Thursday Thoughts: When did Country stop being Country?

Beyonce. Country? Eeeh… Is that a banjo I hear? Okay, then maybe?

Nope. Can’t do it.

I could go on about the history of country music, but if your interested, just watch the Ken Burns series: www.pbs.org/kenburns/country-music (some streaming services have it)

I grew hearing the country music of the 60s (in the 70s) and the 70s and 80s. Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, Oak Ridge Boys, Kenny Rogers, Alabama, George Strait, Garth Brooks, Reba McIntyre to name a few.

Did I like it? as a preteen, if it was on the radio and it was catchy, sure. As a teen not so much. As I matured, I grew to appreciate musical talent regardless of genre.

Music is constantly evolving. Cross-over hits have been happening since the first caveman looked over at his buddy and said, “That’s some pretty good log banging. It’s no rock banging, but it’s got a good beat and I can dance to it.“

Genres get blurred and elements of one style are blended into another. Who thought rap metal would ever be a thing? Lil Nas X had a country hit. Or did he? It got removed from the country charts because “…the song “incorporates references to country and cowboy imagery [but] does not embrace enough elements of today’s country music to chart in its current version…” Right…I think there were a few other factors, race, sexual orientation, and those fancy clothes perhaps?

There does seem to be a homogeneous sound to country these days, especially when it comes to the solo male and female singer. So, maybe there needs to me a new category. How about the Top 10 “Countryish” chart?

So here are two questions: When did country music stop being country music for you? And what’s your favorite Countryish song?

-Leon

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Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.

My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/

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