Country Music has gone through many changes down through the years. At first it was just fiddles and accordions, not much to my liking, but people in the eighteen hundreds liked it played that way. After all, they had heard it played no other way. By the nineteen hundreds guitars, banjos, and mandolins had been added and for the most part made very good listening music. The words to the songs could stand some improvement from time to time, however, all in all it was great entertainment and some people made a full time living singing and playing.

By the 1930′s country music had come into it’s own. Radio was in full swing record companies had been formed and Jimmy Rogers was probably it’s first big star and his records sold by the hundreds of thousands. By the way of WSM in Nashville The Grand Ole Orpy was on it’s way to becoming country music’s most listen to program which allowed no drums or electrified instruments of any kind just the purest of acoustic sounds. By the 1940′s, we had western swing music from the west coast with Spade Cooley and Bob Wills from the Texas Oklahoma area. Did they use electrified instruments and drums? Yes they did. Did they play on the Grand Ole Opry? No they didn’t. They had their own brand of music going and could have cared less about what was going on in Nashville. Be that what it may, they were both inducted into the country music Hall of Fame.

By 1946 Ernest Tubb was setting the standard in country music with “Rainbow At Midnight” and “Filipino Baby.” Tubb joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1943 and brought his electric guitar with him. The Opry management had to give in. Tubb was a major country music star and had starred in several Hollywood movies and his brand of honky tonk songs was setting the trend for country music artist of the future. In the early 50′s Hank Locklin, Ray Price, and The king of country music Hank Willaims set the pace and trend of country music. That trend lasted until the Nashville sound took over in 1958 bringing Jim Reeves, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, and the ageless Eddy Arnold back to the charts. The Nashville sound left out fiddles and banjos and was a move away from country music’s hillbilly roots. The majority of the records produced in that time frame leaned toward pop music and many did cross over to become pop hits. Jerry Lee Lewis came along next with his contemporary style of country, which produced number one hits with “Another Place Another Time” and “What Made Milwaukee Famous Made A Loser Out of Me.” From 1968 through 1972, Lewis had sixteen top ten singles and four #1 hits.

By 1973 the tend had changed again this time it was the outlaw movement with Willie Nelson leading the parade. Willie’s Atlantic Recording of “Shotgun Willie” and “Phases and Stages” brought on the outlaw movement. Then Willie moved to Columbia and released the “Red Headed Stranger.” Then RCA his former record company released “Wanted The Outlaws” with Willie, Waylon Jennings, Jessie Coulter and Tompall Glazier, which became the first country music album to go platinum. Country music by 1977 was in it’s country rock mode. Hank Williams, Jr. came on with his brand of country rock with producer Jimmy Bowen who also produced records for Conway Twitty, George Strait, Reba McEntire, and a host of other artist. Bowen established The Nashville Entertainment Association, a group dedicated to stimulating music city’s non country side. He wanted to up grade the sound of country music to compete with pop records. Bowen then moved to Liberty Records and took over production of Garth Brooks making him into a super star with the release of “No Fences” and “Roping The Wind.” The two biggest selling albums in country music history.
The rise of Garth Brooks to super stardom definitely changed the sound and the style of country music bringing country music to the rock level of entertainment. Country music had now moved into an equal level of hype and outrageous ticket prices equal to the likes of rock stars Janet Jackson, Ricky Martin, and Tina Turner. Country music stations now play only top 40 country music. All the country stars of the past never get their records played and it is though they never existed. At one time you could identify every country music entertainer by their unique sound, now all the records sound the same. Country music has changed. Nashville now wants to reach the upper class of our society. The blue collar worker is not a part of country music anymore. The words to most songs don’t make since and the CD’s” are $14.00. Jimmy Bowen was right Nashville wanted to reach the non country side and it has done a great job doing so.

Well folks country music used to be our music, that good ole traditional country music. Bring back the honky tonkin cheating love songs, trucking songs, bluegrass songs, I got tiger by the tail songs, I wanna hear old dogs, children and water melon wine, red necks, white socks, and blue ribbon beer, and heartaches by the number. Webb Pierce singing “I’m walking The Dog” and Faron Young’s “I Wanna Live Fast, Love Hard, and Die,” listening to good ole traditional country music. Good night Hank Williams wherever you are.