Plenty of country stars have tried to have crossover hits into rock music, but it also happens the other way as well. Whether it's because of the nostalgia of country music, the storytelling in the songs, or just the desire to branch out into something new, we found four times rock stars tried to go country, with surprising results.
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1. Ringo Starr
You can't be more of a rock star than being a founding member of the Beatles. Starr also released plenty of albums on his own, dating back to his Sentimental Journey album, released in 1970, the same year the Beatles broke up.
But recently, Starr delved into country music, with his Look Up album. The record includes several collaborations, including one with Alison Krauss. Not only was Starr's album fully embraced by the country music community, he also performed at the Grand Ole Opry. Nothing says country music more than that.
2. Steven Tyler
Steven Tyler is best known as the lead singer of Aerosmith, but he also has a solo album out. We're All Somebody From Somewhere was released in 2016, on Dot Records, a former imprint of Big Machine Label Group.
Tyler penned most of the songs on the 15-track record, but he also teamed up with several hit country songwriters, including Hillary Lindsey, the Warren Brothers, Ross Copperman and more.
Tyler in fact likes country music so much he reportedly moved to Nashville to be around it more.
3. Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood will likely always be part of country music. Still, the Grand Ole Opry member has a rock side, admitting she is a big fan of rock bands, including Guns N' Roses. Underwood proudly returned to being an opening act in 2023, joining Guns N' Roses on select dates on their tour, where she also performed with them.
"I've been a massive GNR fan for pretty much my whole life," Underwood says (via WCSX). "I've been able to sing with Guns N' Roses and Axl [Rose] separately a few times."
4. Darius Rucker
There likely isn't a bigger success story of a rock artist going country than Darius Rucker. Rucker, frontman for Hootie & the Blowfish, released his debut solo album, Learn to Live, was released in 2008. Rucker went on to release six more albums so far, including Carolyn's Boy in 2023.
Country music for Rucker is definitely not his second choice. In fact, Rucker, who became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2012, says country music was always his first choice, thanks to hearing Radney Foster's Del Rio, TX 1959, out in 1992
"When I heard that record, all I wanted to do was sing country music," Rucker tells Clint Black on Circle Country (via American Songwriter).
"I was like, 'This guy just took me to a whole new level,'" he recounts. "I'd say that to the guys [in Hootie]. Like, 'Let's try to play some country.' And they didn't want to. We put a couple of songs on the record, but nobody wanted to really [sing country music]. "So, we went and did the rock and roll thing. But I always said I was going to do a country record if I ever got a chance. And one day, I got a chance."
