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  • Essay / The Nashville Sound and the Development of Country Music

    Table of ContentsIntroductionTopic AnalysisBibliographyIntroductionThe Nashville sound isn't quite what you'd expect. The Nashville sound doesn't have fiddles or steel guitars. It's more of a refined sound with background vocalists and orchestra-style playing for the instrument. The goal was to get people to listen again so that they would "reinvent" the genre so that it didn't sound like a bunch of desert rednecks, but it sounded adult and mature. It would dominate the airwaves thanks to musicians like Kenny Rodgers, Patsy Cline and Eddie Arnold. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The music produced during the Nashville sound era was influenced by the pop music and jazz that were popular during that era. The songs released with this new sound were powerful. People listened to them and they climbed the charts, not just the national charts. These songs were the first country music songs to be hits in multiple genres. Topic Analysis Two influential producers in this subgenre saved country music. Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley. The music that was produced resembles today's pop country in the sense that the majority like the music, but the traditionalists think it is a slap in the face to country. It's ironic that people today think of the Nashville sound as a traditional country sound and at the time it started, people thought it was a slap in the face to country music. The songs were mostly ballads. No more songs about blue-collar life. The middle-class audience these songs were aimed at didn't live a life of busting ass and drinking too much, and no one wanted to hear about divorce and cheating because the era these songs were coming out was when l America was all about morality. and it's true. Country music returned to these types of songs after a while. When you think of country music, the first name that comes to mind is Johnny Cash, he combined gospel and rock sounds in country songs, creating what many have called "Rockabilly." . Cash's life was far from easy, much of his youth consisted of helping his father on the farm and writing music. He was in the Air Force for four years, then when he was discharged, he started focusing on his music and released a few songs, but his first hit was "I walk the Line." As Cash's fame skyrocketed, he began to struggle with drug addiction. But his second wife, June Carter, saved him. Cash produced legendary music until his death in 2003. Willie Nelson is another country music icon. He was a singer-songwriter and he also performed. Nelson wrote "Crazy" which was made popular by Patsy Cline. His most notable songs are "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain" and "Don't Let Your Baby's Grow Up To Be Cowboys". In the 80s, the IRS discovered that Willie owed millions of dollars, so Willie released an album called The IRS tapes. Willie is known for smoking marijuana, so much so that Toby Keith released a song called "I'll Never Smoke Weed With Willie Again." Merle Haggard was a musician whose music reflected his life. He sang about his run-ins with the law and his problems with his love life because he was in and out of prison when he was young and during one of his sentences he discovered that his wife was cheating on him. He wasn't like today's musicians who pander to the public. Haggard lived what he sang...