Georgia singer/songwriter Alan Jackson was a member of the legendary "Class of '89", which also included Garth Brooks, Clint Black, and Travis Tritt. Among his peers Jackson stands apart because of his songwriting talent (Randy Travis and Faith Hill …

Danny Shirley (b. Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA; lead vocals/guitar), Mark DuFresne (drums), Michael Lamb (guitar/vocals), Chris McDaniel (keyboards/vocals), Gates Nichols (steel guitar/vocals) and Wayne Secrest (bass). Drenched in the southern country…

In the mid-'80s the Nashville scene was at a low point until Dwight Yoakam helped usher in a new wave of country that was both traditionalist and progressive. Yoakam's allegiance to the classic Bakersfield sound of the '60s (Buck Owens, Merle Haggard…

George Strait led country's New Traditionalist movement in the early '80s with his updated approach to traditional Western swing and his smooth, romantic crooning. The reclusive superstar's chart success has never flagged since then; he routinely sco…

Toby Keith has all the right credentials for a country star; born in Oklahoma, he was raised on a farm, and worked for a rodeo as a young man. In 1993, Keith became a success straight out of the gate with his self-titled debut album. From there on, t…

One of the most successful duos in country music history, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn were put together in the early 1990s by former Arista Nashville label boss Tim DuBois, who thought the two singer-songwriters' styles would complement each other. Th…

b. 28 December 1958, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. According to Entertainment Weekly, country singer Joe Diffie is a "first rate interpreter of working class woes", while Tammy Wynette described him as all her favourite vocalists rolled into one. His career …

Travis Tritt combines the sensibilities of Southern rock and outlaw country to fuse a new form of traditionalist country music. One of the key New Country artists of the 1990s, his biggest hits are anthems of defiance, such as "Here's a Quarter (Call…

With a vocal style strongly reminiscent of Merle Haggard, and a songwriting approach influenced as much by James Taylor and Jimmy Buffett as by any country artists, Texan Clint Black became one of the most successful and respected country artists of …

Hailing from Luttrell, TN, country heart-throb Kenny Chesney first made his mark in 1994 with his debut album, but it wasn't until a couple of years later that he started scoring major hits and making himself a household name. His straightforward, em…

b. 18 December 1966, Vidor, Texas, USA. Neo-traditionalist country singer Byrd paid $8 to sing Hank Williams' "Your Cheatin' Heart" over a pre-recorded backing track in a shopping mall. The store manageress was so impressed by Byrd's voice that she b…

A self-proclaimed "Redneck Woman," Gretchen Wilson injected Nashville's pop-oriented landscape of the early 2000s with a welcome dose of old-fashioned honky-tonk swagger and tear-in-your-beer country. A discovery of Nashville's Muzik Mafia duo Big & …

Among the first to find commercial success in the 1970s with a fusion of country and southern rock, Charlie Daniels was the forerunner to Hank Williams Jr., Steve Earle, and other unabashedly redneck stars. Daniels is a talented musician whose pre-st…

As one of the most colorful proponents of the 1970s Outlaw Country scene (alongside Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, et al.), David Allan Coe helped create a new image for country music. An outrageous, hard-living, larger-than-life character who had r…

b. 27 January 1968, Atlanta, Texas, USA. The son of a banker, Lawrence was raised in Foreman, Arkansas, and sang in the church choir. He started working in honky tonks when he was 17 years old and moved to Nashville in 1990. He recorded his first alb…

This raucous honky-tonk duo comprises Eddie Montgomery (b. Gerald Edward Montgomery, 30 September 1963, Lancaster, Kentucky, USA; vocals/guitar) and Troy Gentry (b. 5 April 1967, Lexington, Kentucky, USA; vocals/guitar). Eddie is the brother of count…

Hank Williams Jr. spent years trying to duplicate his famous father's sound. But his greatest success came when he shook off that weighty mantle. Williams' new sound integrated country and southern rock, a formula that made him one of country's bigge…

Along with Buck Owens and Wynn Stewart, Merle Haggard created the Bakersfield country sound of the '60s, emphasizing two-part harmonies, tasty guitar solos, catchy choruses and a no-frills approach to production. To this, the singer/songwriter/guitar…

This highly successful country band comprises Gene Johnson (b. 10 August 1949, Sugar Grove, Pennsylvania, USA; mandolin/fiddle), Jimmy Olander (b. 26 August 1961, Palos Verdes, California, USA; lead guitar/banjo), Brian Prout (b. 4 December 1955, Tro…

West Virginia country singer/songwriter Brad Paisley gained renown almost immediately with his 1999 debut album, WHO NEEDS PICTURES. He was distinguished from many of his peers by his expert guitar technique (his second and third albums included West…