Sixth generation (2000s–present) Richard Marx crossed over with his Days in Avalon album, which features five country songs and several singers and musicians. Alison Krauss sang background vocals to Marxs single Straight from My Heart. Also, Bon Jovi had a hit single, Who Says You Cant Go Home, with Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland. Kid Rocks collaboration with Sheryl Crow, Picture, was a major crossover hit in 2001 and began Kid Rocks transition from hard rock to a country-rock hybrid that would later produce another major crossover hit, 2008s All Summer Long. Darius Rucker, former frontman for the 1990s pop-rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, began a country solo career in the late 2000s, one that to date has produced three albums and several hits on both the country charts and the Billboard Hot 100. Singer-songwriter Unknown Hinson became famous for his appearance in the Charlotte television show Wild, Wild, South, after which Hinson started his own band and toured in southern states. Other rock stars who featured a country song on their albums were Don Henley and Poison. In 2005, country singer Carrie Underwood rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol and became a multi-platinum selling recording artist and multiple Grammy Award winner. With her first single, Inside Your Heaven, Underwood became the only country artist to have a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs chart in the 2000-2009 decade. In 2007, Underwood won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist and became the first country artist in 10 years to win such award and the second of only three to ever win it. Underwood also made history by becoming the seventh woman to win Entertainer of the Year for the Academy of Country Music Awards, and the first woman in history to win the award twice, as well as twice consecutively. Underwoods debut album Some Hearts was not only the fastest-selling debut album by any country artist in history, but was ranked by Billboard as the #1 Country Album of the 2000-2009 decade. In 2010, Underwood sang with Brad Paisley at the Greenbrier Classic PGA Tour event. After this, they became good friends and released their duet Remind Me in 2011. Underwood was one of several country stars produced by a television series in the 2000s. In addition to Underwood, American Idol launched the careers of Kellie Pickler, Josh Gracin, Bucky Covington, Kristy Lee Cook, Danny Gokey and Scotty McCreery (as well as that of occasional country singer Kelly Clarkson) in the decade, and would continue to launch country careers in the 2010s. The series Nashville Star, while not nearly as successful as Idol, did manage to bring Miranda Lambert and Chris Young to mainstream success, also launching the careers of lower-profile musicians such as Buddy Jewell, Sean Patrick McGraw, and Canadian musician George Canyon. Can You Duet? produced the duos Steel Magnolia and Joey + Rory. Teen sitcoms also have had an impact on modern country music; in 2008, actress Jennette McCurdy (best known as the sidekick Sam on the teen sitcom iCarly) released her first single, So Close, following that with the single Generation Love in 2011. Another teen sitcom star, Miley Cyrus (of Hannah Montana), also had a crossover hit in the late 2000s with The Climb and another with a duet with her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, with Ready, Set, Dont Go. Jana Kramer, an actress in the teen drama One Tree Hill, released a country album in 2012 that has produced two hit singles as of 2013. Actress Hayden Panettiere began recording country songs as part of her role in the TV series Nashville. In 2010, the group Lady Antebellum won five Grammys, including the coveted Song of the Year and Record of the Year for Need You Now.[71] A large number of duos and vocal groups have begun to emerge on the charts in the 2010s, many of which feature close harmony in the lead vocals. In addition to Lady Antebellum, groups such as The Quebe Sisters Band, Little Big Town, The Band Perry, Gloriana, Thompson Square, Eli Young Band and the Zac Brown Band have emerged to occupy a large portion of the new country artists in the popular scene. Taylor Swift at the Time 100 One of the most commercially successful artists of the late 2000s and early 2010s has been singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Swift first became widely known in 2006 when her debut single, Tim McGraw, was released when Swift was age 16 and has been prolific in releasing both pop and country singles since then. In 2006, Taylor released her first studio album, Taylor Swift, which spent 275 weeks on Billboard 200, one of the longest runs of any album on that chart. In 2008, Taylor Swift released her second studio album, Fearless, which made her the second-longest Number One charted on Billboard 200 and the second best-selling album (just behind Adeles 21) among this 5 year. At the 2010 Grammys, Taylor Swift was 20 and won Album of the Year for Fearless, which made her the youngest artist to win this award. Swift had received seven Grammys already, which made her the most awarded country solo artist, although this includes her non-country songs as well. Buoyed by her teen idol status among girls and a change in the methodology of compiling the Billboard charts to favor pop-crossover songs, Swifts 2012 single We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together spent the most weeks at the top of Billboards Hot Country Songs chart of any song in nearly five decades (although that benchmark would be surpassed almost immediately by Florida Georgia Lines Cruise). The influence of rock music in country has become more overt during the late 2000s and early 2010s as artists like Eric Church, Jason Aldean, and Brantley Gilbert have had success; Aaron Lewis, former frontman for the rock group Staind, had a moderately successful entry into country music in 2011 and 2012. Also rising in the late 2000s and early 2010s was the insertion of rap and spoken-word elements into country songs; artists such as Cowboy Troy and Colt Ford have focused almost exclusively on country rap (also known as hick hop) while other, more mainstream artists (such as Big & Rich and Jason Aldean) have used it on occasion. Alt-country[edit] Main article: Alt country Attempts to combine punk and country were pioneered by Jason and the Scorchers, and in the 1980s Southern Californian cowpunk scene with bands like the Long Ryders. These styles merged fully in Uncle Tupelos 1990 LP No Depression, which is widely credited as being the first alt-country album, and gave its name to the online notice board, and eventually magazine, that underpinned that movement. Members and figures associated with Uncle Tupelo formed three major bands in the genre: Wilco, Son Volt, and Bottle Rockets. Other influential bands included Blue Mountain, Whiskeytown and Ryan Adams, Blood Oranges, Bright Eyes, Lucinda Williams, and Drive-By Truckers. Some alt-country songs have been crossover hits, including Ryan Adamss When The Stars Go Blue, which charted when performed by Tim McGraw. International Canada Main articles: Canadian Country Music Association and Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame Outside of the United States, Canada has the largest country music fan and artist base, something that is to be expected given the two countries proximity and cultural parallels. Mainstream country music is culturally ingrained in the prairie provinces, Ontario, and in Atlantic Canada.[72] Celtic traditional music developed in Atlantic Canada in the form of Scottish, Acadian and Irish folk music popular amongst Irish, French and Scottish immigrants to Canadas Atlantic Provinces (Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island).[72] Like the southern United States and Appalachia, all four regions are of heavy British Isles stock and rural; as such, the development of traditional music in the Maritimes somewhat mirrored the development of country music in the US South and Appalachia. Country and Western music never really developed separately in Canada; however, after its introduction to Canada, following the spread of radio, it developed quite quickly out of the Atlantic Canadian traditional scene. While true Atlantic Canadian traditional music is very Celtic or sea shanty in nature, even today, the lines have often been blurred. Certain areas often are viewed as embracing one strain or the other more openly. For example, in Newfoundland the traditional music remains very unique and Irish in nature, whereas traditional musicians in other parts of the region may play both genres interchangeably. Don Messers Jubilee was a Halifax, Nova Scotia-based country/folk variety television show that was broadcast nationally from 1957 to 1969. In Canada it out-performed The Ed Sullivan Show broadcast from the United States and became the top-rated television show throughout much of the 1960s. Don Messers Jubilee followed a consistent format throughout its years, beginning with a tune named Goin to the Barndance Tonight, followed by fiddle tunes by Messer, songs from some of his Islanders including singers Marg Osburne and Charlie Chamberlain, the featured guest performance, and a closing hymn. It ended with Till We Meet Again. The guest performance slot gave national exposure to numerous Canadian folk musicians, including Stompin Tom Connors and Catherine McKinnon. Some Maritime country performers went on to further fame beyond Canada. Hank Snow, Wilf Carter (also known as Montana Slim), and Anne Murray are the three most notable. The cancellation of the show by the public broadcaster in 1969 caused a nationwide protest, including the raising of questions in the Parliament of Canada. The Prairie provinces, due to their western cowboy and agrarian nature, are the true heartland of Canadian country music.[72] While the Prairies never developed a traditional music culture anything like the Maritimes, the folk music of the Prairies often reflected the cultural origins of the settlers, who were a mix of Scottish, Ukrainian, German and others. For these reasons polkas and Western music were always popular in the region, and with the introduction of the radio, mainstream country music flourished. As the culture of the region is western and frontier in nature, the specific genre of country and western is more popular today in the Prairies than in any other part of the country. No other area of the country embraces all aspects of the culture, from two-step dancing, to the cowboy dress, to rodeos, to the music itself, like the Prairies do. The Atlantic Provinces, on the other hand, produce far more traditional musicians, but they are not usually specifically country in nature, usually bordering more on the folk or Celtic genres. Many traditional country artists are present in eastern and western Canada. They make common use of fiddle and pedal steel guitar styles. Some notable Canadian country artists include Shania Twain, Anne Murray, k.d. lang, Gordon Lightfoot, Buffy Sainte-Marie, George Canyon, Blue Rodeo, Tommy Hunter, Rita MacNeil, Stompin Tom Connors, Stan Rogers, Ronnie Prophet, Carroll Baker, The Rankin Family, Ian Tyson, Johnny Reid, Paul Brandt, Jason McCoy, George Fox, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Hank Snow, Don Messer, Wilf Carter, Michelle Wright, Terri Clark, Prairie Oyster, Family Brown, Johnny Mooring, Marg Osburne, Doc Walker, Emerson Drive, The Wilkinsons, Corb Lund and the Hurtin Albertans, Crystal Shawanda, Dean Brody, Shane Yellowbird, Gord Bamford, Chad Brownlee, The Road Hammers, and The Higgins. Australian country music Olivia Newton-John singing in Sydney in 2008 Australian country music has a long tradition. Influenced by American country music, it has developed a distinct style, shaped by British and Irish folk ballads and Australian bush balladeers like Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson. Country instruments, including the guitar, banjo, fiddle and harmonica, create the distinctive sound of country music in Australia and accompany songs with strong storyline and memorable chorus. Folk songs sung in Australia between the 1780s and 1920s, based around such themes as the struggle against government tyranny, or the lives of bushrangers, swagmen, drovers, stockmen and shearers, continue to influence the genre. This strain of Australian country, with lyrics focusing on Australian subjects, is generally known as bush music or bush band music. Waltzing Matilda, often regarded as Australias unofficial national anthem, is a quintessential Australian country song, influenced more by British and Irish folk ballads than by American country and western music. The lyrics were composed by the poet Banjo Paterson in 1895. Other popular songs from this tradition include The Wild Colonial Boy, Click Go the Shears, The Queensland Drover and The Dying Stockman. Later themes which endure to the present include the experiences of war, of droughts and flooding rains, of Aboriginality and of the railways and trucking routes which link Australias vast distances.[73][74] Pioneers of a more Americanised popular country music in Australia included Tex Morton (known as The Father of Australian Country Music) in the 1930s. Other early stars included Buddy Williams, Shirley Thoms and Smoky Dawson. Buddy Williams (1918-1986) was the first Australian-born to record country music in Australia in the late 1930s and was the pioneer of a distinctly Australian style of country music called the bush ballad that others such as Slim Dusty would make popular in later years. During World War II, many of Buddy Williams recording sessions were done whilst on leave from the Army. At the end of the war, Williams would go on to operate some of the largest travelling tent rodeo shows Australia has ever seen. In 1952, Dawson began a radio show and went on to national stardom as a singing cowboy of radio, TV and film. Slim Dusty (1927–2003) was known as the King of Australian Country Music and helped to popularise the Australian bush ballad. His successful career spanned almost six decades, and his 1957 hit A Pub with No Beer was the biggest-selling record by an Australian to that time, and with over seven million record sales in Australia he is the most successful artist in Australian musical history.[75] Dusty recorded and released his one-hundredth album in the year 2000 and was given the honour of singing Waltzing Matilda in the closing ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Dustys wife Joy McKean penned several of his most popular songs. Chad Morgan, who began recording in the 1950s, has represented a vaudeville style of comic Australian country; Frank Ifield achieved considerable success in the early 1960s, especially in the UK Singles Charts, and Reg Lindsay was one of the first Australians to perform at Nashvilles Grand Ole Opry in 1974.[76] Eric Bogles 1972 folk lament to the Gallipoli Campaign And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda recalled the British and Irish origins of Australian folk-country. Singer-songwriter Paul Kelly, whose music style straddles folk, rock, and country, is often described as the poet laureate of Australian music. Keith Urban in 2007 By the 1990s, country music had attained crossover success in the pop charts, with artists like James Blundell and James Reyne singing Way Out West, and country star Kasey Chambers winning the ARIA for Best Female Artist in 2003. The crossover influence of Australian country is also evident in the music of successful contemporary bands The Waifs and the John Butler Trio. Nick Cave has been heavily influenced by the country artist Johnny Cash. In 2000, Cash, covered Caves The Mercy Seat on the album American III: Solitary Man, seemingly repaying Cave for the compliment he paid by covering Cashs The Singer (originally The Folk Singer) on his Kicking Against the Pricks album. Subsequently, Cave cut a duet with Cash on a version of Hank Williams Im So Lonesome I Could Cry for Cashs American IV: The Man Comes Around album (2002).[78] Popular contemporary performers of Australian country music include John Williamson (who wrote the iconic True Blue), Lee Kernaghan (whose hits include Boys from the Bush and The Outback Club), Gina Jeffreys, Forever Road and Sara Storer. In the United States, Olivia Newton-John, Sherrié Austin and Keith Urban have attained great success. Ruby Hunter and Archie Roach at the 2009 Tamworth Country Music Festival Country music has been a particularly popular form of musical expression among Indigenous Australians. Troy Cassar-Daley is among Australias successful contemporary indigenous performers, and Kev Carmody and Archie Roach employ a combination of folk-rock and country music to sing about Aboriginal rights issues.[79] The Tamworth Country Music Festival began in 1973 and now attracts up to 100,000 visitors annually. Held in Tamworth, New South Wales (country music capital of Australia), it celebrates the culture and heritage of Australian country music. During the festival the CMAA holds the Country Music Awards of Australia ceremony awarding the Golden Guitar trophies. Other significant country music festivals include the Whittlesea Country Music Festival (near Melbourne) and Boyup Brook Country Music Festival (Western Australia) in February; the Bamera Country Music Festival in June (South Australia), the National Country Muster held in Gympie during August, the Mildura Country Music Festival for independent performers during October, and the Canberra Country Music Festival held in the national capital during November. Some festivals are quite unique in their location: Grabine State Park in New South Wales promotes Australian country through the Grabine Music Muster Festival; Marilyns Country Music Festival is a unique event held in South Australias Smoky Bay in September and is the only music festival in the world using an oyster barge as a stage. Country HQ showcases new talent on the rise in the country music scene down under. CMC (the Country Music Channel), a 24 hour music channel dedicated to non-stop country music, can be viewed on pay TV and features once a year the Golden Guitar Awards, CMAs and CCMAs alongside international shows such as The Wilkinsons, The Road Hammers, and Country Music Across America. Other international country music Tom Roland, from the Country Music Association International, explains country musics global popularity: In this respect, at least, Country Music listeners around the globe have something in common with those in the United States. In Germany, for instance, Rohrbach identifies three general groups that gravitate to the genre: people intrigued with the American cowboy icon, middle-aged fans who seek an alternative to harder rock music and younger listeners drawn to the pop-influenced sound that underscores many current Country hits.” One of the first Americans to perform country music abroad was George Hamilton IV. He was the first country musician to perform in the Soviet Union; he also toured in Australia and the Middle East. He was deemed the International Ambassador of Country Music for his contributions to the globalization of country music.[81] Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Keith Urban, and Dwight Yoakam have also made numerous international tours.[80] The Country Music Association undertakes various initiatives to promote country music internationally.[80] In the United Kingdom, a country-derived genre known as skiffle peaked in the 1950s thanks to the efforts of Lonnie Donegan; though the genre as a whole was very short-lived, most of the bands involved with the British Invasion began their careers as skiffle musicians.[82] American country-western musician Slim Whitman was even more successful in the UK than he was in the United States during the same decade. With a handful of exceptions (such as the surprise success of Faron Youngs top-5 UK hit Its Four in the Morning, which did far better in the UK than the U.S. upon its 1971 release), country music has not been well received in the UK; when American country artists such as Garth Brooks, Dwight Yoakam and Alan Jackson started making transatlantic tours in the 1990s, they were treated largely with scorn by the British press. There is a signal exception to this general view of country music in the UK: in Glasgow, Scotland, with a large population with Irish and Highland ancestry, country music is popular enough to have created a demand for the citys own Grand Ole Opry club, which opened in 1974 and remains popular. In South America, on the last weekend of September, the yearly San Pedro Country Music Festival[84] takes place in the town of San Pedro, Argentina. The festival features bands from different places of Argentina, as well as international artists from Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Peru and the United States. In India, the Anglo-Indian community is well known for enjoying and performing country music. An annual concert festival called Blazing Guitars[85] held in Chennai brings together Anglo-Indian musicians from all over the country (including some who have emigrated to places like Australia). In Ireland TG4 began a quest for Irelands next country star called Glór Tíre, translated as Country Voice. It is now in its sixth season and is one of TG4s most watched TV shows. Over the past ten years country and gospel recording artist James Kilbane has reached multi-platinum success with his mix of Christian and traditional country influenced albums. James Kilbane like many other Irish artists are today working closer with Nashville. A recent success in the Irish arena has been Crystal Swing. In Sweden, Rednex rose to stardom combining country music with electro-pop in the 1990s. In 1994, the group had a worldwide hit with their version of the traditional Southern tune Cotton-Eyed Joe. In Poland an international country music festival, known as Piknik Country (picnic country), has been organized in Mrągowo in Masuria since 1983. There are more and more country music artists in France. Some of the most important are Liane Edwards, Annabel, Rockie Mountains, Tahiana, and Lili West. French rock and roll superstar Eddy Mitchell is also very inspired by Americana and country music. In Iran, country music has appeared in recent years. According to Melody Music Magazine, the pioneer of country music in Iran is the English-speaking country music band Dream Rovers, whose founder, singer and songwriter is Erfan Rezayatbakhsh (elf).[86] The band was formed in 2007 in Tehran,[87] and during this time they have been trying to introduce and popularize country music in Iran by releasing two studio albums[88] and performing live at concerts, despite the difficulties that the Islamic regime in Iran makes for bands that are active in the western music field.
Posted on: Tue, 17 Jun 2014 12:52:40 +0000
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