Now no flaming...favorite Country Music stars?

[Archae]

For me, Alabama, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, The Statler Brothers, many more.

[aintitfunny]

1. Natalie and the Dixie Chicks (n/t/)

[Pirate Smile]

2. I love the Dixie Chicks. I loved them even before they dissed Bush

but I wasn't surprised when they ended up not being Bushbots.

[markus]

3. Guy Clark

I don't go for "real", commercial country. I love lots of traditional or traditional-sounding music (having wandered into the world via Jerry Garcia and the Byrds during their Gene Parsons (?) period, and exposue to the "Texas Outlaw" sound by friends from Texas.

Re: the Byrds: I love the Parson's side of the double Untitled album. I think, in fact, I have may to haul it out this lovely summer holiday. Truck Stop Girl is probably about as country as you can get.

I worked in an office in Washington DC with a guy who was a banjo picker, and so WAMU (?) all day bluegrass was often on. I'm also fond of Irish music, to a lot of "old-timey" music isn't such a stretch for me.

And then there's Jimmy Buffet.

But the commercial Nashville stuff just doesn't do it for me.

[enigmatic]

17. Guy's the consumate song craftsman

"Old No. 1" is a classic..

[Bluzmann57]

4. Hank Williams (Sr. and Jr.), Gretchen Wilson

Flatt and Scruggs, Johnny Cash, Doc Watson, Lucinda Williams (okay she's not strictly country), and a few others who some consider country, such as Lynyrd Skynyrd. And of course, Willie Nelson.

[Dudley_DUright]

5. For me

Favorite: Allison Krauss and Union Station :thumbsup:
Least Favorite: Toby Keith :thumbsdown:

[OldLeftieLawyer]

6. Dale Watson

He says he's what country music would have been if John Travolta hadn't made that loathesome "Urban Cowboy."

Dale's the real thing.

[Left Is Write]

16. We like Dale too! We had the privilege of seeing him

at the Minnesota State Fair a while back, and bought a record of his while we were there. He reminded my husband of Johnny Cash.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

29. The real goods, both of them

Dale lost his girlfriend in a car crash a while back - after pulling himself out of a suicidal depression, he wrote an album called "Every Song I Write Is For You."

It's amazing.

[GirlinContempt]

7. My Mom has a crush on Willie Nelson

thats my .02

[unhappycamper]

8. Dixie Chicks, Lyle Lovitt & Nanci Griffith nt

[Left Is Write]

15. The Road To Ensenada is one of my favorite albums.

:)

[unhappycamper]

21. I was thinking of Pontiac - just listened to a few of the cuts from Road,

and now I gotta go buy it. Thanks for the tip!

[ScreamingMeemie]

9. Hank Sr.,Waylon, Willie, Merle, Tammy, Dottie, Johnny, Vern, Bobby

I've got lots. :hi:

Counting flowers on the wall...that don't bother me at all.

Smoking cigarettes and watchin' Captain Kangaroo, now don't tell me...I've nothing to do. :hi:

[BlueStateGirl]

10. Lucinda Williams, Dolly Parton, JOhnny Cash, Willie Nelson

Tim McGraw

[enigmatic]

11. Old School/New Schol picks:

Johnny Cash



George Jones, the greatest singer alive



New School:

Alt-country, but these bands especially:

Richmond Fontaine



Old Reliable, from my city of residence:



And my favorite band of all-time, Uncle Tupelo



If you want to get a great overview of alt-country, No Depression Magazine is indespensible:

http://www.nodepression.net/

[Left Is Write]

12. The Mavericks, Johnny Cash, The Statlers, Emmylou

[ScreamingMeemie]

13. My husband wants me to be Emmylou when I grow up.

:hi:

[Midnight Rambler]

14. Johnny Cash and Willie

[SnohoDem]

18. Bob Wills is the King,

Willie Nelson, Ray Benson, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, VERY EARLY David Allen Coe, Willis Allen Ramsey and virtually all the cowboy singer/songwriter types playing around Texas in 1970 - 1980 except maybe Michael Murphy. Shake Russell.

Speedgrass: Meat Purveyors

[Spider Jerusalem]

19. Johnny Cash.

Johnny was THE MAN. Heh.

Also: Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Hank Williams Sr, Junior Brown, Cowboy Junkies ("alt-country", they're considered), and maybe one or two others.

[rndmprsn]

20. hank williams, carter family, doc watson, johnny cash, gillian welch..

flatt and scruggs, merle travis, lefty frizzel, jimmy rodgers, bill monroe...i could go on and on...i like the old stuff and alt-country.

[sundog]

22. Alison Krauss

Is she considered country?

Anyway, I think she's great.

[enigmatic]

23. She's more bluegrass

But she's great nonetheless..

[Enraged_Ape]

24. Cash

He was solid gold.

His daughter is, too.

[Call me Deacon Blues]

25. George Jones

"He stopped loving her today" is probably the greatest country song ever recorded.

And Alison Krauss has the voice of an angel.

[mvd]

26. Mine

Note that I'm sticking with those that I find pretty pure country:

Patsy Cline, Dixie Chicks, Tammy Wynette, Patty Loveless, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Martina McBride, Emmylou Harris, Miranda Lambert, Sugarland, Reba McEntire (pre-What If It's You; the rest is just likable) Alison Krauss, Sherrie Austin, Suzy Bogguss, Carlene Carter, Lee Ann Womack, Mindy Smith (alt-country,) Kasey Chambers (alt-country,) Trisha Yearwood, Hank Sr., Merle Haggard, George Strait, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Doug Stone, Brad Paisley (with a few exceptions,) Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, David Ball, Diamond Rio, Vince Gill, Jim Reeves, Charley Pride, The Mavericks, Statler Brothers, Gary Allan, Dwight Yoakam, and more.

On edit: added some that were listed above

[banjosareunderrated]

27. bill monroe and doc watson

does bluegrass count?

[In_The_Wind]

28. Wynonna Judd, Dixie Chicks, Tim McGraw, Garth Brooks, George Strait

Alabama, Oak Ridge Boys, Willie Nelson, Jennifer Hanson

[mvd]

30. Good choices on all

I could add Jennifer Hanson and early Alabama to my list. I also thought of Terri Clark.

[In_The_Wind]

34. thanks

my taste in music is rather eclectic .... but ya know how the sayin goes * ya can't take the country outta the girl * :woohoo:

[tishaLA]

31. Emmylou, Dolly, Loretta, Tammy, Patsy

Waylon, George, Johnny, Willie, Lyle. Mother Maybelle, her sisters and kids. And Rodney, Roseanne, and Allison.

The rest I never think about.

[Radical Activist]

32. Willie Nelson, Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Pat Green, Hank Williams III

[mvd]

33. If Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Mary Chapin Carpenter,

Kim Richey, and Kathleen Edwards qualify, they'd make my list.

BTW, I added the Statler Brothers above.

[crimson333]

35. Trisha Yearwood, Tanya Tucker, Alabama

I also like clay walker

[peacefreak]

36. Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson

Loretta, Dolly, Townes Van Zandt, Dixie Chicks, Willis Allan Ramsey (because just that one was enough), Kasey Chambers, Lucinda Williams.

[Radical Activist]

37. What? No Toby Keith or Big & Rich fans?

hehe

[dbt]

39. Well, you can keep Toby, but I *like* Big And Rich!

Case in point: "Rollin' (The Ballad of Big And Rich)" wherein they state "Charlie Pride was the Man In Black, Rock and Roll used to be about Johnny Cash." (Not a lot of people know it yet, but Cash was the King of Rock and Roll.)

Then there's "Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy," with its banjo and fiddle laid over a hip-hop groove. While all the men were grousing about how "Hell, that ain't Country," the girls were packing out the dance floors!

"Save A Horse" was a throwback to the very origins of what would become Country music: something simple--oftentimes silly--and memorable with a good beat to it. It descends from "Cluck Old Hen," "Four Nights Drunk," "Soldiers' Joy" and the like. No great poetry in any of them, but they sure are fun to dance to. And they've hung around for a couple of centuries.

More important (another thing "the men don't know but the girls understand") in the case of this song is the synthesis of Black and White music. It's something very few bands will attempt, but I am here to tell you it works. The best example of this is The Gourds' version of Snoop Dogg's "Gin And Juice," done with banjo, mandolin and pure-dee White Trash harmony singin'. I never saw any song fill up a dance floor any quicker.

I am NOT saying that Big And Rich will endure beyond their next CD, but they sure are widening the gene pool after Nashville's decades of inbreeding!

:smoke:

Flatt & Scruggs, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Waylon Jennings, The Everly Brothers, Rosanne Cash, Dwight Yoakam, Wanda Jackson, Johnny Horton, Don Gibson, EMMYLOU, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Patty Loveless, Carlene Carter, Dr. Ralph Stanley, The Stonemans. The Dillards, etc!

[Radical Activist]

41. Ride a Horse

Does follow a tradition of certain country songs to pack as many tired cliches into one song as possible. How long has that phrase been a bumper sticker?

[mitchum]

38. George Jones, Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, Don Williams...

Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, David Allan Coe, Johnny Cash, Loretts Lynn, Billie Joe Shaver, Dolly Parton, Lefty Frizell...

[Bok_Tukalo]

40. Dwight Yoakam, Buck Owens, Hank Williams, and Patsy Cline

And Marty Robbins.

[I Have A Dream]

42. Gillian Welch, but she may be considered folk

[DemGa]

43. Don Williams, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash

and maybe a few more.

[Droopy]

44. Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash

[warrens]

45. George Jones, Hank 1 & III (screw Jr.)

[Droopy]

46. But, but a country boy can survive.

[GiovanniC]

47. Brad Paisley

Phil Vassar, Rascal Flatts, Gary Allan, Alan, Garth, and George.

[jandrok]

48. George Strait

I'll admit to liking him. I'm not really much for Nashville radio-friendly country, either. I much prefer the Americana scene.

Give me Jerry Jeff, Willie and Waylon, The Derailers, the Mavericks, Kelly Willis, Bruce Robison, Charlie Robison, Nanci Griffith, Slaid Cleves, Guy Clark.......

[KitchenWitch]

49. Willie Nelson

Dolly Parton
Wynnona Judd (without her trifling no talent mother)

[ElsewheresDaughter]

50. bob seger, patsy cline, garth brooks, and of course willie nelson