As some of you know, country music was popular with the masses for much of the '70s (interrupted by a period of disco), and then became even bigger in the early '80s with Urban Cowboy and the hatred of disco. But as synthpop/new wave/MTV culture moved mainstream in 1983, country music pretty quickly faded from the mainstream.

One reason for this sudden drop-off around that time is that the young generation felt that Kenny Rogers and the like became too "square and twangy", not unlike what happened to the Your Hit Parade artists of the early '50s when the first wave of Rock became popular. Of course blue state America tends to control what's mainstream.

I still despise a lot of that country as it is considered "junk" to most music collectors of that era; someone gave me a negative feedback rating on eBay just because a lot I sold was mostly country (hidden under the "Plus Many More" section of the auction!)

In the early 80s, there was a good chunk of Country Music songs in the Top 40, sure.  That's not to say it went away when it left the Top 40.  Country fans never gave up, and as long as there was a separate chart for that type of music, the music kept on.


♦ In 1986, Dan Seals had a #1 in Canada with 'Bop'
♦ In 1987, Restless Heart had a North American Top 40 hit with 'I'll Still Be Loving You'

and many across Canada will remember when the great (and still going) Blue Rodeo made their debut with the excellent 'Try' in 1986-7 and furthered it with 'How Long' in 1989

Personally I hate country.... always have... some exceptions have been

Kenny Rogers because I saw him live twice in the 70s plus he basically crossed over.....and he did two movies based on his songs- Coward of the County in 81  & the Gambler in 80 (w/ a sequel in 83 and 90 something.)

In 1980 Coal Miner's Daughter came out and Sweet Dreams, the story of Patsy Cline, was released in 1985.

Dolly Parton had a number one hit in 1980 with 9 to 5.  and then she did Best Little Whorehouse in Texas in 83...say what you will about the flick but I find it amusing and that soundtrack is one of my favorites...

Sylvia had a hit in 82 with Nobody
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 15
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 5


the Judds hit the charts in 1984 and won awards multiple awards every year after that in the thu 89. (I wasn't listening to them... but I knew who they were.)


Randy Travis, Reba McIntyre, Alabama.....I didn't listen to them but they were names I kept hearing over and over... from 84/85 on.... and didn't Garth Brooks come out of the late 80s?

Why am I defending a genre I hate? I don't know.. I'm done.

I guess 1983-1988/1989 pop-country wasn't very popular in the US.

Personally I hate country.... always have... some exceptions have been

Kenny Rogers because I saw him live twice in the 70s plus he basically crossed over.....and he did two movies based on his songs- Coward of the County in 81  & the Gambler in 80 (w/ a sequel in 83 and 90 something.)

In 1980 Coal Miner's Daughter came out and Sweet Dreams, the story of Patsy Cline, was released in 1985.

Dolly Parton had a number one hit in 1980 with 9 to 5.  and then she did Best Little Whorehouse in Texas in 83...say what you will about the flick but I find it amusing and that soundtrack is one of my favorites...

Sylvia had a hit in 82 with Nobody
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 15
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 5


the Judds hit the charts in 1984 and won awards multiple awards every year after that in the thu 89. (I wasn't listening to them... but I knew who they were.)


Randy Travis, Reba McIntyre, Alabama.....I didn't listen to them but they were names I kept hearing over and over... from 84/85 on.... and didn't Garth Brooks come out of the late 80s?

Why am I defending a genre I hate? I don't know.. I'm done.





Because you secretly lovvvvve it.

I am totally in love with Dolly Parton.  Adore her.  Worship the ground she walks on.

I am not a country fan, and a lot of what passes for country these days is really pretty much country pop, or just pop.  The only singer I can really listen to is Willie Nelson.

Personally I hate country.... always have... some exceptions have been

Kenny Rogers because I saw him live twice in the 70s plus he basically crossed over.....and he did two movies based on his songs- Coward of the County in 81  & the Gambler in 80 (w/ a sequel in 83 and 90 something.)

In 1980 Coal Miner's Daughter came out and Sweet Dreams, the story of Patsy Cline, was released in 1985.

Dolly Parton had a number one hit in 1980 with 9 to 5.  and then she did Best Little Whorehouse in Texas in 83...say what you will about the flick but I find it amusing and that soundtrack is one of my favorites...

Sylvia had a hit in 82 with Nobody
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 15
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 5


the Judds hit the charts in 1984 and won awards multiple awards every year after that in the thu 89. (I wasn't listening to them... but I knew who they were.)


Randy Travis, Reba McIntyre, Alabama.....I didn't listen to them but they were names I kept hearing over and over... from 84/85 on.... and didn't Garth Brooks come out of the late 80s?

Why am I defending a genre I hate? I don't know.. I'm done.






Agreed!


Like many, I can only take country music in small dosages.



Cat

I kind of sort of like 80's country music.

I remember an uptick in contempt for country music in the '80s.  I think it was generational.  Popular country forums such as "Hee-Haw" and the "Grand Olde Opry" were just TOO hokey for Generation X.  Stars such as John Denver and Linda Ronstadt went out of fashion and there was kind of a lull before Travis Tritt and Garth Brooks, for instance, became universally popular.  Joke country bands, such as the Georgia Satellites, didn't help matters. 

A lot depended on what part of the country you lived in.  In Wyoming or West Virginia, country and western music styles stayed popular, but not so much in New York or California. 

In the '90s Rick Rubin decided Johnny Cash was cool and repackaged Cash as a hip figure.  He cashed in on Cash as a left-wing badass, which Johnny always was, but his act got a little stale by the late seventies. 

Not a huge fan of country music, particularly in the 80s, but I did like some Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson songs. 

Not a huge fan of country music, particularly in the 80s, but I did like some Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson songs. 


How about Willie Nelson and Julio Igliasias: To All the Girls We've Loved Before

That one seems to be disappearing down the memory hole!

Didn't country music in the 80's have a New Traditionalist movement or something?

Rockabilly gained currency again.  The Stray Cats, JoBoxers, and the like.  That's the junction of rock 'n' roll and country.

However, if you wear a 5-gallon hit in either rockabilly or rock 'n' roll, you look like a doojbag.  Chances are the same in country, but the cowboy hat is an instant killer for rock or rockabilly.  In disco/electronica, yeah, we know what the "Texas Cowboy" thing is all about!

:-X