You're kidding, right?

I'm thinking country music is a coming together of the Celtic Irish/Scottish folk music which in America evolved into mountain music,(and later Bluegrass), merging in the 20th century with the African influenced music, blues, spiritual, gospel. I guess this happened out of the main big cities, hence the label 'Country'.

The boundaries or labels between different types of music are becoming more and more blurred. This is a good thing because it's all false anyway. Labels help organise things in a record store or places like Amazon but it's music at the end of the day. Either you like it or not.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of mainstream country but I do think The Zac Brown Band are excellent and I like Keith Urban and also Brad Paisley's guitar playing. It does not matter to me what label is attached to it if I happen to like it.

Gordon.

p.s The truth is, if we go back far enough, most music has it's routes in Africa probably along with life itself.

I will suggest, only by my own personal opinion, and without searching the internet for articles about the history of country music. I agree with other views that influeneces from other countries & cultures do obtain a place with the developement of the country music genre, (and so does about everything else, to be technical) but.., I see country music simply as an american heritage, as with blugrass, etc.

every song tells a story. A great way for expressing feeling.

Seems music catagory preferences depend on whatever style of all music "you" enjoy to sing, play or dance to the most. The best of the best music crosses all barriers, and it seems to transend time too... Philosophical thread... I like it!

It is by the definition of music that there are no boundaries. Who are we to label things and impose our opinion on other people?

My persoanl favorite subgenre of country would be Bluegrass.

I dont like country music but I also dont think its folk or blues music either. Its not quite either of those, like the very basics of the music is different enough to have its own name.

Just like anything else Country music draws from all sorts of influences then becomes codified. One of the defining aspects of American Country Music is that it's influenced by the traditional (folk) music of the Scotch-Irish people from the Appalachian Mountains.

Other influences are Cowboy songs, Gospel, Jazz (Western Swing had strong influences from Jazz and Rockabilly from the early era of Rock and Roll is also another.) If you follow Country through its history you can see how it follow what was popular at the time too.

I don't know about that, for one modern country is closer to Rock then "Folk" in the original meaning of the word.

No, he was being deadly serious.