Country music

The country music , or country (formerly “country and western”) is an American music born in the the Appalachian Mountains at the 18th century and in the deep country, of the Texas until in Virginia-Western. Rhythmic or trailing, sentimental or moving, the country comes from the Celtic folk musics of the Anglo-Saxon immigrants. This music, with the Blues and the Rhythm and black blues, extremely contributed to the development of the Rock.

Songs country like I Can' T Stop Loving You , of Gift Gibson and popularized by Ray Charles, and Crazy that Willie Nelson wrote for the singer Patsy Cline, appear among most beautiful of the popular music of the the United States.

Although the country was décriée by certain French critics as being the preferred music of “preserving and white America”, it is actually a music whose origins are deeply métissées: one has to only think of the Yodel (so important for example in the music of Jimmy Rodgers), resulting from a small community Switzerland-allemande of the Appalachian Mountains, with the use of the mandoline (Italian), guitar hawaïenne, with loans with kinds like the hammer or the blues (one speaks often besides about the country like the " blues of the blancs"), etc One will see even certain black singers, like Ray Charles and Charley Pride, to adopt in all or partly this musical genre.

The country music, which has million admirors in the anglophone world, remains rather little known in France but is democratized more and more. The country is however popular in the rest of Europe, in particular in the Scandinavian countries and in Germany. Not very known in France although Mirande in Gers accommodates each year the 1st festival of country music of Europe with 160.000 visitors in 2006. One of its founders is not other than Mike Shannon singer of the famous group of the Wildcats of the Sixties. Always in the topicality of the song rock'n'roll and country it created the anthem of this festival " Dixie".

The seat of country is with Nashville, in the Tennessee. Large Ole Opry of Nashville is the center of representations for the artists of country. It was in particular the framework of an extremely popular radio program in the years 30-50, which was followed by million American. The scene of Austin in Texas was the reference mark of movement OUTLAW (out the law) of the artist of country dissenting in the Seventies: Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver…

The country includes/understands multiple variations: country rock'n'roll, country electric, Bluegrass, etc

In the middle of the years 1980 appears with Los Angeles a country-punk scene with the groups Jason and the Scorchers and Lone Justice.

During this time in Nashville, artists try to leave the music with the hands of the recording companies by proposing a return to the sources and form an alternate scene called alt-country . Among those, it is necessary to quote Steve Earle, BR5-49, The V-Roys.

Country is also one of the major influences of the popular movement Americana in the United States and in the United Kingdom with the beginning of the year 2000 with groups such as The Handsome Family, Ryan Adams, Uncle Tupelo, Giant Sand, Lucinda Williams.

Artists of country

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Groups of country

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