Country Music: Is It Rock & Roll Or Just Travis Tritt?

There are many theories about country music's popularity. For one, country isn't quite as...well, country as it used to be. There probably isn't one song on the country charts that has lyrics about freight trains, prison, or dead dogs. (Note-pickup trucks seem to have replaced trains as the vehicles of choice.) And, as some purists note, not many country performers today have the absolute vibrant purity of a Kitty Wells or Patsy Cline or the sheer originality of Hank Williams.

Country (or modern country as it is now called) is nothing like what you remember form the 60's and 70's. Were not talking about Porter Waggoner or Conway Twitty. Today's country features artists raised when Rock & Roll was king of the airwaves. To some extent, they bring a fresh new approach to country, one based in the history of American folk music and influenced by a generation of rockers.

Also, the lines have blurred between country and rock.We had a taste of what was to come with the popularity of bands like Charlie Daniels, The Allman Brothers and The Marshall Tucker Band. The term "Southern Rock" was an attempt to label these bands as something other than country, but it gave rise to a revolution in country music. A rocking country singer like Travis Tritt is not so far removed from country rockers like Lynard Skynard. The ballads of "California rockers" like the Eagles and Poco are pure country. Sing "Desperado" with a twang and you have country.

Another interesting theory would have it that we boomers, hitting middle-age, are so depressed , self-absorbed, and downright whiny, that the only music that suits us is good ole cry-in-your-beer-tear-your-heart-out country. After all, a generation that made Carole King and James Taylor stars is a natural for the rampant emotionality of country music .

Admittedly, there isn't much exciting on the Boomer radio dial. It seems all those lyrical, melodic tunes of the 60's and 70's never grew into anything meaningful enough to recognize. And rock- and -roll as we knew it has morphed into that headbanger stuff our teenagers listen to. In the faceless world of "Rock & Roll," the few significant artists are easy to pick out of an undefined wasteland where the musical icons of our generation remain simply to attract an older audience.

It would appear that even the recording industry recognizes the wilderness they have created. Go into any music retailer today; a huge amount of their business is devoted to converting vinyl into digital. The thousands of boomer titles now available on CD are overshadowing the apparent lack of excitement in the industry and propping up sales figures. It's not surprising then, that Country has gained a following among musically disenchanted boomers.

So, if country music is your thang, you're not alone. And if you haven't tried it yet, pour yourself a beer, adjust that radio dial, and prepare to be hooked. .. or not.

Posted by Pete at February 9, 2003 12:25 PM