Your Take: Are Genre Jumpers Ruining Country Music?
Country Music Across America has an article titled “Actors, Pop Stars find a ‘home’ in Country” in which they discuss why it is pop stars and rockers feel the need to enter the country genre. The article argues that it’s been going on since the early 1900’s.
In the early 1900’s a gentleman by the name of Vernon Dalhart carved a niche in what would become Country Music by blending acoustic banjo, mandolin and ‘mountain’ sounds into his songs. Some historians call him the first Pop-Country Star.
Flash forward to the new millennium - Numerous rockers including Jon Bon Jovi and Bret Michaels have followed Vernon’s lead. Richard Marx and Kenny Loggins have dabbled in the creative crockpot of Nashville. So have have a slew of singer-songwriters- Jewel, Michelle Branch, Bruce Springsteen. There’s a long list of others.
Why did - and do - these artists feel the need to branch out to Nashville?
The answer is simple.
Nashville reveals musical stories. Stories reveal life. Life reveals stories. Stories reveal life…..the cycle continues.
There are numerous reasons that pop artists and rockers could be switching to country: country doesn’t sound like country anymore, to reach a broader audience thus bringing in more money, or some of their musical influences growing up were country artists. I don’t know why so many are switching over today, or whether the number of crossover artists is drastically different from 10, 20, or 30 years ago, but could all these genre jumpers be the reason that country is losing its identity in the mainstream consciousness? The article goes on to explain what will happen if the trend continues:
In recent years, Nashville record label executives have chased the hip-hop beats and ‘catchy’ pop sounds in an effort to expand Country’s audience. This, just as more and more pop and rock artists are flocking to Music City in an effort to regain their storytelling roots.
Nashville and Pop/Rock Music……two ships passing in the night.
I hope someone sends up a signal flare soon. If not, Country will continue to become more pop/rock and pop/rock will be the new Country.
Instead of chasing the “hot” sounds, Music Row execs need to remember the gold in their vault. Other genres are coming to Nashville to absorb the musical magic that created it. If Nashville continues to chase L.A. and New York’s sounds…..what do we have?
What’s your take on crossover artists? Should fans embrace them or reject them, and are there any extenuating circumstances? Do you feel like they’re pandering to multiple audiences?
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February 15, 2007 at 10:53 am Permalink
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February 15, 2007 at 4:31 pm Permalink
I don’t think that genre hopping is necessarily a problem. True, I hated Bon Jovi’s single and other recent examples of genre hopping, but what if that single had never been released? More spins for the latest Rascal Flatts cut? There are many examples of succesful genre hopping in the history of country music (Ray Charles comes to mind) but historically those artists actually had to make country albums. Nowadays, when mainstream country radio is saturated with music that isn’t particularly country, it makes it easy for pop-rock acts like Bon Jovi to make minor modifications to what they’ve been doing for years, call it country and gain access to music’s largest genre. Genre-hopping isn’t the problem with country radio today, it’s a symptom.
That having been said, I run hot and cold on the genre hopping projects. I think Bon Jovi’s country album is going to be a pandering insult, whereas I am looking forward to Jewel’s project. There are too many examples on country radio today of music that not only isn’t country but isn’t any good. At this point, I’d settle for more country-influenced quality music on country radio, even if if means sacrificing crying fiddles and twangy vocals.
February 15, 2007 at 5:30 pm Permalink
I agree with your assessment that it’s easier to cross over today because the sounds of the two genres aren’t as different as they used to be. The jumping back in forth between genres has been going on forever, you mentioned Ray Charles, another that comes to mind is Conway Twitty. But even he had to pay his dues, he wasn’t immediately accepted by country fans or country radio.
It would probably be too hard to even change the sound of today’s country music back to more traditional sounds since the ball has already been set in motion and the line having already become increasingly blurred.
So should fans of traditional country sounds do like Jack Ingram mentioned in one of his interviews, listen to the old stuff if that’s what you like and not pay attention to the newer stuff?
“My impression is that it’s just not comparable to what it used to be. It never will be. It’s never going to be as segregated … as it was, maybe, back in the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s. So people who yearn for that can just listen to those records, because you’re not going to find too many artists these days sounding retro. Country music, for me, has always been America’s music. Right now, more than ever, it’s a product of its influences.”
February 15, 2007 at 10:30 pm Permalink
Anybody that has listened to Jewel’s music for a long while already know she’s been heavily influenced by Country music since breaking onto the music scene in the 1990’s. Jewel was raised on a ranch with a father that sang country music. Songs like Angel and others are basically country songs. She plays an acoustic guitar and she has been riding horses since she was a child. I’d say Jewel is more country than most of Nashville.
February 16, 2007 at 9:47 am Permalink
I think one should look back to Country’s past to best examine this question. 25 years ago - The Eagles and Gordon Lightfoot may have been considered pop or rock, but now they fit in on country radio better then current country artists even do! John Mellencamp is another of these artists who’s songs are genuinely country, falling often on the Americana or Folk-Rock side of things. Both being subgenres of country.
The truth is the aforementioned artists are MORE country then a lot of so called “country” artists currently on radio. Rascal Flatts and Faith Hill are perhaps the furthest thing from country music as it gets. That they’re even classified as such is baffling.
Meanwhile the genre has 3 deeply artistic and satisfying sub-genres in Folk-Rock, Americana and Texas Country that have still yet to be truly tapped. There is no reason Cross Canadian Ragweed shouldn’t be played on Top40 Country radio………or even the band Eels.
There will be many who will give the cliched “country is something different to everyone” but this is a gross misjudgement. A genre of music is such due to the instruments, song styling and historical evolution that brought it to be. Understanding this, we can better know what to expect from the future of country music.
February 16, 2007 at 10:41 am Permalink
I agree with Taylor about the Eagles. I used to listen to them as a rock-n’-roll loving hippy. If they were just starting out now, would they just be considered country? Maybe. Now I listen to them as an aging-hippy who loves country, and rock n’ roll.
I guess I don’t mind genre jumping, if the artists are talented! Of course, I am a Willie Nelson fan, and I can’t think of a style of music he hasn’t sung. But after 50 years in the music industry, I guess he can play whatever he wants and enjoy himself.
There can’t be anything more country than ‘Crazy’, sung by Patsy Cline or Willie or anyone. But as you know, Willie loves to play Jazz (just did a show with Wynton Marsalis in NYC last month), he did that reggae album, with Toots Hibbing, Nightlife is one of the greatest blues songs ever, imho, and the Stardust album of classics was on the charts for a long time.
So, maybe it’s my age, but I don’t mind hearing artists dabble in other genres. I’ve lived too long to be a purist about anything. I love the CMT Crossroads shows for that reason. Cheryl Crow and Willie was my favorite pairing, but I have enjoyed them all.
February 16, 2007 at 11:55 am Permalink
The truth is so called “crossover artists” have been a part of country music for decades. The newest “Genre Jumpers” are nothing new. Besides the people mentioned so far you should also consider artists like Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, The Grateful Dead, Neil Young, and plenty more. The lines between Country and Rock have been blurred for decades.
The country music of today bears little resemblance to early country music including cowboy singers, bluegrass, and “mountain music”. Once country music adopted the electric guitar as it’s standard it became more like rock music than traditional country music. For every country artist that pays “traditional country” there is a dozen that sound just like a rock bands. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
In particular as a fan of Jewel I’m looking forward to Jewel finally releasing a whole album of country music instead of a song here and there. IMHO her voice lends itself nicely to country music.
February 16, 2007 at 12:41 pm Permalink
Taylor: Cross Canadian Ragweed is more country than Faith Hill? Wow, we have different ears. Maybe if you compare the “Breathe” album to the most country thing CCR has done, but taking their careers as a whole I disagree with your assessment.
And just because the Eagles wouldn’t sound out of place on country radio today doesn’t make them a country group. Same with Mellencamp and others. The Eagles charted only one country song during their recording career and that many young artists confuse them with actual country acts is among the reasons why country radio has swung the way it has. If John Mellencamp doesn’t have anything better to offer the genre than the pandering “This is Our Country,” I’d ask that he stay away from country radio.
The consensus seems to be that we’re not concerned with strict and often arbitrary genre boundary lines as far as quality crossover music is concerned. I agree. Indeed, there is a rich history of excellent pop-country (and country-pop) crossovers and, in retrospect we can identify many non-country artists who have had a significant influence upon the genre. However, there’s no need to rewrite the past to suit the present. Ray Charles made an excellent country album but was not a country artist. The Eagles may sound more country than Rascal Flatts but they certainly didn’t get any airplay alongside the country greats of the 70’s.
February 17, 2007 at 9:57 am Permalink
Country music cross-genre-dressing is like any other cultural mutation. It either is a benefit (Springsteen, Mike Ness, Van Morrison, Solomon Burke, Lynyrd Skynyrd…) or it’s a detriment (The Wreckers, Jewel, 99% of Nashville product..), and sometimes it’s a wash (Eagles). Jumping genres isn’t inherently bad, but the results often are.
April 22, 2008 at 12:09 am Permalink
A lot of genre jumpers are older artists in genres that are not that far removed from country. Bon Jovi and Jewel do not have far to go to be country. Neither does Mellencamp.
One problem I have with country music is it’s love for anyone from outside country music who wants to show it some attentionl. Hannah montanna hosting CMT awards? Snoop dogg presenting? Whatever.
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