Noah Williford

Staff Writer

Country music, like most things in history, is cyclical. Its ups and downs can be tracked through modern music history, often corresponding with the ups and downs of American society itself. In its history, country music has seen a fascinating revival. Artists across the country have been pushing on the boundaries of what we today know as country music, and reestablishing the genre as a mainstream contender.  

This boundary push can be seen fully in Beyonce’s most recent singles, “Texas Hold Em” and “16 Carriages.” One a classic two step, the other a western tale of hardship, both songs contribute to the growing wave of pressure put on the idea of “country” itself. “Texas Hold Em” made history this past week by making Beyonce the first black woman to top the Billboard Country charts with the song hitting #1 in Hot Country and #2 in the Billboard Hot 100. Beyonce’s second country single, “16 Carriages,” presently sits at #9 on Hot Country and #38 in the Hot 100. 

Beyonce has not been the only artist to make waves in country music as of recently however. The War and Treaty, a Country/Rhythm & Blues duo became the first black duo to be nominated for the 2023 Country Music Association Award for Duo of the Year, along with being the first black duo to be nominated for the 2023 Academy of Country Music Award for Duo of the Year.  Joy Oladokun, an indie artist from Arizona, released “Sweet Symphony,” a heartfelt duet with country icon, Chris Stapleton, which went #11 on the Apple Music U.S. Charts. Chris Stapleton too came into public eye recently with Tracy Chapman, who collaborated to release a duet of the 1988 hit “Fast Car,” which reentered the charts at #46 and later hit Top 10 on the Hot 100. 

All of these artists have pushed on the classic idea that country is music characterized by simple harmonies, stringed instruments, repeated choruses, and often narrative lyrics as most people view country music to be. 

These big breakthroughs and phoenix-like revivals in country music are, while wonderful to see, not uncommon. Country music often ebbs and flows, going through waves of popularity to waves of obscurity. As the internet obsesses over this reemergence of country music and the fervor of Beyonce’s singles, it’s important to look at the paths the genre has taken.

In the 1940s and 1950s, country music was a hot genre, with acts like Elvis Presley, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and Marty Robbins creating music that had never been heard by the masses before – music often played by marginalized people in the American South. Music stemming from Irish immigrants who brought their traditions to the Appalchias, sounds stemming from African people enslaved and forced into the Deep South, dances and rhythms heavily reminiscent of Native American celebrations of old, all of these things formed the melting pot genre that swept the country.  

This craze, while strong, did find an end in the Britpop craze of the 1960s. People turned to Rock and Pop, while Country took a back seat in the charts. Hank Williams had died, country acts dropped in popularity and the music seemed to fade away as artists put their instruments down and picked their protest signs up, joining the American Civil Rights movement and the 1960s Counter Culture Movement. Bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs and country icon Charlie Daniels teamed together to perform at a 1969 Vietnam War Protest in Washington D.C.. Johnny Cash composes “What Is Truth?,” a song of mistreatment in modern America, a song that he played at Richard Nixon’s inauguration party. The move away from American music in favor of European sound wasn’t just a pop culture move, but a move away from the turmoil of the country at the time. 

In the 1970s and 80s, after the dust of protest settled, the music rose again with a new flair. New acts jumped into the scene as country music moved away from simple chords and rhythms and into more complex arrangements with more original sound. 

Artists lost the three piece suits and bolo ties of the 1950s and dawned new images. These were not upright and stand up citizens, but gunfighters, drunkards and drug addicts. David Allan Coe got his start in country music with a rap sheet of arrests and jail time, playing on the street outside the Grand Ole Opry. Johnny Cash had to fight off drug addiction and find God before he found his way back in the charts. Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote their debut album in a swamp shed while bombarded by mosquitos and petty thieves.

For what was really the first time too, women had found a proper footing in the country music genre. Dolly Parton had her first #1 Hit in 1971 with “Joshua.” Reba McEntire released her second album Out of a Dream, several songs of which landed her in the Top 20. People tuned in across the country as women began to dominate the charts seemingly every week. 

It is in this period we see some paragons of country music arise: Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, The Highwaymen, Hank Williams Jr., George Strait, Merle Haggard, Reba McEntire. “Prime Country” becomes a term as country music radio shoots up in popularity, reaching far ends of the Earth. Don Williams becomes a chart topping artist in Nigeria. Australian-born Olivia Newton John became the first (and still only) non-US native to win the Country Music Association Award for Female Vocalist of the Year. 

This wave of renewed popularity has been ridden into the modern day; now country music has bloomed into a mainstream genre with infinite variations on the idea of the music itself. Pop country, dirt country, bluegrass, blues, rockabilly, dixieland, Americana, folk, the genre has become a fractal of expression where thousands of artists have found a place to express themselves all under the umbrella of a beloved art. 

Beyonce’s rise to the top of the country music scene, while substantial, is only the beginning. It is one door in a grand hallway of new openings in music for thousands of new artists, all of whom seek to leave their mark on the music world. Country music once again has risen up the charts, and it’s anyone’s guess to see where the genre goes next.