Neotraditional country

Neotraditional country, also known as "new traditional" country, is a country music style that emphasizes the instrumental background and a "traditional" country vocal style. Neotraditional country artists often dress in the fashions of the country music scene of the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s. Some neotraditional artists are sometimes associated with the alternative country movement.

History

Neotraditional country was born as a reaction to the perceived blandness of mainstream country music. New (or "neo-") traditionalism looked to the elders of country music like Ernest Tubb, Hank Williams and Kitty Wells for inspiration, and was a precursor to the more general categorization known as New country. The creation of neotraditionalism was also done in contrast to the more pop-oriented acts of the 1970s and 1980s, such as Ronnie Milsap and Anne Murray.^[1]

In the early 1980s Ricky Skaggs, a picking prodigy who took his inspiration from Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley (Skaggs was a Clinch Mountain Boy as a teen), began making music that he believed brought country back to its roots.

Another Neotraditional Country artist was one of Skaggs' friend and former band-mate, Keith Whitley. After his success with "Don't Close Your Eyes", Whitley was said to be a promising new artist; however, in 1989, he died of an alcohol overdose at the age of 34. Despite his death, Whitley's sound remained influential among country artists. At that same time, artists like Emmylou Harris, John Anderson and Gail Davies, whose hits included re-makes of songs by Ray Price, Webb Pierce, Carl Smith, The Louvin Brothers and Johnny & Jack, set the tone in the late '70s and early '80s. Following that Randy Travis, George Strait, Patty Loveless, and The Judds used vintage musical stylings, covers of classic country material, and carefully crafted vocal delivery to help bring New Traditionalism to the vanguard of country music for a time.

In 2000, George Strait and Alan Jackson recorded a song titled "Murder on Music Row" which spoke directly to the rift between neotraditionalists. Among the lyrics are brazen barbs at the Nashville establishment such as "Someone killed tradition and for that someone should hang."

Examples of Neotraditional country artists

References

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