Country rock

There has also been cross-pollination throughout the history of both genres; however, the term "country-rock" is used generally to refer to the wave of rock musicians of the mid 1960s and early 1970s who began recording rock songs with country themes, vocal styles, and additional instrumentation, most characteristically pedal steel guitars. The term country rock had rarely been heard until the critic Richard Goldstein used it the June6, 1968 issue of The Village Voice. In his piece, titled "Country Rock: Can Y'All Dig It?", Goldstein counted several artists as moving towards country-friendly material – including Moby Grape, Stone Poneys, Buffy Sainte-Marie, the International Submarine Band and Bob Dylan – but he expected the Byrds' forthcoming album, Sweetheart of the Rodeo, to represent the new genre. Before the Byrds' album was released in August1968, Goldstein considered the Band's debut album, Music From Big Pink, as the "first major album" of the country-rock movement when he reviewed it for The New York Times on August4. Key to the genre, Goldstein wrote, was that the album had country music's "twang and... tenacity", but it also "[made] you want to move" like rock music. ==History==

Origins in 1972 Country rock incorporates musical elements and songwriting from 1960s country into modern rock music of the time. Country rock, primarily developed in Los Angeles, grew off the back of many southern Americans moving to Los Angeles, the growth of the commercial recording studio sound, and the adoption of main stream production techniques popularized by rock musicians of the era. Country influences can be heard on rock records through the 1960s, including the Beatles' 1964 recordings "I'll Cry Instead", "Baby's in Black", "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party", and their 1965 recording "I've Just Seen A Face", the Byrds' 1965 cover version of Porter Wagoner's "Satisfied Mind", or the Rolling Stones "High and Dry" (1966), as well as Buffalo Springfield's "Go and Say Goodbye" (1966) and "Kind Woman" (1968). Former TV teen idol and rockabilly recording artist Ricky Nelson pioneered the Country Rock sound as the frontman for his Stone Canyon Band and recorded the 1966 album Bright Lights & Country Music and the 1967 album Country Fever. Bassist Randy Meisner joined briefly in 1970 after leaving Poco and before joining Eagles. 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, playing with notable local musicians like Charlie McCoy. Dylan's lead was also followed by the Byrds, who were joined by Gram Parsons in 1968. Parsons had mixed country with rock, blues and folk to create what he called "Cosmic American Music". 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. A number of performers also enjoyed a renaissance by adopting country sounds, including: the Beatles, who re-explored elements of country in songs such as "Rocky Raccoon" and "Don't Pass Me By" from their 1968 self-titled double album (often referred to as the "White Album"), and "Octopus's Garden" from Abbey Road (1969); The Everly Brothers, whose Roots album (1968) is usually considered some of their finest work; John Fogerty, who left Creedence Clearwater Revival behind for the country sounds of the Blue Ridge Rangers (1972); Mike Nesmith, who had experimented with country sounds while with the Monkees, formed the First National Band; and Neil Young who moved in and out of the genre throughout his career. Peak of the Allman Brothers Band, brought elements of country rock into the band during the 1970s The greatest commercial success for country rock came in the 1970s, with the Doobie Brothers mixing in elements of R&B, Emmylou Harris (the former singer with Parsons) becoming a star on country radio, and Linda Ronstadt, the "queen of country-rock", creating a highly successful pop-oriented brand of the genre. 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'' as "a worthy companion to the likes of the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo and other gems of the genre". Former Poco and Buffalo Springfield member Jim Messina joined Kenny Loggins in a very successful duo, while former members of Ronstadt's backing band went on to form the Eagles (two members of which were from the Flying Burrito Brothers and Poco), who emerged as one of the most successful rock acts of all time, producing albums that included Desperado (1973) and Hotel California (1976). However, the principal country rock influence in the Eagles came from Bernie Leadon, formerly of the Flying Burrito Brothers, and the Eagles are perceived as shifting towards hard rock after he left the band in late 1975. The Ozark Mountain Daredevils had hit singles "If You Wanna Get To Heaven" (1974) and "Jackie Blue" (1975), the latter of which peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1975. The Bellamy Brothers had the hit "Let Your Love Flow"(1976). In 1979, the Southern rock Charlie Daniels Band moved to a more country direction, released a song with strong bluegrass influence, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", and the song crossed over and became a hit on the pop chart. ==Legacy==

Outside its handful of stars, country rock's greatest significance was on artists in other genres, including the Band, Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Rolling Stones, and George Harrison's solo work. Other performers have produced occasional recordings in the genre, including Elvis Costello's Almost Blue (1981) Kid Rock, who broke through into mainstream success with a rap rock sound, gradually developed a country rock sound. In 2013, British country rock band Rocky and the Natives released ''Let's Hear It for the Old Guys with two American members, drummer Andy Newmark and acoustic guitarist Bob Rafkin. Rafkin had written "Lazy Waters" for The Byrds from the 1971 album Farther Along, and Andy Newmark had played on the 1973 Gene Parsons album Kindling''. Canadian country rock band Blue Rodeo has found considerable success in Canada, selling multi-platinum albums throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and continues to receive frequent radio airplay on Canadian radio stations. Later in 2013 Rocky and the Natives' country rock cover of John Lennon's "Tight A$" was included on the Lennon Bermuda album. A revival of country music blended with rock features in the 2020s was titled "ronky tonk" in the music press, with acts such as Zach Bryan, Jackson Dean, and Bailey Zimmerman identified by Billboard. Jelly Roll is another crossover artist that blends a unique fashion of country and rock, sometimes with hip hop influences. ==Country metal==

Country metal is the fusion country music elements with heavy metal. In 2002, Kid Rock was quoted in Variety describing himself as a "country-metal-rap hillbilly". In 2006, David Allan Coe featuring Dimebag Darrell, Vinnie Paul, and Rex Brown, all from Pantera, released the collaborative album Rebel Meets Rebel, which Allmusic described as a "groundbreaking" mix of country and heavy metal, and noted that fiddle is included, being played by Joey Floyd. Billboard also noted that Jason Aldean's thunderous 2008 single "She's Country" received comparisons to AC/DC. Countrycore is a genre term created by the media to describe the style of Brazilian band Matanza, who fuse country music with heavy metal and hardcore punk. ==See also==