Country music myths have been around for ages. These misconceptions took root ages ago and have stubbornly bloomed ever since. They deserve to be debunked. A few facts and straightforward clarifications usually do the trick. So we will go through some of the more common untruths and half-truths enveloping country music. Bring on the myth-busters!
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Country Music Is Sometimes Looked Down On As "Cheap Entertainment For Rubes"
Per Pitchfork, in an essay about documentary filmmaker Ken Burns' PBS series about country music, the point is made that the genre is often derided as superficial, lacking in substance, and aimed at the undiscerning, scantily-educated masses. Nothing could be more untrue. Country music is about sublime storytelling. It has universal appeal and not only for working-class people who live in rustic America on farms. Who has not been through a miserable breakup with a beloved partner? Experienced deep love for a mother or father? How about the joy of parenthood? Or the harrowing sorrow of loss? Country music covers all that territory and much more. It's for people in penthouses as well as rural dwellers. It chronicles and celebrates our shared humanity.
Country Music Is Mainly Sung By Older White Men
Nope. Of course there are legends like Willie Nelson and George Strait who fit the description of older white men. But country music boasts a big tent. Artists of every age and description are welcome under it. So while you have the much-admired Nelson and Strait, there are also singers such as Ella Langley (she is 26 years old!), Lainey Wilson, Miranda Lambert, and Morgan Wallen, just to name a few major young stars. And there are Black artists like Mickey Guyton, Darius Rucker and Beyonce, who triumphantly threw her ten-gallon hat in the country music ring with her LP,, Cowboy Carter. Country music says come on in to all of them and others.
Country Music Is Mostly Dour And Dreary
Not all of it. Sure, there are weepy country songs that you need a pile of tissues nearby to listen to. George Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today" and Dolly Parton's "Me and Little Andy" are tragically gut-wrenching, to name two famous examples. But country music is also about happiness, romance, giddy fun, and innocent good times. You can't hear the rollicking track "Chattahoochie" by Alan Jackson without grinning from ear to ear. And Ella Langley's lauded duet with Riley Green, "You Look Like You Love Me," is just so darn adorable. Gladness and smiles definitely flourish in country music.
Country Music Radio Marginalizes Female Artists
There is truth to this one. The good news is that female country singers are banding together and taking a stand. Per Yahoo!Entertainment, there has been a long-established trend toward treating females like second-class citizens regarding airplay on country radio. In fact, ten years ago, there was a big stir when a radio consultant named Keith Hill said, per the outlet via Country Radio Aircheck, "If you want to make ratings in country radio, take females out." He likened male country singers to the necessary "lettuce" in a salad, while to him, women in country were merely frills - "tomatoes," as he phrased it.
Despite that attitude, a strong and empowering sense of female community exists today among women in country music. Said Mickey Guyton per the outlet, "It can't be a competition. It's too hard out there for women for there to be a competition. If anything, we need to lean into each other and really do what we can together to stop accepting the crumbs and getting out there and building a bigger table for us."
