Anything But Country Music?

Pictured Above: The Great Hank Williams Sr

From my childhood through my college years I would ask friends and new acquaintances what music they enjoyed. The majority would answer "anything but country!" The underlying (and bigoted) assumption was that country music was for "hicks" and "rednecks." Until recently I shared these sentiments, but increasingly I have grown to love classical country, blue grass and folk music, which is musically and emotionally rich and lyrically down to earth. For my skeptical friends, I recommend that you check out Johnny Cash, Steve Earle, Patsy Montana, Hank Williams Sr, Bill Monroe, Lefty Frizzell, Clarence Ashley and Conway Twitty, just to name a few. And to my international readers, you will see that American Musical Culture has far more to offer than vulgar, corporate produced rock and rap, we have a rich and diverse tradition of folk music. Enjoy!