Explore the roots of country music and meet some of the genre's greatest singers and storytellers.
Welcome
INTRODUCTION
A JOURNEY ACROSS COUNTRY • AN INTRODUCTION TO ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR AND DIVERSE GENRES IN AMERICA’S CULTURAL HISTORY
COUNTRY GENERATIONS
WELCOME TO Nashville • TAKE A TOUR OF MUSIC CITY, TENNESSEE, COUNTRY MUSIC’S SPIRITUAL (AND ACTUAL) HOME
Country DETOURS • MANY ARTISTS FROM OTHER GENRES HAVE ‘GONE COUNTRY’ – OR SOON PLAN TO – DURING THEIR CAREERS. HERE ARE A FEW NOTABLE EXAMPLES…
COUNTRY ICONS • MEET SOME OF THE GENRE’S PIONEERING, BESTSELLING AND LEGENDARY ARTISTS
George Strait • THIS KING OF COUNTRY MUSIC HAS BEEN A PIONEER, TAKING THE GENRE BACK TO ITS HONKY-TONK ROOTS
LIFE & CAREER
Patsy Cline • ONE OF THE GREATEST COUNTRY SINGERS OF ALL TIME, CLINE WAS A PROFOUND INSPIRATION FOR COUNTLESS OTHERS
ALAN JACKSON • THIS GEORGIA ARTIST HAS STAYED TRUE TO TRADITIONAL COUNTRY AND CARVED OUT ONE OF THE BIGGEST CAREERS IN THE GENRE
Jimmie Rodgers • THE FOUNDING FATHER OF COUNTRY MUSIC HAD A HUGE INFLUENCE ON GENERATIONS OF ARTISTS TO COME
BUCK OWENS • OWENS DOMINATED THE COUNTRY CHARTS IN THE MID-60s AND PIONEERED THE DISTINCTIVE, TWANGY BAKERSFIELD SOUND
Conway Twitty • WITH A CAREER SPANNING FIVE DECADES, THE HIGH PRIEST OF COUNTRY MUSIC BECAME A REIGNING IDOL OF THE INDUSTRY
THE CARTER FAMILY • THE FIRST FAMILY OF COUNTRY MUSIC HAD A SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCE ON THE CREATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE GENRE
WILLIE NELSON • SINCE EMERGING IN THE MID-50S, WILLIE NELSON HAS CARVED A UNIQUE NICHE AS ONE OF THE MOST ENDURING AND INFLUENTIAL COUNTRY ARTISTS
Kenny CHESNEY • THE KNOXVILLE SINGER-SONGWRITER WHO ROSE TO BECOME ONE OF COUNTRY MUSIC’S MOST ENDURING SUPERSTARS
JOHNNY CASH • WITH HIS DISTINCTIVE DEEP TONES AND MELANCHOLY, JOHNNY CASH MIGHT JUST BE THE MOST RECOGNISABLE COUNTRY SINGER-SONGWRITER OF ALL TIME
LIFE & CAREER
Jim Reeves • ‘GENTLEMAN JIM’ WAS THE BIGGEST MALE STAR TO EMERGE FROM NASHVILLE, WITH SONGS THAT SPOKE TO MILLIONS AROUND THE GLOBE
JERRY LEE LEWIS • IN THE LATE 60S, THE MAN DUBBED ‘THE KILLER’ CHANGED COURSE FOR COUNTRY MUSIC AND RARELY LOOKED BACK
KRIS KRISTOFFERSON • A UNIQUELY GIFTED SINGER, SONGWRITER AND ACTOR WHO HAS CRAFTED A STRING OF ICONIC COUNTRY SONGS
CHARLEY PRIDE • CHARLEY PRIDE PAVED THE WAY FOR OTHER BLACK COUNTRY MUSICIANS, ACHIEVING 30 CHART-TOPPING HITS
ALABAMA • THIS BESTSELLING COUNTRY BAND SOLD 75 MILLION ALBUMS AND PACKED OUT ARENAS FOR WELL OVER A DECADE
LINDA RONSTADT • DUBBED THE QUEEN OF COUNTRY-ROCK, LINDA RONSTADT’S VERSATILITY AND VOCAL VIRTUOSITY ENSURED HER SUPERSTAR STATUS
MERLE HAGGARD • A GIANT OF COUNTRY MUSIC WHO DEFINED THE BAKERSFIELD SOUND AND WAS KNOWN AS THE ‘POET OF THE COMMON MAN’
Dolly Parton • THE QUEEN OF COUNTRY. DOLLY PARTON HAS HAD A SEISMIC EFFECT, NOT ONLY ON THE GENRE, BUT ACROSS POP CULTURE
LIFE & CAREER
DEFORD BAILEY • AN INFLUENTIAL HARMONICA PLAYER, PIONEER MEMBER OF THE GRAND OLE OPRY AND COUNTRY’S FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN STAR
John Denver • A COUNTRY-FOLK SINGER-SONGWRITER WHO BECAME ONE OF THE BIGGEST STARS OF THE 70S
KITTY WELLS • DUBBED THE QUEEN OF COUNTRY MUSIC, KITTY WELLS PAVED THE WAY FOR SOLO FEMALE ARTISTS IN NASHVILLE
THE LOUVIN BROTHERS • THE MOST INFLUENTIAL HARMONY DUO IN THE HISTORY OF COUNTRY MUSIC LEFT A RICH, ENDURING LEGACY
BRAD PAISLEY • A STAR FOR 30 YEARS AND COUNTING, MR PAISLEY HAS EVEN COLLABORATED WITH WORLD LEADERS
REBA McENTIRE • THIS QUEEN OF COUNTRY MUSIC BECAME ONE OF THE GENRE’S MOST SUCCESSFUL ARTISTS AND ALSO CREATED A MUSIC BUSINESS...