Country rock
Encyclopedia
Country rock is sub-genre of popular music
, formed from the fusion of rock
with country
. The term is generally used to refer to the wave of rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s, beginning with Bob Dylan
and The Byrds
; reaching its greatest popularity in the 1970s with artists like Emmylou Harris
and the Eagles.
Jim Messina
of Poco
stated, "So we tried the combination of putting country music, which was our roots, and rock 'n' roll together to try to form something new."
with country music, a fusion particularly evident in 1950s rockabilly
, and there has been cross-pollination throughout the history of both genres, however, the term country-rock is generally used to refer to the wave of rock musicians of the late 1960s and early 1970s who began to record rock records using country themes, vocal styles and additional instrumentation, most characteristically pedal steel guitar
.
album (1964) (including "I'll Cry Instead
", "Baby's in Black
" and "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party
"), on the Rolling Stones "High and Dry" (1966), as well as Buffalo Springfield
's "Go and Say Goodbye" (1966) and "Kind Woman" (1968). In 1966, as many rock artists moved increasingly towards expansive and experimental psychedelia, Bob Dylan spearheaded the back-to-basics roots revival
when he went to Nashville to record the album Blonde on Blonde
, using notable local musicians like Charlie McCoy
. This, and the subsequent more clearly country-influenced albums, John Wesley Harding
(1967) and Nashville Skyline
(1969), have been seen as creating the genre of country folk
, a route pursued by a number of, largely acoustic, folk musicians. Dylan's lead was also followed by The Byrds, who were joined by Gram Parsons
in 1968. Earlier in the year Parsons had released Safe at Home
(although the principal recording for the album had taken place in mid-1967) with the International Submarine Band
, which made extensive use of pedal steel and is seen by some as the first true country-rock album. The result of Parsons' brief tenure in the Byrds was Sweetheart of the Rodeo
(1968), generally considered one of the finest and most influential recordings in the genre. The Byrds continued for a brief period in the same vein, but Parsons left soon after the album was released to be joined by another ex-Byrds member Chris Hillman
in forming The Flying Burrito Brothers
. Over the next two years they recorded the albums The Gilded Palace of Sin
(1969) and Burrito Deluxe
(1970), which helped establish the respectability and parameters of the genre, before Parsons departed to pursue a solo career.
(formed by Richie Furay
, formerly of the Buffalo Springfield) and New Riders of the Purple Sage
. Some folk-rockers followed the Byrds into the genre, among them the Beau Brummels and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
. A number of performers also enjoyed a renaissance by adopting country sounds, including: the Everly Brothers, whose Roots album (1968) is usually considered some of their finest work; former teen idol
Rick Nelson who became the frontman for the Stone Canyon Band; John Fogerty
, who left Creedence Clearwater Revival
behind for the country sounds of The Blue Ridge Rangers
; Mike Nesmith who formed the First National Band
after this departure from the Monkees; and Neil Young
who moved in and out of the genre throughout his career. One of the few acts to successfully move from the country side towards rock were the bluegrass
band The Dillards
.
The greatest commercial success for country rock came in the 1970s, with the Doobie Brothers mixing in elements of R&B, Emmylou Harris
(a former backing singer for Parsons) becoming the "Queen of country-rock" and Linda Ronstadt
creating a highly successful pop-oriented brand of the genre. Pure Prairie League
, formed in Ohio by Craig Fuller
, had both critical and commercial success with 5 straight Top 40 LP releases, including Bustin' Out
(1972), acclaimed by Allmusic critic Richard Foss as "an album that is unequaled in country-rock" and Two Lane Highway
, described by Rolling Stone Magazine as "a worthy companion to the likes of The Byrds' Sweetheart Of The Rodeo and other gems of the genre". Former members of Ronstadt's backing band went on to form the Eagles (made up of members of the Flying Burrito Brothers, Poco and Stone Canyon Band), who emerged as one of the most successful rock acts of all time, producing albums that included Desperado (1973) and Hotel California (1976).
, Grateful Dead
, Creedence Clearwater Revival
, The Rolling Stones and George Harrison
's solo work. It also played a part in the development of Southern rock
, which, although largely derived from blues-rock
, had a distinct southern lilt, and it paved the way for parts of the alternative country
movement. The genre declined in popularity in the late 1970s, but some established artists, including Neil Young, have continued to record country-tinged rock into the twenty-first century. Country rock has survived as a cult force in Texas, where acts including The Flatlanders
, Joe Ely
, Butch Hancock
, Jimmy Dale Gilmore and California-based Richard Brooker
, have collaborated and recorded. Other performers have produced occasional recordings in the genre, including Elvis Costello
's Almost Blue
(1981) and the Robert Plant
and Alison Krauss
collaboration Raising Sand
, which was one of the most commercially successful albums of 2007.
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
, formed from the fusion of rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
with country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
. The term is generally used to refer to the wave of rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s, beginning with Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
and The Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
; reaching its greatest popularity in the 1970s with artists like Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
and the Eagles.
Jim Messina
Jim Messina
Jim Messina is an American musician, songwriter, singer, recording engineer, and record producer...
of Poco
Poco
Poco is an Southern California country rock band originally formed by Richie Furay and Jim Messina following the demise of Buffalo Springfield in 1968. The title of their first album, Pickin' Up the Pieces, is a reference to the break-up of Buffalo Springfield. Highly influential and creative,...
stated, "So we tried the combination of putting country music, which was our roots, and rock 'n' roll together to try to form something new."
History
Rock and roll has often been seen as a combination of rhythm and bluesRhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
with country music, a fusion particularly evident in 1950s rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
, and there has been cross-pollination throughout the history of both genres, however, the term country-rock is generally used to refer to the wave of rock musicians of the late 1960s and early 1970s who began to record rock records using country themes, vocal styles and additional instrumentation, most characteristically pedal steel guitar
Pedal steel guitar
The pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...
.
Origins
Country influences can be heard on rock records through the 1960s, including tracks on the Beatles for SaleBeatles for Sale
Beatles for Sale is the fourth studio album by the English rock band The Beatles, released in late 1964 and produced by George Martin for Parlophone. The album marked a minor turning point in the evolution of Lennon and McCartney as lyricists, John Lennon particularly now showing interest in...
album (1964) (including "I'll Cry Instead
I'll Cry Instead
"I'll Cry Instead" is a John Lennon composition credited to Lennon–McCartney, and recorded by The Beatles for the soundtrack to their film A Hard Day's Night.-Background:Lennon wrote the song for the "break-out" sequence in the film...
", "Baby's in Black
Baby's in Black
"Baby's in Black" is a song by The Beatles, co-written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and released in the United Kingdom on Beatles for Sale and in North America on Beatles '65.-Composition:...
" and "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party
I Don't Want to Spoil the Party
"I Don't Want to Spoil the Party" is a song by The Beatles, written primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released on the album Beatles for Sale in the United Kingdom in 1964. In the United States, Capitol released the song on the Beatles VI album and also as the B-side...
"), on the Rolling Stones "High and Dry" (1966), as well as Buffalo Springfield
Buffalo Springfield
Buffalo Springfield is a North American folk rock band renown both for its music and as a springboard for the careers of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and Jim Messina. Among the first wave of North American bands to become popular in the wake of the British invasion, the group combined...
's "Go and Say Goodbye" (1966) and "Kind Woman" (1968). In 1966, as many rock artists moved increasingly towards expansive and experimental psychedelia, Bob Dylan spearheaded the back-to-basics roots revival
Roots revival
A roots revival is a trend which includes young performers popularizing the traditional musical styles of their ancestors. Often, roots revivals include an addition of newly-composed songs with socially and politically aware lyrics, as well as a general modernization of the folk sound.After an...
when he went to Nashville to record the album Blonde on Blonde
Blonde on Blonde
Blonde on Blonde is American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's seventh studio album, released in May or June 1966 on Columbia Records and produced by Bob Johnston. Recording sessions commenced in New York in October 1965, with a plethora of backing musicians, including members of Dylan's live backing...
, using notable local musicians like Charlie McCoy
Charlie McCoy
Charles "Charlie" Ray McCoy is an American musician noted for his harmonica playing. In his career, McCoy has backed several notable musicians including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Tom Astor, Elvis Presley and Ween. He has also recorded thirty-seven studio albums, including fourteen for Monument Records...
. This, and the subsequent more clearly country-influenced albums, John Wesley Harding
John Wesley Harding (album)
John Wesley Harding is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's eighth studio album, released by Columbia Records in December 1967.Produced by Bob Johnston, the album marked Dylan's return to acoustic music and traditional roots, after three albums of electric rock music...
(1967) and Nashville Skyline
Nashville Skyline
Nashville Skyline is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's ninth studio album, released by Columbia Records in April 1969.The album marked a dramatic departure for Dylan, previously known for his groundbreaking, poetic folk music and rock and roll...
(1969), have been seen as creating the genre of country folk
Country folk
Country folk is a hybrid sub-genre of country and folk music closely associated with the singer-songwriter and folk rock sub-genres. It is generally characterized as a component of the progressive country style and has its roots in the recordings of folk artist Bob Dylan.-Style:Country folk has...
, a route pursued by a number of, largely acoustic, folk musicians. Dylan's lead was also followed by The Byrds, who were joined by Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...
in 1968. Earlier in the year Parsons had released Safe at Home
Safe at Home
Safe at Home was the 1968 album by The International Submarine Band, led by the 21-year-old Gram Parsons. Featuring four of Parsons' originals surrounded by six covers of classic country and rock and roll music, it helped to forge the country rock movement of the late 1960s and early...
(although the principal recording for the album had taken place in mid-1967) with the International Submarine Band
International submarine band
The International Submarine Band was formed by country rock pioneer Gram Parsons while a theology student at Harvard University and John Nuese, a guitar player for local rock group, The Trolls. Nuese is largely credited with having persuaded Parsons to pursue the country-rock sound he would later...
, which made extensive use of pedal steel and is seen by some as the first true country-rock album. The result of Parsons' brief tenure in the Byrds was Sweetheart of the Rodeo
Sweetheart of the Rodeo
Sweetheart of the Rodeo is the sixth album by American rock band The Byrds and was released on August 30, 1968 on Columbia Records...
(1968), generally considered one of the finest and most influential recordings in the genre. The Byrds continued for a brief period in the same vein, but Parsons left soon after the album was released to be joined by another ex-Byrds member Chris Hillman
Chris Hillman
Christopher Hillman was one of the original members of The Byrds which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, and Michael Clarke....
in forming The Flying Burrito Brothers
The Flying Burrito Brothers
The Flying Burrito Brothers was an early country rock band, best known for its influential debut album,The Gilded Palace of Sin . Although the group is most often mentioned in connection with country rock legends Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman, the group underwent many personnel changes.-Original...
. Over the next two years they recorded the albums The Gilded Palace of Sin
The Gilded Palace of Sin
The Gilded Palace of Sin is an album by the country rock group The Flying Burrito Brothers, released in 1969. It continued Gram Parsons' and Chris Hillman's pioneering work in modern country music, fusing traditional sources like folk and country with other forms of popular music like gospel, soul,...
(1969) and Burrito Deluxe
Burrito Deluxe
Burrito Deluxe is the second album by the country rock group The Flying Burrito Brothers, released in 1970. In between The Gilded Palace of Sin and Burrito Deluxe, the band underwent some personnel changes. Bassist Chris Ethridge left the band out of frustration at the band's lack of success...
(1970), which helped establish the respectability and parameters of the genre, before Parsons departed to pursue a solo career.
Peak
Country rock was a particularly popular style in the California music scene of the late 1960s, and was adopted by bands including Hearts and Flowers, PocoPoco
Poco is an Southern California country rock band originally formed by Richie Furay and Jim Messina following the demise of Buffalo Springfield in 1968. The title of their first album, Pickin' Up the Pieces, is a reference to the break-up of Buffalo Springfield. Highly influential and creative,...
(formed by Richie Furay
Richie Furay
Richie Furay is an American singer, songwriter, and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member who is best known for forming the bands Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Bruce Palmer, and Dewey Martin, and Poco with Jim Messina, Rusty Young, George Grantham and Randy Meisner...
, formerly of the Buffalo Springfield) and New Riders of the Purple Sage
New Riders of the Purple Sage
New Riders of the Purple Sage is an American country rock band. The group emerged from the psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco, California in 1969, and its original lineup included several members of the Grateful Dead. Their best known song is "Panama Red"...
. Some folk-rockers followed the Byrds into the genre, among them the Beau Brummels and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is an American country-folk-rock band that has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California in 1966. The group's membership has had at least a dozen changes over the years, including a period from 1976 to 1981 when the band performed and recorded...
. A number of performers also enjoyed a renaissance by adopting country sounds, including: the Everly Brothers, whose Roots album (1968) is usually considered some of their finest work; former teen idol
Teen idol
A teen idol is a celebrity who is widely idolized by teenagers; he or she is often young but not necessarily teenaged. Often teen idols are actors or pop singers, but some sports figures have an appeal to teenagers. Some teen idols began their careers as child actors...
Rick Nelson who became the frontman for the Stone Canyon Band; John Fogerty
John Fogerty
John Cameron Fogerty is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his time with the swamp rock/roots rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival and as a #1 solo recording artist. Fogerty has a rare distinction of being named on Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest...
, who left Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival was an American rock band that gained popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a number of successful singles drawn from various albums....
behind for the country sounds of The Blue Ridge Rangers
The Blue Ridge Rangers
The Blue Ridge Rangers is the first solo album by John Fogerty, the former lead singer and lead guitarist of Creedence Clearwater Revival....
; Mike Nesmith who formed the First National Band
First National Band
The First National Band was a short-lived American collaborative band, led by former Monkee Michael Nesmith, which issued three albums in the country rock genre in 1970–1971.-Pre-First National Band:...
after this departure from the Monkees; and Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
who moved in and out of the genre throughout his career. One of the few acts to successfully move from the country side towards rock were the bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
band The Dillards
The Dillards
The Dillards are an American bluegrass band from Salem, Missouri, consisting of Douglas Flint "Doug" Dillard The Dillards are an American bluegrass band from Salem, Missouri, consisting of Douglas Flint "Doug" Dillard The Dillards are an American bluegrass band from Salem, Missouri, consisting of...
.
The greatest commercial success for country rock came in the 1970s, with the Doobie Brothers mixing in elements of R&B, Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
(a former backing singer for Parsons) becoming the "Queen of country-rock" and Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
creating a highly successful pop-oriented brand of the genre. Pure Prairie League
Pure Prairie League
Pure Prairie League, sometimes abbreviated PPL, is an American country-rock band whose roots began between 1964 and 1969 in Waverly, Ohio with Craig Fuller, George Powell, Tom McGrail, Jim Caughlan and John David Call. In 1970 McGrail named the band after a 19th century temperance union mentioned...
, formed in Ohio by Craig Fuller
Craig Fuller
Craig Fuller is an American musician and songwriter. Co-founder of Pure Prairie League, along with John David Call and George Ed Powell. Fuller departed after their second album, Bustin' Out, due to draft board problems. He returned to the music business in 1976 for two LPs with American Flyer...
, had both critical and commercial success with 5 straight Top 40 LP releases, including Bustin' Out
Bustin' Out
Bustin' Out is the second album by American country rock band Pure Prairie League, released in 1972 . It features the hit song "Amie," which is segued into by "Falling In and Out of Love" ....
(1972), acclaimed by Allmusic critic Richard Foss as "an album that is unequaled in country-rock" and Two Lane Highway
Two Lane Highway
Two Lane Highway is the third album by American country rock band Pure Prairie League, released in 1975 . It features the song "Kansas City Southern," released on Rounder Records "Freight Train Blues: Classic Railroad Songs Vol...
, described by Rolling Stone Magazine as "a worthy companion to the likes of The Byrds' Sweetheart Of The Rodeo and other gems of the genre". Former members of Ronstadt's backing band went on to form the Eagles (made up of members of the Flying Burrito Brothers, Poco and Stone Canyon Band), who emerged as one of the most successful rock acts of all time, producing albums that included Desperado (1973) and Hotel California (1976).
Legacy
Outside of these handful of stars, country rock's greatest significance was as an influence on artists in other genres, including The BandThe Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
, Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
, Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival was an American rock band that gained popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a number of successful singles drawn from various albums....
, The Rolling Stones and George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
's solo work. It also played a part in the development of Southern rock
Southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music, and genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitar and vocals...
, which, although largely derived from blues-rock
Blues-rock
Blues rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, piano, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a...
, had a distinct southern lilt, and it paved the way for parts of the alternative country
Alternative country
Alternative country is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music...
movement. The genre declined in popularity in the late 1970s, but some established artists, including Neil Young, have continued to record country-tinged rock into the twenty-first century. Country rock has survived as a cult force in Texas, where acts including The Flatlanders
The Flatlanders
The Flatlanders are a country band with considerable country rock influence from Lubbock, Texas founded by singers/songwriters/guitarists Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely, and Butch Hancock....
, Joe Ely
Joe Ely
Joe Ely is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist whose music touches on honky-tonk, Texas Country, Tex-Mex and rock and roll....
, Butch Hancock
Butch Hancock
Butch Hancock is a country/folk music recording artist and song writer. He was born July 12, 1945 in Lubbock, Texas. Hancock is a member of The Flatlanders along with Joe Ely and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, but he has principally performed a solo career....
, Jimmy Dale Gilmore and California-based Richard Brooker
Richard Brooker
Richard Brooker is an English stuntman, perhaps best known for his role in Friday the 13th Part III as Jason Voorhees.-Career:Brooker, a former trapeze artist from England, started his career in acting in a casting magazine, "Dramalogue"...
, have collaborated and recorded. Other performers have produced occasional recordings in the genre, including Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
's Almost Blue
Almost Blue
Almost Blue is an album by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. It was recorded May 1981 in Nashville, and released on 23 October 1981. The record's songs consist entirely of country covers, including works originally written by Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, George Jones and Gram Parsons...
(1981) and the Robert Plant
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
and Alison Krauss
Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in...
collaboration Raising Sand
Raising Sand
Raising Sand is a collaboration album by rock singer Robert Plant and bluegrass-country singer Alison Krauss. It was released on October 23, 2007 by Rounder Records...
, which was one of the most commercially successful albums of 2007.