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Billboard magazine listed hip-hop and rap as the most-listened-to genres of 2023 and 2024. Following close behind in second and third place were pop and rock. However, one genre has played in millions of homes and vehicles for as long as radios have existed, holding a special place in almost everyone’s hearts: country music.
With early roots in field songs sung by American slaves and Appalachian mountain men, country music has influences from nearly all walks of life. Men and women from rich and poor families have, for years, expressed their feelings and experiences through country songs. Here, we’ll explore four types of country music and the experiences they share.
Crooner Country: This sound ruled the airwaves from the late 1930s to the early 1970s. Most songs told love stories, either of loss or gain, and many were sad, hence the term “crooner.” Some of the great crooners of the time included Ernest Tubb, Hank Williams, Hank Thompson, Eddy Arnold, and Ray Price. Hits like “Make the World Go Away” and “Crazy Arms” still play on classic country stations and remain enduring hits today. Artists such as George Strait, Keith Whitley, and Conway Twitty revitalized this sound in the 1970s and 1980s.
Pop Country: While many associate pop country with present-day artists like Morgan Wallen and Kane Brown, this subgenre traces its roots back to the 1970s with singers such as Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. Pop country is influenced by the popular music of the time, as seen in Parton’s 1974 hit “Jolene” and Rogers’ 1985 hit “Morning Desire.” Over the last 50 years, other singers have drawn inspiration from pop music and infused it into country, including Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, and Miranda Lambert, leading to today’s stars like Wallen and Brown. Many of these artists are known as crossover artists.
Traditional Country: The 1980s were a decade of growth for country music. Singers such as George Strait, Keith Whitley, and Alan Jackson rose to fame with hits that combined rock, pop, Western, and country to create traditional country. Strait had hits like “Unwound,” which detailed a relationship coming apart, while Jackson sang songs like “Chattahoochee” about fun weekend nights in South Georgia. These two artists carried traditional country into the 2000s, joined by artists such as Blake Shelton and Kenny Chesney. The subgenre saw a decline in the 2010s before being revitalized in the 2020s by artists such as Charley Crockett and Zach Top.
Outlaw Country: Outlaws—people who don’t conform to the law of the land—found their way into country music in the late 1960s when Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson made their mark on Nashville. Their songs strayed from the usual love themes of the time and focused more on partying and wild behavior, sometimes even touching on questionable morals. Later artists like David Allan Coe, Johnny Paycheck, and Billy Joe Shaver took the “outlaw” moniker to new heights, with all three involved in major criminal incidents. Today, the outlaw movement lives on through Jennings’ son, Shooter Jennings, as well as Sturgill Simpson and Whiskey Myers.
Country music is a vast genre with hundreds of defining artists, thousands of songs, and millions of memorable stories. I can only write so much at a time, but music is forever, and there’s always something new in the industry. And they’re still keepin’ it country.