Nicole Breske

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November 15, 2016

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Sitting in the car with my mom driving to practice, I turned on the radio and as usual it was a
country station. The song, Take Your Time by up and coming artist, Sam Hunt, was playing. As the
song played my mom asked, Is this even country? I thought to myself, Of course it is. Its on a
country station. Realizing that that was not an adequate explanation, it really got me thinking what
constitutes a song as being country? Im sure my mom asked her question based on older country songs
and artists such as George Strait, The Judds, Dwight Yoakam, etc. Country has gone through some
extreme changes throughout its time, specifically within the past 100 years. Therefore, I am gathering
information as to what has caused these changes to occur over time specifically looking at the influence
of certain artists and movements. Throughout the past century, country musics lyrics has evolved from
influences of World War II and the Hippie Revolution, and its sound has been influenced by a
revolution that has been sparked by artists including Buck Owens and encouraged by current artists
such as Trace Adkins, creating more pop-country songs rather than old fashioned country sounding
music.
In 1939, when World War II began, many things in the United States had changed. During the
war, a major change in lifestyle occurred which affected the content of country songs. There was a
rapid transformation from an agrarian to an urban lifestyle which brought about a new genre of
country music called Honky-Tonk (Hartman Country). As Texas State Historical Association reports,
honky-tonk dealt more candidly with the problems of an increasingly urbanized, industrialized, and
morally permissive society. Issues such as alcoholism, infidelity, divorce, and other social problems,
which formerly were not discussed openly in public, became common themes in honky-tonk songs. In
Charles K. Wolfe Country Music Goes to War, he explains how the war made influential changes to
country music. The creation of a new genre of country music is appropriate for the dramatic change in

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lyrics that occurred during this time. In Ellisons book, Country Music Culture: From Hard Times to
Heaven, he speaks of the lyrical content that shifts more into sexual relationships and alcohol
consumption. When certain subjects are not suitable for public consumption at a point in time, singing
about those subjects and getting praise for it illustrates a shift in society during this time period.
Honky Tonk became more and more popular with more artists producing that type of music.
Artists such as, George Jones and George Strait and even more recent artist, Trace Adkins, with his
song, Honky Tonk Badonkadonk as Morris mentions in his article Hick-Hop Horray? These artists
have contributed to that sub-genre of country music and by the late 1950s, Texas artists were bridging
the gap between country and pop, bringing country music increasingly into mainstream popular
culture (Hartman Country). This shift so early in the country realm illustrates the impact that World War
II had on country music; it created a sub-genre called honky tonk which led to more pop music
sounding songs. Richard Peterson notes, soon after, a partial fusion of rock and honky-tonk country,
which was later called variously in the media red-neck rock or outlaw country, began to emerge
employing cowboy and badman imagery (1978). This emergence created an image for country which
stuck with the genre throughout the years.
As time calls for a change in culture, that change feeds into and shifts common themes sung
about in country music. The focus of traditional country lyrics included farm life, family, and troubling
times in terms of work. However, lyrics have become more about relationships, infidelity, revenge, and
violence. The reason at least one of these themes is applicable in most songs, according to Robert
Kurzbans article, Cheatin Hearts and Loaded Guns: The High Fitness Stakes of Country Music
Lyrics, is because, songs combine musical elements and lyrics in a way that listeners will find
rewarding, often sufficiently so that people want to listen to songs over and over again. He goes on to

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write about the attention these themes call to the spotlight which creates better sales in the music
market. In a report by Hobbs and Gallup (2011), they analyzed the lyrics of country songs from 2009
and found that out of 57 country hits more than 40% included references to commitment and about
a quarter of them referred to assurances of fidelity (Kurzban, 2012). Peterson can conclude the same
as he explains, Lyrical themes focused more on love problems and were more explicit in discussion
various sorts of deviant behavior today you find the sweeping around of full orchestrations, multivoiced choruses, amplified instruments and sophisticated arrangements, and an adult lyric appraoch
(1978). What makes Kurzban and Peterson believe these two elements have changed so dramatically? I
analyzed two country songs of different years in order to determine whether or not lyrics and music
have had undergone the huge change these men were claiming in their articles. Buck Owens Love
Gonna Live Here of 1964 and Trisha Yearwoods 1991 Shes in Love with the Boy; The time period
difference between these two songs is long enough to recognize differences in content.
Though these two have a common theme of love, they are separated by the kind of love they
sing about. Owens sings with an optimistic tone as he says, I hear bees ahummin I know the days are
coming Loves gonna live here again. He dreams of having love in his life again. In contrast,
Yearwood sings of the present moment of love: Katies young and man she just dont care Shed
follow Tommy anywhere Shes in love with the boy. Yearwoods sound has an evidently more upbeat
component to it compared to Owens; chord structures and rhythms became more complex,
orchestrations became fuller, and the singing became smoother as time goes on (Peterson, 1978). The
number of instruments in Owens songs versus Yearwoods is apparent. The guitar, bango, and drums
are the few that stick out in his songs. Comparatively, Shes in Love with the Boy includes more a
complex percussion element, guitars, and keyboard, evidently more technologically advanced. Also,

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listening to these songs back to back, I noticed the older songs have a constant sound that the music
produces while the newer ones add instruments throughout the song. There seems to be levels of
instruments as Yearwoods song goes on, a more complex sound rather than one sound that repeats
throughout the song as Owens does. The difference in years is an obvious explanation as to why the
sounds have changed with technology advancing throughout time allowing for different beats to come
about. With the advancement of technology, culture and tastes change and with that, music changes in
order to appeal to their audience; an individuals aesthetic taste has an influence in shaping
commercial music only insofar as he/she is considered a likely customer (Peterson, 1978). Country
music was becoming more and more popular because of its shift from farm life to the nation all
together. Yearwood sings of an experience; she tells a story that could be lived by anyone, whereas
Owens sings of what he believes will happen in the future without making it all too personal. Owens
never seemed to incorporate social or economic commentary, or acknowledge the hard life his family
had lived, in his songs (Lewis 2006). Mark Fenster elaborates in his article Buck Owens, country
music, and the struggle for discursive control, as he writes about the honky tonk twang that Owens
preserved in his songs (1990) emphasizing the influence Owens had over country music and the
difference in sound of his time of fame versus Yearwoods. This difference is evident in the time
periods in which these songs were produced. It can be said that what country music focused on in an
earlier time period has changed drastically. However, there is controversy as to what sparked the
changes within it.
As time went on, more sub-genres of country music were created which led away from the
traditional sound it originated from. Progressive country, as Texas State Historical Association states,
sprang from an unlikely combination of traditional country music and the hippie counterculture of the

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late 1960s. As I delve more deeply into the Hippie Revolutions influence on country, I found that
those who were considered artists of the kind, including Willie Nelson, were considered outlaw
artists, but were accepted and acknowledged as having influenced a new and more eclectic country
music market that embraced country, folk, blues, pop, rock, and western swing (Hartman Country).
Allowing different sounds, such as those of which are more electric oriented, into the country genre
slowly changed the overall sounds of country music. Acknowledging the impact that the Hippie
Revolution had on country music helps us identify one movement that occurred in which changed the
genre specifically in sounds and lyrics. Having this wide variety of background information as to who
and what influenced a change in this genre gives insight as to why these changes occurred and what
allowed its existence to flourish.
As there are many views on a new sound of country during this time, honky tonk, two critics
voice their opinions. The first notes how blurry the line now is between country and other genres of
music (Kolkedy qtd. In Morris) in response to Adkins, Honky Tonk Badonkadonk. On the other
hand, one recognizes his journey from twangy, old-school country to wagging his finger at
tradition (Burch qtd. In Morris). It is not just the songs that are changing, the artists are as well which
creates authenticity in the music which is produced. Not only are the performers singing their songs,
they believe in what they are singing as Adkins demonstrates in this example. The shift that Adkins
undertakes in his career symbolizes the transformation that country has undergone. Just as lyrical
content has pushed societal limits, the combination of instruments and sounds has changed the status
quo that was once only known and accepted as bluegrass country.
All of these changes in country music, according to Richard Peterson, is due to a change in
culture. He begins the first few paragraphs of his article to identify how cultural changes come about.

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On one hand, there is the idea that change can be explained as a product of the innovative interaction of
creators, whether scientists, theologians, painters, or musicians. On the other hand, there is the idea that
change is the result of evolving consumer demand, caused either by a natural ebb and flow of fads and
fashions or by changing social-structural imperatives.

This explanation acknowledges various ways in which change can occur. A common theme between
these two theories is that society determines whether or not it becomes popular giving incite as to how
and why country music has changed drastically over the years.
Famous artists and musicians are known to keep to a certain genre. However, just as Adkins had
undergone a shift in his music, Taylor Swift followed and found herself moving away from her starting
point, country music, to become a pop music icon. Her first album Taylor Swift reflected her young
southern lifestyle as her first song Tim McGraw was released as a single prior to her EP. A major
instrument in her early career included the acoustic guitar which she has slowly strayed from as she
went on to release her second album Fearless, third Speak Now, fourth Red, and most recent
album 1989 all through which has gradually shifted from the country scene to the pop music scene.
Seeing the positive response of her shift she was receiving from her audience, as well as record sales,
more country artists were following in her footsteps.
Blake Shelton, known for his long career in country music and many CMA awards, has nine
albums and even his first to last album he has shifted into a more pop music sounding kind of country
which includes more electric, techno-sounding records. Though his shift was not as dramatic as Taylor
Swifts, he takes after her success and adds more upbeat, electric sounds that can be considered in the
pop music genre.

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I was driving yesterday and I heard a radio station say, Some country stations have forgotten
what real country is, not us! Weve got real country on the way. This itself puts this genre in
perspective if country radio stations are stating that other country stations do not play real country
music. In another instance, I was listening to one station on my Pandora Radio, I realized just how
many country stations I have: Taylor Swift, Luke Bryan, Todays Country, Sam Hunt, Carrie
Underwood, Kelsea Ballerini, Josh Abbott Band, Country Pop, Thomas Rhett, Country Fitness, 2000s
Country, Bluegrass, Jon Pardi, Cassadee Pope, Dierks Bentley, Jana Kramer. The amount of stations
that I do have shows how wide the range is for country and its sound. Each of these stations has
something I like and gives me a variety in what kind of country I want to listen to at that time.
Yesterday, I was listening to the Sam Hunt Pandora station and the first song that plays is Luke Bryans
She Get Me High, which is considered country. However, what threw me off was the song that
played after that, Chainsmokers, Closer. I had to double check which station I was listening to
because those two songs are complete opposites of each other. Again Sam Hunt is brought up and
questioned if he is considered country or not. As Taste of Country writes, he brings together a wide
variety of diverse influences, including country, R&B, pop, and rock (Sam Hunt News), revealing the
mixture of genres he has within his music, but I do not believe that he can be considered an artist
within just one of these genre
`

Looking at the many factors that have gone into shaping country music and leading it in a

different direction from where it started, the movements and artists stick out more than any other. The
war had a major influence as to what content was being put into songs. Shifting from family and work
life to sexual relationships and alcoholism illustrates a significant shift in country music that was aided

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by the war. In terms of the instruments and sounds, the Hippie Revolution influenced that aspect of the
genre. The Hippie Revolution was all about rebelling and pushing limits to see how far things could go
before there was controversy and even then it did not stop there. Artists during this time, George Strait
for example, was known as an outlaw artist because of the new sound he brought into country and
straying from the traditional blue grass music. The war also affected the sounds as it influenced the
creation of the honky-tonk genre which was a completely different sound than any other country of that
time. The instruments became a major component to the genre that made it distinguishable from the
other sub-genres of country. Buck Owens contributed to the changing sound, though he did not sing of
personal experiences, he was one of the first artists to change how country music sounded. What
caused the overall change, however, is the culture itself. Because people shifted their likes, music
changed altogether to be more appealing to their audience. Even now country songs are adding more
techno-pop elements to it because that is what the culture is shifting towards and it is what people are
listening to. All of these components created a shift in country music that made it unrecognizable from
the genre when it all started.

Word Count: 3243

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Works Cited

Austin, Ronald,H.Aday, Benjaman S. "Images of Aging in the Lyrics of American Country Music."
Educational Gerontology 26.2 (2000): 135-54. Print.

"COUNTRY MUSIC." HARTMAN, GARY. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.

Ellison, Curtis W. Country Music Culture: From Hard times to Heaven. Jackson: U of Mississippi,
1995. Print.
Fenster, Mark. "Buck Owens, Country Music, and the Struggle for Discursive Control." Popular Music
9.3 (1990): 275-90. Print.
Kurzban, Robert. "Cheatin' Hearts & Loaded Guns: The High Fitness Stakes of Country Music Lyrics."
Review of General Psychology 16.2 (2012): 187-91. Print.

Lewis, George. In Memoriam: Buck Owens, 19292006. 29 Vol. Routledge, 2006. Print.

Morris, David. "Hick-Hop Hooray? Honky Tonk Badonkadonk, Musical Genre, and the
Misrecognitions of Hybridity." Critical Studies in Media Communication 28.5 (2011): 466-88.
Print.

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PETERSON, RICHARD A. "The Production of Cultural Change: The Case of Contemporary Country
Music." Social Research 45.2 (1978): 292-314. Print.

Sam Hunt News. Taste of Country. N.p., n.d. Web 29. Oct. 2016.
"Sex, Love And Evolution: Making Hits On The 'Billboard' Charts." NPR. NPR, 1 Dec. 2011. Web. 29
Oct. 2016.
Wolfe, Charles K., and James Edward Akenson. Country Music Goes to War. Lexington, KY: U of
Kentucky, 2005. Print.

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Self- Reflection
For Project 2, I found it significantly more difficult than Project 1. It is not that the project was
hard, it was just harder than the first work we did. It was difficult finding all ten sources. Having that
many sources, I think, is a bit much just because there are not that many sources on evolution on
country music. However, it helped me with my researching skills. I had to broaden my search by
looking up different keywords such as influences in country music, bluegrass, pop country, etc. I
have gotten better with researching and finding sources. The FSU library website has helped find all of
my articles and books that contributed to my paper. I think it was hard to find something surprising to
put in my paper. I was surprised with some of the information I came across when researching;
however, putting something surprising in my paper and coming to a conclusion that will surprise my
audience was hard because it is evident that country music has evolved overtime. What made it evolve,
I think, is the interesting part but I do not know if it can be considered surprising. That is one of the
hardest things I struggled with for Project 2. The easiest part of this project was writing the personal
aspect of it. I found myself enjoying it when I wrote about my personal experience. Researching was
not the most fun part, but I did find it interesting with the facts about country music and how it was
shaped. I still need to add the surprising aspect of it, as well as a few more sources in order to reach my
ten source minimum. I would like to add some more interesting facts and fix my thesis. Back to my
sources, they were very in depth and related to my topic. None of them strayed from what I was
researching. I think I can work on how I integrate my sources. I have a lot of quotes and some
embedded. I did not paraphrase or summarize as much as I want to, but when I add my last few sources
I can use those techniques in order to balance how I integrated them.

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In this whole research process, I learned a lot of new things. For example, I learned that Buck
Owens was an influential artist in shaping country music. I also learned that radio processors did not
know anything about country so the hip hop radio processors were transferred to be country radio
processors which contributed to the more pop sounding country music. All the research that I did and
the sources I found helped me narrow down my research question. At first I did not know exactly what
I wanted to research. I knew I wanted my paper to deal with the evolution of country music, but that is
a very broad topic, so as I did research, I found sources that lead to me look at specific movements and
icons that helped shape country music.
In Project 3, I am going to use the same argument that the war and Hippie Revolution had an
influence on the changing of country music, as well as Buck Owens. The genres that I will be using are
a picture, poem, and short screenplay. I think it will be difficult to find a way to make the information
that I presented in Project 2 also surprising in Project 3. I think this project will be more fun than the
last one; however, I think it will be harder because of the creativity that goes into it. I can easily write a
paper about this because I have written in that format many times before. Given the opportunity to use
different formats, I believe I will struggle more.