This post is a little out of the ordinary but it's also been a long time coming. Its roots are in a discussion I had with a friend of mine about different genres of music. I started talking about some of my favorite musicians and my friend was surprised to find that a number of them were country stars. I don't mind country music. My early years were dominated by country music which is a blessing because it was the last time country music was any good.
When I began to articulate just why I deviated from the country path I found that the void of country music in my life was primarily the result of no true country music existing anymore. The country music fans of today are really fans of "Pop-country" a mixture of violins and guitars and belt-buckles and cowboy hats with twanged out pop and R&B. Basically club music sung by platinum blonds or boy bands with electric banjos.
If it can be said Rock n' Roll achieved perfection in 1974 then I propose the death of country music occurred in 1995. Country music transitioned through many phases over the years but the basis for the country music of today enjoyed just five short years of perfection 1989-1994. After 1994 people entered the realm of country music and events were set in motion that would bring about the end of the Nashville sound. Consider: Garth Brooks was the first country music rock star and his success directly influenced the new generation of people who saw that country musicians could have the kind of success that many thought only existed in the rock star stratosphere. "In Pieces" was released in 1994 and was the last great album from Garth Brooks who began touring in Europe after the overseas success of the album. Everything changed after that.
1995 – Shania Twain scores first top 10 hit “Any Man of Mine” off her “The Woman in Me” album. Shania’s success leads her to follow up with the album “Come on Over” off of which the song “I Feel Like a Woman” led her to mega-stardom and Pop-Country was born. By 1998, Twain was on the first installment of VH1’s Divas with Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Gloria Estefan and Aretha Franklin.
1995 – The group “Lonestar” debuts on the Billboard Charts. Lonestar would later explode with crossover pop hit “Amazed.” Directly contributing to the success of such pop-country bands as Nickel Creek and Rascal Flatts by laying the ground work in both look and sound. Lonestar also fired original bass guitar player John Rich who after a failed solo career teamed with Big Kenny to form Big & Rich and create hip-hop country.
1995 – Faith Hill’s album “It Matters to Me” is delayed after she has surgery on her vocal chords. Later that same year she agrees to tour the following year with Tim McGraw. Hill breaks off a former engagement with her manager to date McGraw who had also recently broken off an engagement. The two are married on October 6, 1996. Hill then takes a three-year hiatus and records “It’s Your Love” with McGraw. Hill returns after record success with her duet with McGraw and focuses all of her energy on love songs, abandoning the somber and soulful melodies of "It Matters to Me." The duo strangleholds county music with their love albums for years.
After 1995 the entire landscape of the genre changed but hopefully with the advancements in personal recording and the increasing popularity of finding unknown artists on the rise the focus will come out of the lime light and recording studios and into the hearts of the songwriters and just maybe we can find our way back to Memphis.
