Excellent write-ups usual, TH. You've managed to do a great job here of summarizing a genre with a very rich and diverse history.
Reading this has been somewhat of a trip down memory lane for me, as I was raised heavily indoctrinated into Country music by my mother - who was a Southerner transplanted to the Northeast by way of marrying my father. The likes of Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette (a deep vocal influence on my mother, who was a good singer), George Jones, Charley Pride, Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, Buck Owens, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Jimmie Rodgers, Porter Wagoner, Glen Campbell, and many others were constantly played in our home. I think more than anything else I gained an appreciation of the instrumentation in Country music (Telecasters and pedal steel!) and also its many fine vocalists.
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