Country of the 1990’s

In the nineteen twenties, the earliest form of country music descended from the folk music genre. This musical movement took form as Appalachian string bands that consisted of mainly banjos, fiddles and guitars. The drums were added into the instrumentation by the nineteen sixties (Country Music). Since the twenties, country music, like all genres of music, has gone through many changes to reach the sound we hear today. However the nineties was perhaps the biggest decade of change for country music. With big names like Garth Brooks, Brooks and Dunn, and Shania Twain, the sound of country music was forever altered. The changes in country music cannot be attributed solely to the artists of the decade but the people of the time period. In order to understand the country music sound of the nineties, it is essential to understand what country music was like before the nineties came around.
By the early nineteen sixties, country music had begun to make a name for itself. With the Vietnam War raging, country music took on a very patriotic sound. Lyrics revolved around fighting for our freedom and supporting the war. Anti-war protestors were shunned during the sixties and country music was the people’s way of expressing the disdain they felt toward protesters (Limeberry 35-38). Pro-war was the major stance of Americans during the nineteen sixties and according to Louise Witt, country was dominated by the “manly man” artists (2). The patriotic theme of the sixties continued until the late seventies until the end of the Vietnam War.
In the years after Vietnam, country music was forced to join the new trend of what Limeberry calls escapism. People were weary of causes and just wanted to hear music without politics. The late seventies and eighties are perhaps the greatest contributing factor to the country sound we hear today. Country music began to form love stories or fantasizing about a time when life was easier; a time when “Americans waved the flag, went to church, were independent, self-reliant, and unencumbered by the burdens of taxation” (Limeberry 43). However, as the nineties rounded the corner, new forms of country were beginning to come into light. In 1988 Garth Brooks signed on with Capitol Records and thus the new era of country began.
Garth Brooks, an Oklahoma native, took the new escapism theme and changed it even further. With his music, Brooks helped bring country to the top of the charts in the nineties. Honky-tonk was a sound that America was familiar with in the years prior to Garth. However, Garth did not use the same rough sound that most honky-tonk artists strived for. Garth’s new honky-tonk intertwined with a clearer country pop-like sound. Unlike the decades before him, Garth’s music was not laden with the political stance issues of the sixties and seventies nor was it the meaningless escapism of the eighties. Of course, there were songs that Garth released as just for fun songs such as Friends in Low Places, but the majority of Brooks’ music addressed social and racial issues along with love songs (Biography). Perhaps the public had grown tired of the music with no feeling. Garth’s music certainly had plenty of emotion and humanity and there was also a sense of humility in which the audience could relate to everything he sang. Perhaps it was the quickly diversifying America which Garth Brooks addresses in many of his songs that led many people to approve of his new country sound. No matter what the reason may have been, many other country artists of the nineties aimed for the same honky-tonk sound that Garth used to win America’s heart.
Brooks and Dunn, and Shania Twain are a few of the many country artists that followed Brooks’ footsteps in expanding the popularity of country music. Brooks and Dunn took honky-tonk to the next level and found that the public liked what they heard. The duo was just the right combination of country and rock-n-roll. Some people might even say that Brooks and Dunn perfected the honky-tonk sound that Garth began. Although their music may not have addressed the wrongs in the world like Garth’s music, Brooks and Dunn’s songs about life’s troubles could hardly be ignored. Their hit Boot Scootin' Boogie brought line-dancing to country bars across America (Huey).
Another Garth inspired fad of the nineties is that of pop-country. Shania Twain’s music differed greatly from any country music that had come before her. She did not fall into the category of classic country nor did she find herself in the honky-tonk trend. Shania Twain created a new sound for herself; country-pop. Although her songs had a very different sound than that of Brooks and Dunn, Shania’s songs shared enough similarities with the duo that her music also became part of the line-dancing fad. Her songs Any Man of Mine and Whose Bed have Your Boots Been Under captivated the female audience and Shania Twain became one of the most successful female country stars of the nineties. Shania’s music brought out the woman’s side of stories male artists had been telling for years and the response was immense (Wenner).
The nineties was a decade of change for the country genre, but despite all the changes, country music was still a strong genre. It is interesting that there was not just one sound to country during this time. The Garth Brooks, Brooks and Dunn, and Shania Twain sound could appeal to all the same people even though the artists themselves did not have the same sound. Perhaps the reason behind the diverse country sound of the nineties was a result of a more diverse America. The prejudice of the past was over and no devastating wars were raged on our nation. We were learning to live together in harmony. Perhaps the music of the time period was merely reflecting the acceptance of the new. If that is the case, country music was surely not the only genre that faced many changes during the nineties. However, two observations can be made from the country music of the nineties. America was ready for a new sound and the country artists of the decade gave them plenty of sounds from which to choose.






Works Cited
Country Music. Wikimedia Foundation Inc, 17 Mar. 2010. Web. 16 Mar. 2010 .
Biography. New Rose Inc, 2006. Web. 16 Mar. 2010 .
Huey, Steve Brooks & Dunn. allmusic, 2010. Web. 16 Mar. 2010 .
Limeberry, John. "Idealism Down on the Farm: Is the Rhetoric of Country Music Changing?" Popular Music and Society 18.3 (1994): 33-51. Web. 16 Mar. 2010. .
Wenner, Jann S. Shania Twain. Rolling Stones, 2004. Web. 16 Mar. 2010 .
Witt, Louise. "Back to the Country." American Demographics (2003): 1-4. Web. 16 Mar. 2010. .