Whose Country? The Complicated Origins of Country Music, and Where It Might Be Headed
You’ve probably asked someone what their favorite kind of music is, which means it’s likely that you’ve received the answer “anything but country.” I know I’ve heard it quite a few times. Especially among young, urban, progressive people (like myself!), being a country music fan can raise something of a red flag because of the associations the genre carries today. It’s not just about pickup trucks and chivalry and beer, it’s about nationalism and an often threatening brand of masculinity. That hasn’t always been the case, though. There’s been a lot of conversation about the increasing polarization in our politics, but country music is a case of how that applies across our culture—down to what we like to listen to.
Country music shares its origins with blues, folk, Southern gospel, and spiritual music, genres that originated with black and/or working class Americans. These genres, blues and folk music especially, were often used to voice the struggles of marginalized individuals. Despite this influence of black culture and music on country, commercial decisions made by white industry executives have been excluding black artists for decades, and the genre has been incredibly segregated. Even now, the line between country music and blues music can feel blurry because the hard distinction between the two genres is the result of the industry’s early and continued attempts to establish country as a “white” genre, entirely separate from what they considered “race music.”
To improve this new product’s appeal to white audiences, executives marketed it as “the soundtrack of conservatism,” but it’s always been more diverse. As singer Ray Charles put it, “you take country music, you take black music, and you got the same goddamn thing.” The banjo, a staple of the genre, didn’t originate in the South or even in the United States, but is in fact a descendant of West African lutes. Virginia’s current state song is based on “Carry Me Back To Old Virginny,” a song by James A. Bland, a black man from New York. Gus Cannon, a black artist, influenced Johnny Cash’s guitar style, even though he isn’t the one that became a household name. Even more successful black country artists are often treated like outsiders by some fans. Darius Rucker, a current country artist and the frontman of popular rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, said in an interview that “Hate mail has been a part of my life. That’s just the way it is… People don’t want me singing country music. But I’ve never wanted to let anybody tell me what I can do.”
Despite the racism of the music industry and the fact that it was being sold as a white genre, country music in the 20th century was also home to activist sentiments. Even as it was marketed to conservatives, songs like “The Pill” by Loretta Lynn sang the praises of birth control, and “9-5” by Dolly Parton dealt with the difficulty of being a working woman. These songs, among others, were popular and expressed progressive ideas, although it was mainly white artists who were able to achieve mainstream success by voicing them. The face of the industry did not reflect its diverse influences, but there was still heterogeneity in the perspectives that made their way onto the radio. Even these more progressive voices, though, would soon be cut out of the mainstream, and nothing illustrates that change more than the impact 9/11 had on the genre.
Following the terrorist attacks in New York City, Americans everywhere embraced patriotism and nationalism in a new way. It was part of how people were attempting to heal from the tragedy, but was accompanied by xenophobia (especially towards Muslims) and jingoism. This shift in national attitudes was reflected in music—the radio was flooded with patriotic, even 9/11 inspired music, and those songs were the most prevalent on country music stations. Songs like “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” by Alan Jackson and “America Will Survive” by Hank Williams expressed sadness and resilience, while others took more of an aggressive stance. In “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (the Angry American),” Toby Keith sings, “This big dog will fight when you rattle his cage / And you’ll be sorry that you messed with the US of A / Cause we’ll put a boot in your ass / It’s the American way,” and in “This Ain’t No Rag, it’s a Flag,” Charlie Daniels sings “You wounded our American pride / And now we’re coming with a gun / And we know you’re gonna run / But you can’t find no place to hide / We’re gonna hunt you down like a mad dog hound / Make you pay for the lives you stole.” These songs mirrored the “America First” rhetoric popular then and got a lot of airtime, especially when they were angry and had militaristic undertones (or overtones).
In the following years, the genre became increasingly conservative and politicized—one of the most high-profile examples was the Dixie Chicks (their name at the time) being blacklisted across the industry for criticizing the Bush Administration and the Iraq war. Unlike during the pre-9/11 decades, there was no room in country for voices that weren’t “patriotic” or conservative enough.
This change was both bottom-up and top-down, coming from both music executives and from the general public. RJ Curtis, the executive director of Country Music Broadcasters, said of the shift: “It was a local decision on our part, but who really drove it was the listeners. They just could not get enough. They wanted more patriotic music. And if you’re a good program director, you listen to what your fans want and give them more of it.” The anger and nationalism of that period only served to further entrench the (largely white) conservatism of the genre. More recently, however, we’ve seen the beginnings of another shift in country.
In the past few years, country artists have pushed up against and critiqued the limitations and biases of the genre. There’s been increasing debate about the racialized boundaries between country music and other genres, probably best exemplified by the conversation around Lil Nas X’s hit song “Old Town Road.” The song was removed from Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, where it had reached 19th place and would likely have continued to climb, and put on the Hot Rap Songs chart after a week despite its success on the country chart. This sparked controversy, as critics argued that Lil Nas X’s race was the only thing that disqualified the song from its place on the chart. Furthermore, there’s been increasing conversation about the country industry’s rejection of people of color and progressive voices. The results of that conservation can be seen in the success of artists like Rihannon Giddens and Yola, along with Kacey Musgraves, whose song “Follow Your Arrow” bemoaned double standards and encouraged self expression.
The country music industry and listener base have a long way to go in terms of diversity of opinion and representation, but the face of the genre is slowly shifting. Understanding the roots of country music can also help rid people of (or add nuance to) their stereotypes about it. Moving both the idea and reality of country music away from homogenous white aggressive conservatism could make country belong to everyone, not just some Americans. Recognizing the history of the genre, along with how cultural and political realities have influenced it, may be a way to speed that change along.
Edited by Jennifer Morse, editor of Bird’s Eye View
Cover art by Daniela Brigatti