Country Rock

[gejobi]

In the 1970's, country-rock (rock music with a country flavor) was popular.
e.g. The Eagles.

How do you feel about country-rock? Who's your favorite contry-rock bands/artists?

[Shaggy]

There was a genre of country rock????

[TeleCat]

I think The Marshall Tucker Band and Charlie Daniels would fit into either catagory.

[Aginghipster]

Son Volt and the Drive By Truckers

[AboutAGirl]

I'm not sure where to draw the line, but one thing that is awesome is when rock artists do country stuff. Songs like Too Far Gone (Neil Young) and Forever Young (Bob Dylan) are really excellent.

[Sweaty]

Heads Hands And Feet, with Albert Lee, classic.

[Sox]

Man, Sweat, Albert Lee "Country Boy" what a track....impossible guitar or what ?

[Magic]

Originally Posted by Shaggy There was a genre of country rock????

Yes there is, and it all began with The Byrds, Bob Dylan, and The Flying Burrito Brothers.

[annie]

Originally Posted by Magic Yes there is, and it all began with The Byrds, Bob Dylan, and The Flying Burrito Brothers.

And the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

[Sox]

In the eighties I saw a band called Jason and the Scorchers they were really energetic and classed as a kind of heavy country/rock or cow punk whatever they were good.

[Magic]

Originally Posted by annie And the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

yea, them too

also you can add Poco, Doobie Brothers, CCR........

[LOU/REALM]

Not my favourite kind of music, but I do own an album by SAILCAT. Check out the track" walking together backwards " the guitar work is outstanding

[bobbyg29]

My 2 cents on the genre...

"Country rock" (literally a fusion of rock and country music) was invented by Gram Parsons who is by far the most significant figure in the genre. The first true country rock album was "Safe at Home" by the International Submarine Band (headed by Parsons) in 1968 which combined basic guitar rock with the pedal steel guitar. Parsons was obviously heavily influenced by Bob Dylan who tinkered with some of the same ideas on "John Wesley Harding" and "Nashville Skyline". He then went on to play with The Byrds and bring that influence to them--recording the single greatest country rock album IMO: "Sweetheart of the Rodeo". Parsons then went on to form the Flying Burrito Brothers with Chris Hillman from the Byrds, the first great true country rock band. After leaving the FBB, Parsons went solo and his primary partner was Emmylou Harris, who learned the craft from him and carried it on after his death (a very bizzare one indeed if you want to read that story). So you can see Parsons fingerprints are everywhere on "country rock", a genre title which incidentally he hated. He preferred to call his music "Cosmic American Music".

Gram Parsons is one of the important figures in music history that most people have never heard of.

Along with some of the other bands that have been mentioned, The New Riders of the Purple Sage (a spinoff from The Grateful Dead) was one of the first great country rock artists too.

[flipflop]

Originally Posted by Sox In the eighties I saw a band called Jason and the Scorchers they were really energetic and classed as a kind of heavy country/rock or cow punk whatever they were good.

Great underrated band - I saw the lead-guitarist live in January

I'm a big country fan and a big country rock fan. Just as when it comes to blues it doesn't matter if it's amped up or not to me, I like it either way.

[Groovy Man]

You can trace the origins of country rock to Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash , Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Buddy Holly, The Everly Brothers and many others.

Also, The Beatles too, if you think about it.

''I’ll Cry Instead'' (1964), Baby’s In Black (1964/65), What Goes On.(1966), all Lennon/McCartney songs, are considered some of the first country rock songs, by many.

The Beatles also covered country songs, like ''Honey Don’t'' (Carl Perkins), ''Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby'' (Rex Griffin) and ''Act Naturally'' (Buck Owens) in the early days, and rocked them up a bit.

I think The Buffalo Springfield and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band were one of the first rock bands to mix country and rock.

Bob Dylan's in there too, mixing folk, country and rock.

Also, believe it or not Mike Nesmith of the Monkees was incorporating country elements into Monkee songs. Not on many of the hits, but some country rock flavor can be found on some album tracks.

The Byrds always had traces of country in their music, even before Gram Parsons joined in '68

I agree what bobbyg about what he posted about Gram Parsons, The International Submarine Band and The Bryds being on the forefront of the country rock movement of the late 60's. Well said, by him.

Originally Posted by gejobi Who's your favorite contry-rock bands/artists?

Here's a bunch of 60's & 70's country rockers, I listen to...

Goose Creek Symphony
Barefoot Jerry
Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Gram Parsons
Marshall Tucker Band
Charlie Daniels Band
Flying Burritos Brothers
Pure Prairie League
Dickey Betts and Great Southern
Jackson Browne
Little Feat
Poco (Early Poco is great)
Mason Proffit
Lynyrd Skynyrd
The Outlaws
New Riders of the Purple Sage
The Youngbloods
The Byrds
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks
Michael Nesmith
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils
The Eagles
Linda Ronstadt
The Band
Levon Helm
Brinsley Schwarz
Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show
The International Submarine Band
Neil Young
Allman Brothers Band
Buffalo Springfield
Bob Dylan
Townes Van Zandt
Emmylou Harris

Not all listed here are pure country rockers, but most are, and close enough.