Moments that changed the course of country music sound

[tonyei31]

I was listening to some Keith Whitley this morning and thought to myself that I don't think the need for Garth Brooks truly happens if Keith beats his addiction.  I understand that Garth would have/was having success with his first independent release but I am not so sure the need to fill the gap with another superstar hits as quickly.  It seemed Garth took Keith's spot and eventually overtook the Tracy Lawrence/Mark Chesnutt/etc. of the world.   I am not quite sure the same result happens if Keith Whitley was still around.  I understand he was in his early 30's when he left us but I still feel he had another 10 years to carry on the scene.

To me, at least, his death had a resounding impact on some of the more traditional sound music with a mix of pop flare gravitating towards a more pop flare with some traditional sounding music (Garth's nearly entire catalog).  Garth was the leader of this musical change charge.

What moments do you think had the biggest impact on changing the course of the sound of country music?  

[Deleted]

1981- George Strait- "Unwound" (signaled start of neotraditional movement)

2008- Jason Aldean- "She's Country" (music got louder, more arena rock style as opposed to the combination of traditional and contemporary we had before)

2011- Jason Aldean- "Dirt Road Anthem" (first rap song to enter the Country charts, and yeah its rap, don't bulls*it it here)

2012- Florida Georgia Line- "Cruise" (start of bro-country)

2014- Sam Hunt- "Leave The Night On" (first total Pop song to climb to the top, morphed into Pop sound we have today)

[bboat11]

Honestly, I blame the bro country movement on the success of Jason Aldean... The most identifying aspect of it for me is the anthemic sound talking about drinking like a partying frat boy. Then somewhere along the line came the lyrics that talk about women like they are pieces of meat. Before FGL ever came along, Jason Aldean was the clear pioneer of that sound, with "Hicktown", "She's Country", "Crazy Town", "My Kinda Party", etc.

I feel like Luke Bryan was also a clear factor in this equation as well. You cannot tell me that "Country Girl (Shake It For Me)" is not a bro-country song simply because it came out a couple years before "Cruise"...

Of course, the benefit of Luke and Jason is that between their bro-country forays, they usually have their quality songs like "Tattoos On This Town", "Do I", "Fly Over States", "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye", etc. With FGL you get nothing but an endless deluge of everything stereotypical about bro country, with the exception of "Dirt", which is still a terrible song in its own right because of the production and their vocals...

I would probably say that somewhere early on in Jason Aldean's career, the industry started figuring out he was onto a winning trend.

[Deleted]

I think when Taylor Swift started having huge success with Love Story and You Belong With Me that's when we started having more of pop-country instead of country-pop. When she released We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together and the huge success of Cruise is what really started leading to pure pop songs starting with Boys Round Here , 1994, That's My Kind Of Night.

2013 is what I'd like to refer to as the year country music really started to go downhill because we had in my opinion the worst of.the New Artists beginning to emerge FGL, Thomas Rhett, Cole Swindell, Tyler Farr. Then the killer of country music Sam Hunt and his huge success which leads to copy-cats for his success like Michael Ray, Canaan Smith, Brett Eldredge and Thomas Rhett jumping from the bro-country trends to the pop trend. Even an established act like The Band Perry has to make a pure pop song. Then you have acts using the pop trend desperate to remain relevant (Danielle Bradbery, EYB and Gloriana).

The downward slope started with Taylor Swift even if I believe her music came off genuine. Then just the overwhelming success of FGL lead to bro-country stuff that acts like Dustin Lynch and Cole Swindell can't stop churning that stuff out. Then Sam's pop song cause a different sound completley.

The part that stinks is that there's not enough acts that are mainstream that still make country. The ones I can come up with are Dierks, Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Jon Pardi, Eric Paslay, Mo Pitney, Mickey Guyton, Jana Kramer, Little Big Town, Chris Young, Cam, Kenny Chesney, Reba and Maddie & Tae. These are the acts that I believe are still making actual.country. I mean there are some that I'm iffy on. David Nail, Cassadee Pope, Joe Nichols, Blake Shelton. Those acts are ones that I can't tell if they are on the pop side or country side of things.

Really the warning signs were there and now country music might not go back to what it SHOULD be.

[dm2081]

Sept 4, 2015 15:15:25 GMT -5 raylatch98 said:

I think when Taylor Swift started having huge success with Love Story and You Belong With Me that's when we started having more of pop-country instead of country-pop. When she released We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together and the huge success of Cruise is what really started leading to pure pop songs starting with Boys Round Here , 1994, That's My Kind Of Night.

You might not like those songs, but they are way too country to be considered Pop songs.  Honestly, "Boys Round Here" is about as country sounding as you can get.  Most of it is cliche, since that's the whole point of the song, but it is nowhere near a Pop song.  "1994" and "That's My Kind of Night" incorporate rap/hip-hop elements slightly, but no one is going to mistake them for anything but country songs, unless they might label it southern rock.

[Deleted]

Ok dm2081 I'm gonna explain what each song sounds like to me

Boys Round Here- Token Banjo to fool mainstream fans it's country. Pure rap delivery basically in the verses and if not then it's awful spoken word. More bro-country aka The second verse particularly those first few lines and it's strait up objection of women.

Pop-Rap song

1994- More awful delivery cheesy and to me sounds like a huge awful outdated rock songs also more bro-country and the terrible chant of Diffie Diffie or whatever that is.

Pop-Rock

Thats My Kind Of Night- Oh boy where do we start the token banjo is so far in the background I can't hear it. There's the "Might just make it rain" then a little Conway a little T-Pain right before. Or my least favorite part of it. "Bring your hot self over here" "Girl hand me another beer" So besides a banjo it has strait up hip-hop beats and just awful lyrics.

Pop Garbage

Look if you're a fan of those songs good for you. But I call it how I see it.

[dm2081]

^Yeah but you didn't say how any of them were pop songs lol You didn't mention Pop once in your description of those songs. I think we know who the main Pop culprits are: Kelsea Ballerini, Sam Hunt, Thomas Rhett, The Band Perry now, etc. You even said it yourself that 1994 sounds like an outdated rock song. You know what you won't hear on a Pop music radio station? Anything that remotely sounds like rock music. Not in today's climate. You'd have to go back to the mid 2000's in order to see actual rock songs make it on the Pop charts.

[Deleted]

Sept 4, 2015 20:45:35 GMT -5 dm2081 said:

^Yeah but you didn't say how any of them were pop songs lol You didn't mention Pop once in your description of those songs. I think we know who the main Pop culprits are: Kelsea Ballerini, Sam Hunt, Thomas Rhett, The Band Perry now, etc. You even said it yourself that 1994 sounds like an outdated rock song. You know what you won't hear on a Pop music radio station? Anything that remotely sounds like rock music. Not in today's climate. You'd have to go back to the mid 2000's in order to see actual rock songs make it on the Pop charts.

Yeah ok fine I didn't mean pop songs I just meant grade A sh*t songs ok happy but when I hear them it doesn't sound country so what genre and with the exception of maybe Blake all 3 of their latest albums Old Boots New Dirt had a couple of gems but it sounded like a pure pop-rock record to me. Also Kill The Lights to me sounds like a pure pop album with a few ok tracks that'll never see the light of day.

Look I respect your opinion I really do but I mean come on. Just because I hear things different from you does it mean you're right or I'm right can we just leave it at that please because no offense it's coming off like you think my stance on the songs are wrong and yours is right. No offense.

[Markus Meyer]

I think he was just pointing out that those songs were not Pop, but rather hip-hop or rock. Not really attacking your opinion. That's just how I see it.

Anyways...

I think there are three clear ones recently:

"Dirt Road Anthem" was the song that broke country-rap onto the scene.. Though for what it's worth, I don't think any hit single has been as blatantly rap as this one.

"Cruise" - The kingpin of bro.. Really what made the subgenre so popular.

"Leave the Night On" - First pure Pop song on the charts, besides maybe Swift's WANEGBT, which obviously wasn't nearly as successful on that chart.

[Deleted]

Sept 4, 2015 21:27:01 GMT -5 Markus Meyer said:

I think he was just pointing out that those songs were not Pop, but rather hip-hop or rock. Not really attacking your opinion. That's just how I see it.

Anyways...

I think there are three clear ones recently:

"Dirt Road Anthem" was the song that broke country-rap onto the scene.. Though for what it's worth, I don't think any hit single has been as blatantly rap as this one.

"Cruise" - The kingpin of bro.. Really what made the subgenre so popular.

"Leave the Night On" - First pure Pop song on the charts, besides maybe Swift's WANEGBT, which obviously wasn't nearly as successful on that chart.

Ok now I understand I think I should've said that they weren't country sorry everybody.

WANEGBT did spend some time at the top of the Hot Country Songs for "reasons" *wink*

[sbp17]

Shania Twain's pop/mainstream success first got females (Martina, Faith) who recorded a more neo-country sound at the time to lean even more pop which then lead to more traditional country females (Lee Ann, Sara) to record more pop-tinged music.

[vamp111]

I feel like 2006-2007 marked a big change in country music. This is when Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, etc. were all emerging in the country world and contributing to the more "pop country" sound, while people like Faith Hill, Tracy Lawrence, Lonestar, and Sara Evans were pretty much beginning to get shut out by radio(their last major hits were this era, although Sara Evans was able to recover).

Then new people like Florida-Georgia Line, Chase Rice, Cole Swindell, Thomas Rhett, and others brought in the "bro country" sound and artists like Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, and Tim McGraw figured "Hey, if you can't beat em, join em" so they also fell into the bro country sound. Not to mention the rock influences from Brantley Gilbert, Jason Aldean, The Band Perry, and Eric Church.

Finally, I feel like the worst change yet is happening. Sam Hunt is the culprit of this new era. I think Sam Hunt has good and catchy songs, but they aren't country. This has influenced country to go down the "EDM" route. With the new songs from Thomas Rhett and Danielle Bradbery, I'm scared of what is to come. Long time artists like Reba, George Strait, Alan Jackson, Martina McBride, Toby Keith, etc. aren't getting radio play.

[Kat5Kind]

I'm glad Toby isn't getting airplay. There's just something about him that I can't stand. I don't know what it is.

I love party country. I can tell you Jason started the whole thing with the My Kinda Party era.

Sam Hunt obviously changed the genre and I don't like the new style- mostly because I think Sam needs to take his music to pop.

There will be a new wave soon enough and I can only hope my favorite will help usher it in. The swing back to neotraditional will come sooner or later.

[Deleted]

Sept 5, 2015 23:34:34 GMT -5 Kat5Kind said:

There will be a new wave soon enough and I can only hope my favorite will help usher it in. The swing back to neotraditional will come sooner or later.

You could argue that Kacey was trying to do that, and look at how horribly it went for her at country radio :(

[bjer127]

The outlaw movement from the mid 70s really changed the course of the genre. It took out all the strings and horns, guys wearing suits and turned it into that rugged look with beards and the music had no boundaries. It was really countering the record industry too. It set the tone for 80s and 90s country to follow. I do love 60s country but I could see why willie and Waylon and those guys wanted to break free of that mold. 60s country was in a way kinda like what we're going trough now. People were all recording the same songs by the same songwriters. Everyone had an orchestra backing band it seemed.

I do honestly see a shift back to a more traditional sound. And with all the indie label success they soon won't give a damn about radio. There's some really good music coming out right now. With all the sturgill Simpson , Ashley Monroe, kacey , brandy Clark , whitey Morgan , Jon Pardi etc etc. there is still a very large market for traditional country. Like most of the folks I know

[carrieidol1]

I'd argue the 90s marked the change that welcomed foreign influences to the genre. Before the 90s, it would seem country music was its own isolated genre, with very few crossover hits. I mean you had occasional crossover successes from artists like Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, etc. But even their music was EXTREMELY country, unless it was a pop cover or something. In the 90s, however, you saw artists like Garth Brooks and Shania Twain who made country music that was influenced by their pop/rock/blues/soul influences. Garth Brooks was heavily influenced by a lot of non-country acts, and I think his music reflected that. There's no doubt he's country and always has been, but I think part of what made him a global superstar was his sound encompassing all of his influences. Then there's Shania Twain, who rather overtly exercised her pop-ish tendencies and even released pop versions of her songs and albums. I think this was the first time in country music an artist was working both the pop and country music markets at the same time; with the same music. I think this time welcomed millions of fans into the genre who would later be more open to artists like LeAnn Rimes, Faith Hill, Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum, etc; who were all much more "poppy" than country music had ever seen before. Whether the outlaw movement of the 70s and 80s lead to this, I don't know. But I think the 90s truly marked the change in country music that has lead to the rapid changes we're seeing today. I mean, I never thought I'd see the day where Carrie would be referred to as more of a "traditionalist"... lol. Ten years ago if country fans weren't loving her, they were cursing her for being too poppy. Now, she's making the kind of music country fans seem to feel nostalgic for. How quickly things change!

Anyway, I think the decade of the 90s marked the time for huge change in the genre, and I think a specific moment would have to be whenever Shania Twain started releasing pop versions of her songs; I believe she was the first to do so. I think this lead to the poppy music we saw from LeAnn Rimes, Faith Hill, and others in the late 90s and early 2000s; which then lead to the emergence and success of artists like Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum, etc...

[Kat5Kind]

Sept 6, 2015 0:37:54 GMT -5 @xfer said:

Sept 5, 2015 23:34:34 GMT -5 Kat5Kind said:

There will be a new wave soon enough and I can only hope my favorite will help usher it in. The swing back to neotraditional will come sooner or later.

You could argue that Kacey was trying to do that, and look at how horribly it went for her at country radio :(

It takes a guy to do it, and I know of a few new artists who have what it takes! Besides, Kacey's attitude is very grating and that's not what radio is looking for.

[.indulgecountry]

I feel like the 90s is when country music started to really become "cool" in the mainstream, but I don't agree that it's when the sound started to go more towards a poppier feel completely because the general 'sound' of the 90s is very neo-traditional for the most part (even the crossover appeal of Shania Twain and Dixie Chicks, etc. didn't exactly come at the expense of sounding like country music instrumentally in particular). In fact, I'd say that 80s country music before it had more of a poppier sound to it than the 90s did, with examples being Dolly Parton's discography getting really poppy in the 80s around the time she released "Potential New Boyfriend" through the failure of Rainbow, and then she went back to being more country again with "Why'd You Come in Here Lookin' Like That" and onward. The 80s were also when Ronnie Milsap was in his prime, i.e.

[someguy]

[Todd]

Elvis Presley

[Deleted]

I feel like Big Machine having mammoth success with Taylor Swift (and then aggressively turning her into a Pop superstar), changed so many aspects of Country music.

It seems like the tides have changed dramatically since Taylor came on the scene, and it's become even more apparent now that Big Machine has transformed her from a Country darling to the biggest Pop artist in the world.

Borchetta doesn't hide the fact that he's relentless in getting whatever act he wants in his corner, and it's pretty clear one of his major goals is to make his artists as marketable as possible, artistic integrity be damned.

Big Machine literally seems to want every single one of their artists to conform into ultra radio-friendly crossover artists (who might have to change to fit that mold).
It seems like every major label is now following the "Crossover acts are better" moto, and now no Country act is safe from transforming into a completely different act.

I feel like every major label has probably taken some advice of Big Machine/Borchetta (seeing how successful so many of his artists have been), but I also feel like it's largely because of his guidance that Country music has been so homogenized.