 36 million. Moreover, country music listening nationwide has remained steady for almost a decade, reaching 77.3 million adults every week" (Wikipedia).

It's really no wonder why 2006 was such a huge year for country music. George Strait's "She Let Herself Go" gave him his 40th Number One spot on the Billboard chart. Keith Urban got married to Nicole Kidman. Johnny Cash released "American V" which would obviously be a huge hit! The Dixie Chicks' lead singer made those comments regarding President Bush while they were over in England. Carrie Underwood's song writers were awarded a Grammy in 2006. On top of all of this, there was SO much more going on in the country world to gain publicity. Of course 2006 was going to be a good year for this genre!

While this particular genre is always going to get the “This is boring” or “This is just hick music” comments, it will remain a very popular genre. There are enough listeners who appreciate this style of music to help keep its popularity. Although I love this style of music, from Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash to Shania Twain and Taylor Swift and everything in between, I am aware that I am one of very few amongst my peers. That is ok with me, though. To each his own.