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[font=Comic Sans MS]...country and can anyone sing it?

In my opinion, country has a very specific style that makes the big difference between it and the other music categories. I studied it now for quite a while, I have listened to many old and new artists, and even if I'm not from the US, I dare to say that I'm up to date and that I know what I'm talking about.

Wearing a cowboy hat, cowboy boots and faded jeans makes no "country" out of you. Anyone with money can fulfil these requirements. The same applies to your voice...you can have the best of voices, but if the "twang" is missing, you kill the soul of a country song and make it sound like an ordinary one. Pronouncing the words clear and in full length, like a newsreader, or first-grader is also a faux pas and definitely not country. I'm sure not talking about all words, but the most ending with a "g". I don't think, I've ever heard a country artist singing them "hard". They always say "honky tonkin'", "flyin'", "tryin'" and s.o, but if it happens, they keep it very soft and don't accentuate it.

Can anyone sing a country song? Well, everybody can pick a country song and sing it, but if it sounds country, that's another question. Performers who usualy sing opera, hip hop, rock, et cetera, will have massive problems with it, because they're too stamped by their own style. Also the area of origin is no guarantee...Guess, you have to have it in your blood, in a way or another. But, multi-talents exist as well. Elvis is a very good example, to name just one and we also have a handful here on SS, like Songstar...

With this in mind...happy singing and a nice day!

Mona[/font]

Depends on the style of Country Moony. I think this is the fairest answer. Can many cover some of the top country artists ? Dunno.. Can many cover ANY of the top musicians easily ? Country is likely no exemption. Had to put alot of thought into this because it's a really interesting question. It makes one first ask,
What is country ?



I think country is a term that evolved from folky hybrid styles originally founded in the South and appalachian areas of the US.. Has roots in folk, celtic, gospel and an older style.. Yet the term is also used in Canada and Great Britian.. Fact is, I haven't a clue about the style and since traditional country is not "country rock" this is exactly why I tell people "I don't feel qualified to critique the style". Regarding whether people here can sing it or not ? I believe many can.. HOWEVER, who am I to know ? I've never lived in the appalachian areas or the south. There are different styles of country. My question is, "Who determines whether a song is country or not" ? I suppose the answer to the OP exists there. Assuming it's subjective, I'll take many singers word for the fact a song "is country". There are many derivations of the style however, and "Traditional Country" is what I am extremely unfamiliar with !! Not ALL country needs the "country twang". That's a specific style of "country". I think for people to understand what country is, they need to actually have alot of exposure to a specific area of this style of music. Same with any style. Being a NYC area native, I do not. Yeah, I've studied the composition of country, much of it is blues style in its rudiments however MUCH of it is not. I think it depends on geographic area. Pop Country is not a specific areas traditional country for instance. But also includes Hill-Billy aspects Zydeco, bluegrass, depends on location.. Usually it's defined as a more simplistic form of music interms of it's composition, often played on string instruments... Country Western is a style too. as is Ethnic Country. The term isn't overly specific, yet particular geographic styles of it likely are ! Country is a broad category that contains hybridized styles.. To my knowledge what it ALWAYS does is tell a story ! Closest I get to Country is James Taylor, Harry Chapin, and Blindfaith slow ballad stuff..HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Ohhh Moony you must be from the upper part of our country.
Just about everyone that sings country down here has the
twang. 'Course ya can't get much farther south than Texas

Yes I sing Country I just wish I could record it so I could post it.


Lone Wolf

The accent of the south and music was a result of scottish and other cultures. Old country is my forte for it is burned into my mind. On any given night in any venue including college I can sing the the old ones and they go nuts. .More than once I am hugged by a young gal with love in her eyes and say that was my Granpas favorite song.

My sigs are Letters Have No Arms By Ernest Tubb. It Dont Hurt Anymore by Hank Snow. Of course I sing all the old Hank Williams and do them very well thank you.

Then I can sing Buddy Holly sings and make think he is in studio. Or Dean Martin with no redneck accent I do not imitate the original artist but from many years put my accent and spin upon the song.

Country is as simple as this lass.. Sing from the heart. I can sing This Time You Gave Me A Mountain and make you cry for I sing from the heart and visibally.

Country does not require any accent or beat. It requires putting everything and all your energy into a song. This is country lass whether it is bluegrass or Baby Got Back .. It is from the heart..

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Right, the very first song and style people envision in country genre is "Baby Got Back" Urban style is not country ! The Funkadelics were also not Bluegrass however I don't wish to make things too complex. If a style is a derivation and closer in structure to "folk" sure it can be considered country, especially if played on acoustic string instruments.. Yet it can be much more broadly orchestrated.. If some black guy is spinning a turntable backwards and blowing a whistle into a microphone in New York City yelling "Y0" and "Sheeeit" and repeating "She be finey wit dat serious jive-a$$ Hiney", it's generally not country

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

DANG it.. !!!!!

And I was putting that line into a song I'm currently writing.

Personal opinion.. to me, true country is the oldies country. There was a certain style to the songs, and a certain style to the singing. Different variations of it, but it all was the same underlying style.

These days, slap together a song and stick it on the country charts, and it WILL be called country. Country-pop, country-rap, country-blues, it's all classed country, no matter who sings it, or what style their voice is. Take The Wreckers, I love that group & really like most of their songs, but those girls do NOT sound country. They are cute pop diva's in cowboy boots;) But throw in an acoustic guitar and a few fiddle breaks, and nobody seems to care wether or not the vocalist really sounds country or not.

But, I for one, hear someone singing country (specially the older stuff, or newer stuff that's old style) and I immediately form the opinion in my mind "hey, they realy sound country".... or..... "gosh, they don't sound country at all". Just a habit, can't help it.

I guess what I'm saying is.... I agree with Mona. Most voices seem to suit one place or another, though there are those that seem to fit in wherever.

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

Yes, what Mandilynn said. It seems like from the 70's on, country began to merge more and more with pop and rock -- probably in order to appeal to even more people. But of course rock artists began to fuse more with country styles too. The instrumentation can trigger a response of country. Toss in a steel guitar to a song and it starts sounding more country. Toss in a heavier drum beat and distorted electric guitar to a country song and it starts sounding more rock. Also a twang in the voice seems to add a ....../country tag to a song automatically.

Well, Marshall Tucker Band had A LOT to do with that Don. Here's an example. Remember Ab's song ? That was country ! It was also Marshall Tucker.. Bonnie Raitt also added slide to country, Linda Ronstadt Pedal steel.. I agree with Charmin. I'm going to go a step further and say Country is another name for "Folk" music. Yet most of it generated from rural areas, and traditional country (which is what I believe we are agreeing on) wasn't pop-nashville country rock with Garth doing Billy Joel swinging on a rope... This is 1971- Ab's song "Marshall Tucker" band. Heck, the term Country goes back to early 1950's in origin... Prior to that what were folks calling it ? Folk, Bluegrass, Traditional ??? Here's Country done by a band that took Country into the Southern Rock realm ! Marshall Tucker Band
While usually more acoustical traditionally, this is a pretty good example of Country.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-861T6PA ... re=related

My thought is is Country is Folk Ballad with a strong message about REAL life ! While it's "folk music", it can be presented in Blues Style, Bluegrass Style, or even Gospel Style ! It's folk with a strong message.. Yet overall as mentioned the category has become ambiguous since country rock in the 70's as Don Stated. John Denver made much of Country Pop-40.. What's to say Gordon Lightfoot doesn't Canada consider him to have alot of country songs ? How about James Taylor ? How about this song ? Off've "Sweet Baby James" written in the late 1960's ? JT electrified Country in the 1960's

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bds36iNdWYU

As did Elvis !!!
Loretta Lynn (even with steel guitar) is certainly country. As Ollie mentioned Ernest Tubb, and Eddie Arnold are old country. Tammy Wynette, Ernest Ashworth. Certainly Jim Reeves. Rex Allan did "Crying in the chapel". Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings the outlaws, Guy, Skeeter and vic Willis, Stringbean (akeman??) It goes WAY back even in it's electrified state. I think Country was a powerful branch off of Folk... That's about it..

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Yeah Steven you bring up some very good points. Is country a sub-category of folk? Hmmm... I think of folk as a music form specializing in story telling with real day-to-day common man experiences. So is country a form of folk that originated from certain rural regions of the US reaching from Tennessee, Virgina, going down south all the way to Texas? Is hip-hop and rap an inner city/urban form of folk music? I'm not sure about all this labeling. It seems like there can be too many exceptions.

Is there a clear division between the styles of country, western, bluegrass and folk? It's like there's a continuing spectrum going from folk to bluegrass to country to western.

Jimmie Rodgers has about the oldest recordings from the 1920's that I know of that you could have classified as very early country, but there's even a bit of blues in there too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEIBmGZxAhg

That link is to Jimmie's Texas Blues (1929). He had earlier recording: such as;

My Little Old Home (1928)
Treasures Untold (1928)
Ben Dewberry's Final Run (1927)

Many other country singers recorded around that time:

The Allen Brothers: Ain't That Skippin' And Flyin' (1927)
Williamson Brothers: Gonna Die With My Hammer (1927)
Alfred Karnes
John Hurt
Sam Mc Gee
The Pickard Family

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Odie, My thought (from more of a musicology perspective is)

Alot of Country is blues- 1-1V-V with a plagal candence meaning while it's Country style, compositionally it's still "blues", but so is most Western ballad and rock ! So sure, there's a HUGE derivation factor-

Similarly Bluegrass *by my definition* would clearly be a subcategory of "country" as would european styles such as Celtic and Jigue (which are just Ethnic Country) meaning falls outside of the traditional North America 1950's derivation of hybrid forms to rural "porch" music which does have roots in Appalachia and the South. Where Country Western came from ? Dunno ? Hollywood ? Bonanza type movies ? Stuff Michael London and Tom Selleck acted in as kids ? Cigarette comercials ? I dunno just where it derived, yet it's my understanding it's NOT the "first" form but a derivation which roots itself in the appalachian/ and southern regions.. The roots of country are pretty much rural "porch" or barbecue music, so bluegrass certainly is country..

Now, My question is.. Would country exist if the black man didn't bring the blues over to the US ? Some Gospel is also country.. It's pretty vast ! What we do know is ALOT of country is blues.. but not all country is blues, and not all blues is country. Some Gospel is Country, and I think traditional country IS a FOLK ballad style by definition.

Heck. Where's ML Texas and OK what now .. Why am I even talking about this.. I'm a yankee that talks funny

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Odie, I think Jian pointed out something we need to keep in Mind. Similar to "Rap" which seemed to exist prior to the term existed.. Traditional rap people will deny Blondie's "Rapture" and Bob Dylans "Highhway ___" could've been rap since rap originated in the inner city depressed areas later. Was it the Sugar Hill gang or something ??? I don't remember much about rap..HAHAHA As Jian pointed out if it was the 1920's it was "blues" because to my understanding, prior to the early 1950's there was to date no such style as "Country".. I believe that style can be claimed by the rural appalachia, southern rural folk around the 1950's and it's essentially porch jam singing... but I do agree, Folk, and blues were identical in composition... It's just that "Country" couldn't have existed before "country" derived which is why bluegrass can be considered country, as can blues... but "country" has it's "people that stake claim to the term", and I think they would believe Country was coined around 1950.. (but I agree with what you state, which is why I call it FOLK...) musically it's folk !

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

WHOA !!


I just got a thought... (oh shutup..hehe)


There was huge controversy when Elvis came along playing "The black mans style". It just wasn't supposed to be... Remember all the early stuff and flack that some white kid named Elvis got for being a white guy playing the black mans blues ? Well during that time there was still racial separation.., What do you want to bet that "Country" (around that same time) was something the White man decided to call "Blues" because of the black stigma during that period of time !!! So, while we know that David Macon, and Roy Acuff existed MUCH earlier, at that time it was still "old time" or "Hillbilly" music.. and people were playing the Oprey, but I don't think the term became "Country" until mid-century, and that would've been around the time Elvis popped up as a "white kid singing the black mans blues". You can be sure the white man during that period wanted to change the name of the style ! Heck, Johnny Winter down in texas in the 60's was just getting warmed up to be only a few black blues guitarists for liking their style ! So, is traditional country actually "Hillbilly blues" or Hillbilly folk ? Probably !!

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

I agree with you. When I listen to country, I expect to hear a stronger Southern accent, or appalachian midwest accent while the person is singing the ballad (something typically lost in many styles when singing most music). Dolly Parton for instance. While I wouldn't call it "country twang" I would say that to me traditional country likely will be missing A LOT if I don't hear the accent of origin... Just how I feel I suppose... Traditional country belongs to it's area of geography and the story and voicing should depict that ! Similarly Irish Jigue style is Country too !

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Personally, I think today it's been SO long since people have heard the amazing ballad styles that somewhat came to an end in the 70's except for the ocassional hit from folks like Seal, etc and some great lyrical works with harmony and non-noise instrumentals in the evolving "rock" fray that crop up less frequently today, that assuming a slow ballad song with a STRONG message comes along that resembles Bobby Goldsboro, Gordon Lightfoot, Harry Chapin, Jimmy Buffet, or any slow powerfull story that's melodically pretty, rather than being called "Classic rock ballad" today it's categorized as "Country" for lack of "ballad" being the "in" term. Technically it's ALL ballad ! But after the Disco, and then Punk and Alternative genres, and the evolution to God knows HOW many rock styles "ballad" was a term we stopped hearing.. The great balladeers such as Glen Campbell just became a passe' term, and everything had to have a fancy name that belonged to somethng somewhere claiming title to it !

Here's an example.. Little River Bands songs.. Ballad Rock or "Country" or adult contemporary, or Muzak, or blues ? It's ALL, but All fit into "ballad" and in the 1970's because you could hear the accents it was termed "Country Rock", but also because of the pain in the message.. Little River bands big hit, "Lady" was just presented in a more country sounding accent voicing than the Commodores "Three times a lady" which was sung be an R&B artist, so one song was R&B, and the other country rock... but it's ALL slow ballad with a similar theme, and the composition doesn't seem to matter as much as the artists that turned out the song... Today it'd all be "country" even at the expense of dropping the term rock after the term country, however if it's turned out by a black musician would it still be considered country ? or R&B instead ?. In 1990 Restless Hearts "Ill Still be Loving you" was country... In 1966 that song would've been called "Slow Rock" that kids slow danced to in the gym and really wouldn't have been different sounding in style than any other slow ballad song to us yankee's... Let's say "I'll still be loving you" was made a hit by Lionel Richie. Would the same song, song meter, etc be considered Country ? Heck no ! And if the Carpenters entered the scene today for the first time, they too would be "Country music" and fit into a different category than those that existed in the 1960's. Music, like fashion is about niche, and evolution in style.. It's always existed, but the names have been changed. It's all Western contemporary ballad. Except that dang noise the kids call rock...HAHAHAHA. Yet even some of that is coming around and becoming somewhat melodic. If you can hum to it, and the lyrics tell a story, it's ballad !

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

There's Charlie Pride, and many black musicians that would be quite capable of singing country. Yet it's interesting how a country composition if sung by a black musician would almost always fall into an R&B category. Same exact song that if made a hit by a white musician would be considered "Country"

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

I'm absorbing everything you've written here Steven and you're pretty much on the money as far as I'm concerned. I can't really add much else. This statement you made "Traditional country belongs to it's area of geography and the story and voicing should depict that" is a very good one. Plus instrumentation-wise each area obviously has it's own regional musical instruments to back up the story and vocals.

That Jimmie Rogers song may not have been called country when it first came out, but if it had come out in the early 50's it'd probably be referred to as country close to the same vein as Hank Williams. And yes Jian, there were more artists like Jimmie Rogers back in the 20's, good point. Jimmie Rogers just came to mind as the most obvious one to me.

These days it seems the many current musical categories are created mainly for marketing purposes. i.e. "If you like this artist, then make sure to check out these guys and buy (or steal from the internet) their stuff too because they're doing the same thing".

I tuned in to CMT and came across this song by Justin Moore. Here's the video, it's right after the ad. ha,ha
http://www.cmt.com/videos/justin-moore/ ... g-up.jhtml

It's a perfect example of how country has become "cross contaminated" with rock and even a bit of talking out the lyrics as in hip-hop. The singer is probably an "urban cowboy" type that hasn't spent all that much time on the farm. But girls, isn't he so darn cute and guys, aren't those girls in the video gorgeous? So buy this guy's CD, please! Sure I wish I looked like him, but that's a whole different issue and thread! Give me classic country or at least pre-80's country any day!

I hope y'all get this figured out. I'm worried that i don't sing country anymore. I'm singing tonight at an Opry house in Pasadena Texas. I'll be doing some Ray Price, Red Steagall and Hank Williams with a band that has steel guitar, fiddle, and keyboards. I guess I would call it Traditional country.
I think Nashville decides what is country music today. If you are young, good looking and kids download your music then you are country according to Nashville.
I dont agree but thats the way it is.

Now I'm trying to find the differences between "country" and "country western". This seems interestin, but I didn't think the term "country" music existed prior to 1952 in tems of it being a category style of music.


http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/ent/A0813789.html


"In the 1960s and 70s, country and western music significantly influenced the development of rock music. Since then, it has undergone a national revival with performers such as Ricky Scaggs, Garth Brooks, the Judds, Tanya Tucker, and Reba McEntire achieving great popularity."


(I find this interesting. See how geography matters ? As North Easterner, I assumed it to be the other way around. Rock infiltrated or bastardized country, yet this article states country influenced the direction of rock. Makes sense I suppose. As I'd mentioned Bobby Gentry- Ode to Billy Joe is an example. Yet the styles over time merged. A little of both IOW.. During that time it was all just considered American top 40 radio)

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Excellent points Phil! I agree with you. Hey, good luck with your show tonight!!!

Steven, frankly I'm not sure what the diff is between country western and just plain country. I always thought that western came out of Texas, but I could be wrong. I'm curious to find out what you discover.