What kind of music is called country music, and how does it differ from popular music?

Early commercially operated country music was in the vein of the traditional folk ballads brought by 18th- and 19th-century immigrants from Great Britain to the southern United States. But instead of adhering to the tradition of oral narration, early country music often used an instrument like a fiddle to play a melody in place of the human voice. Country musician John Carson combined the two traditions, both singing and playing on his 1923 song "78," considered the first best-selling single of early country.

The most celebrated group of the period is undoubtedly The Carter Family ---- Their importance to the development of country music cannot be overstated. They were the holdouts of the Southern folk tradition. Considered "The First Family of Country Music," their song "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" is as exemplary of country music as "Wildwood Flower" and introduced Maybelle Carter's infectious guitar style to people for the first time. The Stoneman of Galax, Virginia was also a pioneer of early country.

Jimmie Rodgers, the "Father of Country Music". He took public acceptance of country music to a new level and was one of the most influential singers in the history of popular music. His one-of-a-kind voice and lyrics for scribblers brought it national popularity. In doing so, he laid a new and solid foundation for country music. Original in that short recording career (1927-33), he sang and wrote songs in a style that hasn't gone out of style even now.

Cowboy

Cowboy music came from the American fascination with the Great West, which was also reflected in Hollywood movies. Rednecks are now transformed into well-dressed, spirited cowboys and cowgirls singing romantic songs from the countryside. Romantic scenes from the lonely prairie were shown. Westerns always showed a free-spirited cowboy singing around a campfire and chasing a coach after a hard day's work. This clean-cut look was adopted by musicians like Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and The Sons of the Pioneers, making country music increasingly popular.

Western Swing

A Depression-era music born in the seedy dance halls of Texas and Oklahoma, Western Swing grafted a country feel onto a complex jazz beat. Featuring a lineup closer to a big band (usually including a trumpet) than to traditional country, Bob Wills soon took the undisputed crown of the genre. With his band The Texas Playboys, he was a true innovator when it came to improvisation. His ability to play his peers and his best on any given night has had a profound effect on the history of country music. Other Western swing bands include Milton Brown (and his Musical Brownies), the founder of the eclectic music form, and Spade Cooley, and today, bands like Asleep At The Wheel continue this country music tradition.

Blue Grass

A refined, pure, original music that is easily recognizable. Eclectic music with two or three harmonies, intense rhythms and unfettered emotion. This "lonesome and soaring" sound emerged from the String-band Movement of the late 20's and was made famous by founder Bill Monroe's band "The Blue Gass Boys", which was followed by Bonnie Clyde, The Beverly Hill Billies in the late 60's, and The Beverly Hill Billies in the late 60's, as well as by the New York Times and the New York Times. The Beverly Hillbillies pushed it hard in the late '60s and it gained a whole new audience. Today, bluegrass remains as influential as ever, with artists like Alison Krauss, the famous country musician, among them.

Honkyu-Tonk

A freewheeling, often raucous form of music that originated in the bars of the postwar South, country music moved from public socializing to bars in the late 1940s, where performers no longer worried about keeping the "family ethic" alive in their songs, and as a result, lyrics often reflected the harsh realities of modern-day blue-collar workers. As a result, the lyrics often reflect the hard, cold reality of the modern blue-collar worker.

Hank Williams's songs, which mesmerized women and inspired men to imitate them, made the honky-tonk form a staple of country music in the early '40s. He lived as he sang, yet his over-the-top lifestyle eventually led to his untimely death at age 29.

Rockabilly

In Memphis in 1953, the musical racial lines were also clearly drawn. Most blacks listened to rhythm and blues (R&B), while country music at the time was popular music with whites. Looking for a way to integrate black and white music, producer Sam Phillips was looking for a white boy who could sing black songs for his record label, Sun Records. The result was Elvis Presley---- Elvis Presley.

Producing classics like Bill Monroe's "Blue Moon of Kentucky" and producing groundbreaking artists like Elvis Presley, producer Sam Phillips pioneered a hybrid form of music that would later become known as "rockabilly". Rockabilly.) Although it was not a popular form of music in the 1950s, many different artists such as Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lenis and Carl Perkins began their careers by recording these songs.

The Nashville Sound

The "Nashville Sound" was primarily orchestrated with piano, strings, and background harmonies, as opposed to the traditional fiddle and banjo accompaniment for which the Nashville Sound is known, and in the late '50s, with the decline of country music, a number of producers such as Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley began their careers recording these songs. Atkins and Owen Bradley were consciously trying to expand the flavor of country music and bring it closer to mainstream pop music.

In the early '60s, this shift was realized by virtually every country artist from Patsy Cline to The Browns (with the help of a large group of musicians from Nashville recording studios), and many of these songs topped the country and pop charts.

Country-rock

A form of music that originated in California and interacted with the hippie movement, bringing their "back-to-nature" sensibilities to country music. Cursed by the traditional values of country music for their drug use and hair styling, country-rock artists tried to tap into the tastes of traditional fans.

Late '60s pioneers like the Gram Parsons (along with The Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers, and later Emmylou Harris) put a rock 'n' roll spin on traditional nostalgic and heartbreaking country songs. Later, bands like The Eagles took this hybrid format to the top of the pop charts. Today, bands like The Desert Rose Band (led by Byrds collaborator Chris Hilman) continue the tradition.

Outlaw

So-called "outlaw" is simply a continuation of the roots-tinged country music tradition, a betrayal of the Nashville sound. It wasn't a new genre, it was a return to tradition and a betrayal of the production system of the time.

At the center of this storm was Willie Nelson, who was frustrated by Nashville's rejection of his newer, more personal attempts at music in 1968, which led Nelson to leave Nashville for Austin, Texas, where he began an annual concert that attracted other, similarly unheralded acts. similar then-under-the-radar singer-songwriters like Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson.

Their unpretentious, rootsy attempts to keep country music uniquely, even brutally, personal before pandering to popular tastes. Not only did the Renegade Movement cater to country fans through and through, but it was also echoed on the radio and in schools. As a result, in 1976, as Waylon&Willie had hoped, "The Outlaws" became the first million-selling album in the history of country music, and opened the door to even more rootsy country music.

New Traditional Country

A style of music that returned to a time when artistry and musicianship were more important than image. New Traditionalism found its inspiration in early country music and was the forerunner of what would become known as New Country. ricky Skaggs, a rare talent inspired by Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley, outdid all the other artists of his time and brought country back to its roots. Not only was the tradition carried forward and created, but it was also popular, and Skaggs wasn't alone, like Randy Travis who brought traditionalism to the forefront of country music with his beautiful melodies and exquisite vocals.

New Country

A form of country music that broadly describes the return to its roots in the mid-'80s. But with the addition of guitar and drums, it's closer to rock 'n' roll, and artists like Garth Brooks, Brooks & Dunn, Shania Twain, and LeAnn Rimes, among a long list of others, are listed in this catalog. It doesn't incorporate instruments like fiddles and acoustic guitars, which sets it apart from traditional country music.

Alternative country music

A contemporary derivative of country-rock that emphasizes noisy electric guitars, which makes it closer to rock and roll than to country. The emerging movement, whose name "No Depression" comes from a Carter Family song, flies the flag of freedom and self-sufficiency, and their recordings are released on small independent labels, with Uncle Tupelo (now deceased) and The Jayhawks at the forefront of the movement, and now Son Volt, Wilco and Golden Smoke. The current Son Volt, Wilco and Golden Smog were the culmination of this movement.

Retro

With its clear guitars and idiosyncratic lyrics, Retro harks back to pre-Nashville Sound country music, initiated by musicians like Junior Brown, BR5-49, Big Sandy, Fly Rite Boys and Wayne Hancock. started it all.

Singer/songwriters

The growing group comes from a background of acoustic music in the new country tradition. Meeting at places like Nashville's Bluebird Cafe, they have weekly "songwriters' nights" and put their heads together to write a song, with leaders like Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle, the Dead Reckoing Crew (including Kieran Kane, Kevin Welch, and Mike Henderson). and Mike Henderson).

[edit]Country music paraphernalia

Cajun music

An upbeat, syncopated music that circulated among the French-speaking Acadian population of southwestern Louisiana. The music primarily employs fiddles and accordions, and the band includes a drummer, but the music is still considered closer to acoustic music.Jimmy C. Newman, Dong Kershaw, and Eddy Raven are among the best of contemporary Cajun music.

Conjunto

Arising near the Grand Canyon in the late 19th century, Conjunto blends the rhythms of the polka and the waltz with Mexican folk music, and Flaco Jimeney and the Texas Tornadoes are famously known as exponents of this music.

Tejano

Rooted in traditional Mexican music, Tejano ("Texas" in Spanish) has its snappy lyrics and danceable rhythms, and in the world of Tejano, Emilio and Shelly Larees are two of the most recognized artists.

Zydeco

A very heavy, electro-acoustic music, derived from the combination of Cajun music and the Creole culture of southern Louisiana. The music is sung in French and is steeped in bluesy crescent and African music.C.J Chenier and Buckswheat Iydeco are the hottest bands in zydeco music.

The so-called popular music refers to those instrumental compositions and songs that are short in structure, popular in content, lively in form, sincere in emotion, and are loved by the general public, widely sung or appreciated, and popular for a while or even handed down to future generations. These music and songs are rooted in the rich soil of popular life. Therefore, it is also called "popular music". Popular music originated from jazz music in the U.S. At the beginning of the 20th century, a kind of jazz music emerged in the U.S., which was formed by the convergence of multi-ethnic cultures. This new music, with its unique way of playing (singing), refreshed the audience's ears, stirred up the whole United States, and soon spread to the countries of Western Europe. Today, popular music encompasses an extremely wide range of content. In instrumental works, it includes colorful light music, jazz, swing, disco, tango, round dance, as well as a variety of different styles of dance music and various types of small opera soundtracks. The characteristics of instrumental works in popular music are: distinctive rhythm, relaxed and lively or lyrical and beautiful, various methods of playing, changing sound, rich colors, simple weave levels, small orchestra size, and modern works using electro-acoustic instruments. Vocal works are characterized by: a strong sense of life, lyrical, fun, range is not wide, the approach is commonplace, the tune is smooth, easy to sing; lyrics are mostly in the language of life, shallow and easy, easy for the listener to accept and sing; singers are mostly self-contained pop stars, vocal methods have their own style, not subject to the constraints of the school of vocal music, singing emotionally heavy than the sound skills, movement and free and uninhibited, natural and cordial, easy to cause the listener ** ** song; small orchestra of strong vocal method of a variety of variations, colorful, simple weave levels, modern works using electro-acoustic instruments. *The strong accompaniment of the small band is integrated with the songs. Because pop music has the above characteristics, it can be linked with the masses and is easy to accept regardless of the cultural level. Pop music is also known as popular music. As a kind of popular cultural phenomenon mainly for recreation and entertainment, the development of pop music is closely related to the development of society and has become a part of daily life, especially after the 90's with the opening up of the national policy, which makes the content of pop songs more diversified and more popular, and the changes of pop music in the 90's are wider and closer to the background of our growth. The pop music of the 1990s was more varied and closer to our growing background. However, pop songs are not only art, but also entertainment, spiritual support, a realistic record of people's lives, and even an indicator of public thought and ideology. The songs we listen to nowadays, such as Jay Chou, Jolin Tsai, A-Mei, and so on, all belong to pop music. The difference between pop music and other mass media is that pop music has three characteristics: 1. Pop music is a repetitive form: the theme of pop music is repeated over and over again, and it has the ability to penetrate the consciousness of the listener. 2. 2. Popular music is mostly non-narrative: it emphasizes the stimulation of the receiver's physical, physiological and sensory abilities. 3. Popular music is an experiential form: music belongs to the realm of art rather than science, and is an experience of an experience.