Top 10 Country Musicians you need to know about!
Did you know, over 139 million US teens and adults listen to Country Music? That’s like 40 percent of Americans?
The revival of country music by few famous artists lately has helped the audience rise by 9% alone in the past five years.
Here’s another interesting fact about country music. Eighty-two percent of listeners are tech-forward and use smartphones.
Indeed, the advent of faster broadband and a massive surge in smartphone usage has helped country music reach new heights!
Why is country music so popular?
It isn’t like only the people from the South prefer listening to country music. A study by Country Music Association (CMA) concluded that the northern states equally prefer Country music as their Southern counterparts.
Fifty-one percent of music lovers from Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan combined prefer listening to country music, and 49 percent of Californians and Oregonians love listening to Country music.
It’s a crowd-pleaser and often regarded as the most favorite American music genre, mainly because Country music is endemic to most Americans. It seeks its roots back to the immigrants from England, Ireland, and Scotland who traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to settle in the Appalachian Mountains. They loved playing old-time songs on fiddles, telling the stories of life and hardship people loved listening to.
Here’s a brief history of how Country Music spread throughout the country.
In the 1920s, country songs were known as “Old Familiar Tunes,” as they traveled from Appalachia to other parts. People started referring to it as “Old Time Melodies of the Sunny South” and “Hill Country Songs and Ballads.”
It took on many names such as Honky-Tonk, Folk Music, and Hillbilly music to settle as the Country and Western or the Country music.
Some states that prefer Country music over anything else include Texas, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, West Virginia, Georgia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.
The Heart of Country
That being said, Nashville, Tennessee, is the modern center of country music’s commercial heart. It’s the home of Dolly Parton, the CM Hall of Fame, the Grand Ole Opry (a weekly radio stage show running since 1925), the Ryman Auditorium (the “Mother Church of Country Music”), and the Bluebird Café (Amy Kurland’s sought-after club for singers and songwriters).
Talking about Country Music, we shouldn’t forget to mention the great musicians and artists who made the Country genre so famous.
Ten Most Popular Country Musicians
According to the Rolling Stones, the list of the ten most popular Country Musicians in history ranked from 10 to 1.
Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks is one of the driving forces behind the country’s crossover push during the 90s. His integration of rock and pop elements into the Country earned him immense popularity. As of 2020, he is the only artist in music history to have released nine “Diamond status” achieving albums in the US.
Some of his most-listened-to songs include ‘Friends in Low Places,’ ‘The River,’ ‘The Dance,’ ‘The Thunder Rolls,’ ‘Much Too Yong,’ and ‘Unanswered Prayers.’
Brooks has sold over 170 million records and ranks tenth in the most loved and followed Country musicians.
George Jones
George Jones, also popularly known as “The Possum,” is one of the most Country artists in history. A great vocalist, his ability to reinvent melodies and stretch out words in seemingly impossible ways earned his vast recognition.
He brought suspense to every syllable with a baritone voice, merging bluesy slide with the tight Appalachian singing.
Suffered from alcoholism and a slow career for most of his life, Jones earned the nickname “No Show Jones” for not showing up in his gigs.
Some of his most love singles include ‘He stopped loving her today,’ ‘She thinks I still care,’ ‘We must have been out of our minds,’ ‘We’re gonna hold on,’ ‘The Grand Tour, and ‘Why Baby Why.’
Dolly Parton
Who doesn’t love Dolly Parton? Either it is for her music, humanitarian efforts, or her unique fashion sense, Dolly Parton is one name that is most revered by every Country music fan.
Did you know, Parton has the most number one hits for a female artist, the most career top 10 country albums for a female artist, and is tied with Beyoncé for the most Grammy nominations for a female artist?
Her signatures — “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” and “I Will Always Love You” made her one of the most popular stars throughout the world.
He has also garnered 11 Grammy awards and 50 nominations, ten CMA Awards, five Academy of Country Music Awards, and four People’s Choice Awards.
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings is a famous country musician. His insignia “a flying W” is a widely popular subgenre of country music.
Popularly known as the driver of the Outlaw Country Movement, he publicly fought with the CMA, even making hats that read “CMA: Country My Ass.”
Jennings is known for his rich, growling voice, and some of his famous singles include “Black Rose,” “Don’t You Think This Outlaw Bit’s Done Got Out of Hand,” “Dreaming My Dream,” “Waymore’s Blues” are listened by many country music lovers even today.
Willie Nelson
One of the country’s greatest crossover artists, Willie Hugh Nelson, is considered a great musician. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie, combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust, made him one of the most recognized artists in country music.
Did you know he wrote his first song at the age of seven? Another interesting fact about Nelson is that he has been playing the same guitar for 50 years.
Some of his popular scores include “Always on my mind,” “On the road again,” and “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.”
The Carter Family
The Carter Family is a traditional American folk music group that consisted of a trio; A.P.Carter, his wife, and sister-in-law. They were recorded between 1927 and 1956. Before the time the group separated, they had recorded more than 250 songs. Some of their hits include “Keep on the Sunny Side” and “Wildwood Flower.”
According to Johnny Cash, “The Carter style was built around the vocals and incorporated them into the instrumental background, usually made up of the basic three-chord structure.”
They made a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop, and rock musicians.
Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn is one of the most recognized voices in the US. With a career spanning over six decades, Lynn has created some of the best country songs, including “The Pill,” “Rated X,” “Don’t Come Home A-Drinking,” and “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”
Known for her crystalline mountain quiver, she started performing at the legendary country venue, the Grand Ole Opry. She also has more awards than any female in the genre and is regarded as one of the best country musicians in history.
Johnny Cash
Who hasn’t heard of the legendary singer Johnny Cash? The American singer and musician proclaimed himself ‘Man in Black embodied outlaw country’s revel spirit.’
Cash sang mostly about criminals and often performed in prisons. Some of his famous singles include “Hurt,” “God’s Gonna Cut You Down,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “A Boy Named Sue,” “You Are My Sunshine,” and “Riders in the Sky.”
A master of powerful baritone, Cash remains one of the most recognized voices in the world today.
Hank Williams
Hank Williams is regarded as one of the most significant American singers and songwriters of the 20th Century. He recorded 35 singles that reached the top of the Billboard Country chart and 225 songs in five years.
William’s playful and plainspoken songs “Your Cheatin’ Heart,” “I’m so lonesome I could cry,” “Move it on over,” and “Jambalaya” become the inspiration for many famous Country musicians.
Merle Haggard
Haggard is the most popular and loved Country musician. Born in California in 1937 in a boxcar his father had converted into a house, he later became one of the most influential country singers.
After being released from San Quentin State Prison in 1960, he managed to turn his life around and launch a successful country music career.
Some of his famous songs include “I’m a Lonesome Fugitive,” “Branded Man,” “Mama Tried,” “Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down,” and “Sing Me Back Home.”
Check this infographic for more information.
So, this is a list of the ten most influential Country musicians. Get in touch with Rick Perdian, the best travel music consultant in the US, to learn more about the country music scene.
