This post is much like the last, except not. If that makes any sense… Anyway. To show the country music evolution, I turned to YouTube. Here is the video I found that I think exemplifies how country has changed over the years.
Yes, I know the video is long (28 minutes-ish) but I chose it because if one listens closely, you can detect the changes. Most of the changes occur in the background, or the instrumentation if you will.
See, country music started out as the voice of the simple people. Their instruments were cheap and simple – the fiddle mainly. Nothing fancy or from the city. The lyrics and rhythms were easy to remember and their songs were mostly stories about their lives. Gradually, the fiddle was replaced with guitars and keyboards were added. Drums and other guitars added to the instrumentation. In my last post, I summarized an article by Jeremy Hill, and his article broke down these changes more specifically than I can in my own words.
Eventually, country music found itself in urban settings – moving into the cities. Like the people. Now it seemed, there was a new group of people to appeal to. More pop and rock influences began to leak into the newer country sound. Then we ended up with the JoCo boys who thought they were country because they listened to a country music station and had muddy, jacked-up trucks. Thanks. And that is where country music leaves us.
Personally, I think the 1990’s – 2010 yielded the best country. Of course, this may be in part because I grew up on this chapter of country. Don’t feel like you need to watch/listen to the whole video. But skip around and see if you can notice how the sound adapts. Until next Tuesday, ~V
Sunflowers and Riddles 