Editing Country music (section)

==Generations==
The first generation emerged in the 1920s, with [[Country music in Atlanta|Atlanta's music scene]] playing a major role in launching country's earliest recording artists. [[Gid Tanner|James Gideon "Gid" Tanner]] (1885–1960) was an American old-time fiddler and one of the earliest stars of what would come to be known as country music. His band, the [[Skillet Lickers]], was one of the most [[Innovation|innovative]] and influential string bands of the 1920s and 1930s. Its most notable members were [[Clayton McMichen]] (fiddle and vocal), [[Dan Hornsby]] (vocals), [[Riley Puckett]] (guitar and vocal) and Robert Lee Sweat (guitar). New York City record label [[Okeh Records]] began issuing hillbilly music records by [[Fiddlin' John Carson]] as early as 1923, followed by [[Columbia Records]] (series 15000D "Old Familiar Tunes") ([[Samantha Bumgarner]]) in 1924, and [[RCA Victor Records]] in 1927 with the first famous pioneers of the genre [[Jimmie Rodgers (country singer)|Jimmie Rodgers]], who is widely considered the "Father of Country Music", and the first family of country music the [[Carter Family]].<ref name="78discography.com">[http://www.78discography.com/COL15000D.htm 78discography.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100917050611/http://78discography.com/COL15000D.htm |date=September 17, 2010 }} ''The Online Discography Project''.</ref> Many "hillbilly" musicians recorded blues songs throughout the 1920s.<ref name="Russell 14, 15, 25, 31, 45, 59, 73, 107, 157, 161, 165, 167, 225">{{cite book| last = Russell| first = Tony| title = Country Music Originals: The Legends and the Lost| date = November 15, 2007| publisher = Oxford University Press, USA| isbn = 978-0-19-532509-6| pages = [https://archive.org/details/countrymusicorig00russ/page/14 14, 15, 25, 31, 45, 59, 73, 107, 157, 161, 165, 167, 225]| url = https://archive.org/details/countrymusicorig00russ/page/14}}</ref>

During the second generation (1930s–1940s), radio became a popular source of entertainment, and "barn dance" shows featuring country music were started all over the South, as far north as Chicago, and as far west as California. The most important was the ''[[Grand Ole Opry]]'', aired starting in 1925 by [[WSM (AM)|WSM]] in [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]] and continuing to the present day. During the 1930s and 1940s, cowboy songs, or western music, which had been recorded since the 1920s, were popularized by films made in Hollywood, many featuring [[Gene Autry]], who was known as king of the "singing cowboys," along with [[Hank Williams]]. [[Bob Wills]] was another country musician from the Lower [[Great Plains]] who had become very popular as the leader of a "[[Dixieland|hot]] [[string band]]," and who also appeared in [[Western (genre)|Hollywood westerns]]. His mix of country and [[jazz]], which started out as dance hall music, would become known as [[western swing]]. Wills was one of the first country musicians known to have added an electric guitar to his band, in 1938.<ref name="Takecountryback.com">[http://takecountryback.com/reviews/merlebobwills.htm Takecountryback.com], Merle Haggard – Bob Wills {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513085028/http://takecountryback.com/reviews/merlebobwills.htm |date=May 13, 2008 }}</ref> Country musicians began recording [[boogie-woogie|boogie]] in 1939, shortly after it had been played at [[Carnegie Hall]], when [[Johnny Barfield]] recorded "Boogie Woogie".

The third generation (1950s–1960s) started at the end of [[World War II]] with "mountaineer" string band music known as [[Bluegrass music|bluegrass]], which emerged when [[Bill Monroe]], along with [[Lester Flatt]] and [[Earl Scruggs]], were introduced by [[Roy Acuff]] at the Grand Ole Opry. [[Gospel music]] remained a popular component of country music. The [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]], Hispano, and [[American frontier]] music of the [[Southwestern United States]] and [[Northern Mexico]], became popular among poor communities in [[New Mexico]], [[Oklahoma]], and [[Texas]]; the basic ensemble consisted of [[classical guitar]], [[bass guitar]], [[dobro]] or steel guitar, though some larger ensembles featured [[electric guitar]]s, [[trumpet]]s, [[Keyboard instrument|keyboard]]s (especially the honky-tonk piano, a type of [[tack piano]]), [[banjo]]s, and [[drum]]s. By the early 1950s it blended with [[rock and roll]], becoming the [[rockabilly]] sound produced by [[Sam Phillips]], [[Norman Petty]], and [[Bob Keane]]. Musicians like [[Elvis Presley]], [[Buddy Holly]], [[Jerry Lee Lewis]], [[Ritchie Valens]], [[Carl Perkins]], [[Roy Orbison]], and [[Johnny Cash]] emerged as enduring representatives of the style. Beginning in the mid-1950s, and reaching its peak during the early 1960s, the [[Nashville sound]] turned country music into a multimillion-dollar industry centered in [[Nashville, Tennessee]]; [[Patsy Cline]] and [[Jim Reeves]] were two of the most broadly popular Nashville sound artists, and their deaths in separate plane crashes in the early 1960s were a factor in the genre's decline. Starting in the 1950s to the mid-1960s, western singer-songwriters such as [[Marty Robbins]] rose in prominence as did others, throughout western music traditions, like [[New Mexico music]]'s [[Al Hurricane]]. The late 1960s in American music produced a unique blend as a result of traditionalist backlash within separate genres. In the aftermath of the [[British Invasion]], many desired a return to the "old values" of rock n' roll. At the same time there was a lack of [[enthusiasm]] in the country sector for Nashville-produced music. What resulted was a crossbred genre known as [[country rock]].

Fourth generation (1970s–1980s) music included [[outlaw country]] with roots in the [[Bakersfield sound]], and [[country pop]] with roots in the [[Nashville sound|countrypolitan]], folk music and [[soft rock]]. Between 1972 and 1975 singer/guitarist [[John Denver]] released a series of hugely successful songs blending country and folk-rock musical styles. By the mid-1970s, [[Texas country music|Texas country]] and [[Tejano music]] gained popularity with performers like [[Freddie Fender]]. During the early 1980s country artists continued to see their records perform well on the pop charts. In 1980 a style of "neocountry disco music" was popularized. During the mid-1980s a group of new artists began to emerge who rejected the more polished country-pop sound that had been prominent on radio and the charts in favor of more traditional "back-to-basics" production.

During the fifth generation (the 1990s), [[Neotraditional country|neotraditionalists]] and [[stadium rock|stadium country]] acts prospered.

The sixth generation (2000s–present) has seen a certain amount of diversification in regard to country music styles. It has also, however, seen a shift into patriotism and conservative politics since [[September 11 attacks|9/11]], though such themes are less prevalent in more modern trends.<ref name="Hudak, Yahoo">{{cite web |last1=Hudak |first1=Joseph |title=Country Music Embraced Jingoism after 9/11. It's Finally Moving On. |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/country-music-embraced-jingoism-9-192545801.html |website=Yahoo! Entertainment |publisher=Yahoo! |access-date=September 13, 2021 |archive-date=September 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210912165416/https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/country-music-embraced-jingoism-9-192545801.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The influence of [[rock music]] in country has become more overt during the late 2000s and early 2010s. Most of the best-selling country songs of this era were those by [[Lady A]], [[Florida Georgia Line]], [[Carrie Underwood]], and [[Taylor Swift]].<ref name="best-selling" /> [[Hip hop music|Hip hop]] also made its mark on country music with the emergence of [[country rap]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/country/despite-hits-no-radio-love-yet-for-country-rap-6150280/ |title=Despite Hits, No Radio Love Yet For Country Rap |agency= Associated Press |magazine=Billboard |date= July 5, 2014|access-date=February 15, 2023}}</ref>