Hello and welcome to this little bonus episode.

We recently published what Makes Country Music so American?

And I'm joined now by John Collins from Country Line Radio, who is our guest who's stuck around to discuss this a little bit more.

Hello again, John.

Hello.

Interesting question.

What makes country music so American?

And I've got a strong theory that I've held for many, many years.

Country music, like America, is a bit of a mongrel form.

America is a country made up of indigenous Americans.

And then I know it's different now, but over the next 500 years, people from all sorts of countries and they brought with them their musical influences.

If you listen to hillbilly music before it was called bluegrass, from the earliest recordings, 20s and 30s, it sounds awfully like Scottish and Irish folk music.

Isn't that interesting because there was so many Scots and Irish over there.

It's weird, isn't it, because we were talking on the podcast about like, I was kind of like prodding you to sort of try and explain why, you know, country music will sort of keep its appeal the more international it gets.

But actually, you know, America is an immigrant nation.

Country music by definition is international anyway, right?

Yeah, exactly.

And because people's favorite dogs are mongrels, generally purebred animals are typically higher strung and less fun to be around, country music just picks up influences.

You get into the 60s and you get gospel music making its way in.

You could make a very convincing argument that early rock and roll music is as influenced by country and that side of it as it is by anything else.

And it's become this sort of melting pot where modern R B has been dropped into it.

Girl band memes in there.

You've got your Beyonce's, your Shabuzzi's, you've got Sam Hunt and his slightly rappy delivery.

And I think as if it stays true to its being a rag bag, a very beautiful rag bag, but a rag bag of different influences.

I think country music will always be great.

And I don't think there's another country on planet Earth where you can pull together influences like that.

So it reflects the country it's from.

But in fact, those, those influences have come from everywhere else.

Yeah.

And I think it's amazing the sort of scope of.

Of the country genre now because, you know, you mentioned like these, these new artists that are coming through and kind of adding some inspiration from other genres sort of into.

Into their music.

But you've also got the really like traditional country artists still, like Zac Brown band, like Chris Stapleton, you know, they are, they are very kind of down the line country, really.

And.

Absolutely.

Yeah, there's.

And there's a lot of hat going on still.

Yeah, that's not going away.

Zach Bryan.

Pretty deep Americana based and folky influences and influences in there as well there.

It's that to me that makes it constantly refreshing.

It makes me afraid when I get sent new music, I listen to everything because I'm afraid to miss out.

And I promise you, when I worked in top 40 radio, you would sometimes go, no, I just don't like that.

You know, you'd look at, you'd look at the artist and you would go, not for me, but this is a genre where new artists come around every couple of weeks.

Yeah, yeah.

And we, we were sort of talking about how, you know, like, Beyonce is obviously the case study of the year in terms of, you know, having just released a country album seemingly out of nowhere.

But, you know, it.

It's not a huge surprise to see a big star, you know, dabbling in country music.

It's been happening for a while now and it's like country is, is cool again.

That's a great name for an album, isn't it?

Yeah.

Lana Del Rey is, you know, in the works that Marin Morris, I don't think were she to do it all again, would start out as a country artist.

I think she would start out as a pop vocalist and then come over to country.

I think it'd be other way.

And it's the same.

You write across.

There's a kind of through line that says countries.

I think you, you come into at some point because it's willing to accept outside influences in a way that many others aren't.

Now, there are plenty of country fans.

I mean, if you go on the Internet, you're going to see lots of them going, oh, that's not country.

They're the kind of country gatekeepers who I really struggle with.

Or there is the people that post on Facebook at 2 in the morning.

I've just listened to the album that dropped just now.

So I'm first.

And it's country and it's just like, stop it and get on with enjoying the music.

Yeah.

Because that's in our hearts.

We're music fans.

We're not here to show off.

Yeah.

And there's, there's something about just a really good country song that just hits that nerve at the right time that I think is unlike any other genre.

Yeah, yeah.

Cody Johnson's the Painter.

I can tell you where I was sitting the first time I Heard that, you know, and very prosaic.

It was a seat on a bus, but it was a song of that quality.

Doesn't come around very often.

Yeah, agree.

Yeah.

And I actually would argue that some of Elton John's stuff is, you know, country at times.

I mean, Honky Cat, you know, Elton.

John's a shareholder in Country Line.

Is he really?

Yeah.

I mean, if you could introduce us, that'd be lovely.

But there's your explanation.

We've got kind of similar.

We like old soul music and we both like country music.

We both, we all like other things as well.

Nobody's that, you know, Blinkard, but he's.

He's been involved in this company for quite some time.

Yeah.

And he actually did.

I mean, that, that kind of makes sense because he did that cover album Restoration, which was country covers of some of his hits.

And actually Mara Morris, Mona Lisa, Mad has is a phenomenal cover.

Yeah, absolutely.

Lionel Richie's Tuskegee album, if you've never listened to that, go away and have a listen to it.

You would think Lionel Richie, you know, smooth soul, blah, blah, blah.

Covers of country songs.

Yeah, absolutely.

Outstanding.

And that was.

That's how country music, I think, can accept people in, if they're honest and they are, you know, approaching the music with a touch of respect.

Yeah, yeah, I agree.

And I mean, you mentioned, you know, people sort of coming to country music now, but it used to be very much the other way.

Didn't you feel like country used to be the gateway for four stars to kind of make a name for themselves and then move into, you know, more mainstream genres like Taylor Swift obviously being the, you know, post a goal for that.

But, you know, I think Maramorous tried to do it.

You know, she's moved a bit into pop at one point and I think come a little bit back into.

More into country, you know, when she had a family and was more settled down.

Yeah, and I think it used to be very much the other way, but now it's like stars that are established are finding that they can diversify and dabble in country music and it's.

It's kind of legitimizing people that are just country stars.

Right?

Yeah, absolutely.

I mean, Dolly, early poster girl for that.

There's no way on God's green earth 9 to 5 is a country song, but we're happy to play it.

You got the little, got the little kind of borderline kind of honky tonk piano going on in the borderline honky.

Yeah, but, yeah, but that's Available in many other cultures as well.

But you know, you know what I mean?

I think because of countries, mongrel status, I think we're happy to let people in and give it a go.

They need to be good.

But that apart, good country music is good country music.

That's it.

Yeah, yeah, I agree.

And who's your.

Who's your favorite artist of all time.

In country music?

Who would I keep going back to?

For a while it's been Tim McGraw because he has put together a very long career and he's evolved over the piece.

And again, here is Morgan Mollen moment with his first Indian outlaw.

And he's become this man of parts that just, you know, makes amazing music, produces amazing music, really away from country music.

Stevie Wonder.

Oh, nice.

Yeah, yeah.

And actually, you know, we talk about like the sort of cross genre, but yeah, I think there's a lot of like.

Actually, I'm gonna go on a tangent.

It's my ADHD playing a part, but this sort of, sort of.

It's not a particularly white genre.

When you look at the roots of country music, you know, the blues, the kind of R B, the almost gospel inspiration at times in country.

These are very black genres that were really made popular by African Americans and it's kind of been appropriated by white artists within country music.

So there's, you know, there's a lot of black roots in country.

Right.

I think that's likely because of the southern half of America and it's particularly messed up attitude to people of color.

And they, as I think I've said it, I've said elsewhere, that's not likely to actually change anytime soon.

I think we're going through a phase where people are doing their best, but they've still got quite a distance to travel.

Yeah.

Pardon me, but you're on the money again.

I'm going to keep coming back to it.

This is a genre of music that is made up of all these elements and brings it together.

And it's in the performance, it's in the songwriting and the storytelling.

Yeah.

In a way that a lot of other genres of pop music just don't do.

Yeah, yeah, I agree.

And I'm sure anyone that listening to this is sort of on our side, so we're preaching to the converted.

But I would hope that, you know, if we can pique the interest of someone who doesn't normally listen to country music to just go ahead and sort of just take a listen and dabble.

I think, you know, I think that they'd be surprised in a good way.

I think country music isn't just, you know, it's not.

It's not the Kenny Rogers sitting there with the guitar singing the Gambler anymore, you know?

No, we're not going to reverse a Ford F150 over your dog.

No.

Right.

John, thank you so much for taking the time out to discuss country music with me.

We're going to wrap this up, and anyone listening, if you haven't already, just check out the full episode right now.

And thank you so much for continuing to support the show.

John, thank you so much.

You're very welcome.

And to everyone listening, thank you and goodbye.