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155-414: Restless Heart was an American country music band from Nashville, Tennessee . The band's longest-tenured lineup consisted of Larry Stewart (lead vocals), John Dittrich (drums, vocals), Paul Gregg (bass guitar, vocals), Dave Innis (keyboards, vocals), and Greg Jennings (lead guitar, mandolin , vocals). Record producer Tim DuBois assembled the band in 1984 to record demos and chose Verlon Thompson as

310-586: A Rainy Night " by Eddie Rabbitt (these two back-to-back at the top in early 1981); and " Islands in the Stream ", a duet by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers in 1983, a pop-country crossover hit written by Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees . Newton's "Queen of Hearts" almost reached No. 1, but was kept out of the spot by the pop ballad juggernaut " Endless Love " by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie . The move of country music toward neotraditional styles led to

465-424: A band, and Dittrich had been a backing musician for Gail Davies . Jennings and DuBois had known each other from attending Oklahoma State University in the 1970s; the two were also classmates of Scott Hendricks , who would serve as the band's sound engineer in addition to co-producing with DuBois. Thompson left before the band had officially been named or released a single because he did not feel comfortable with

620-622: A child, which included The Jordanaires and various gospel music groups, and that the band cited a variety of musicians from Buck Owens to Eric Clapton as individual influences. He thought that the band members having varied influences outside of country was a factor in their sound. A 1985 article in Billboard wrote that debut single "Let the Heartache Ride" "introduced the band's razor-edged vocal harmonies and scorching instrumentals." Writing for Knight Ridder , James M. Tarbox found

775-856: A collaboration with saxophonist Warren Hill on " Tell Me What You Dream ", which was a number one single on the latter. Restless Heart's sound is defined by their country pop arrangements and vocal harmony, with many critics comparing them favorably to the Eagles . Tim DuBois , a Nashville, Tennessee -based record producer , songwriter, and industry executive, assembled the band in 1984 to record demos of songs he had written. The members he chose were drummer John Dittrich, bass guitarist Paul Gregg, keyboardist Dave Innis, guitarist and mandolinist Greg Jennings, and lead singer Verlon Thompson . All five members had experience as country music session musicians or touring musicians. In particular, Innis had played on various demos for DuBois prior to his decision to create

930-452: A collection of musicians that came to be known as the outlaw movement revolutionized the genre of country music in the early 1970s. "After I left Nashville (the early 70s), I wanted to relax and play the music that I wanted to play, and just stay around Texas, maybe Oklahoma. Waylon and I had that outlaw image going, and when it caught on at colleges and we started selling records, we were O.K. The whole outlaw thing, it had nothing to do with

1085-530: A commercially fallow period. This subgenre was notable for borrowing from 1950s pop stylings: a prominent and smooth vocal, backed by a string section (violins and other orchestral strings) and vocal chorus. Instrumental soloing was de-emphasized in favor of trademark "licks". Leading artists in this genre included Jim Reeves , Skeeter Davis , Connie Smith , the Browns , Patsy Cline , and Eddy Arnold . The "slip note" piano style of session musician Floyd Cramer

1240-427: A cultural fad had died down after the late 1970s (with Jennings noting in 1978 that it had gotten out of hand and led to real-life legal scrutiny), many western and outlaw country music artists maintained their popularity during the 1980s by forming supergroups , such as The Highwaymen , Texas Tornados , and Bandido . Country pop or soft pop, with roots in the countrypolitan sound, folk music, and soft rock ,

1395-579: A former member of the Imperials . The Buffalo Club recorded one album for Rising Tide Records and charted three singles, including the top ten " If She Don't Love You " in early 1997. This song had previously been offered to Restless Heart by its co-writer Marc Beeson (who also co-wrote "When She Cries"), but they had declined to record it. Dittrich resigned from the Buffalo Club in August 1997, and

1550-475: A little bit of that, a little bit of black and a little bit of white ... just loud enough to keep you from thinking too much and to go right on ordering the whiskey." East Texan Al Dexter had a hit with "Honky Tonk Blues", and seven years later " Pistol Packin' Mama ". These "honky tonk" songs were associated with barrooms, and was performed by the likes of Ernest Tubb , Kitty Wells (the first major female country solo singer), Ted Daffan , Floyd Tillman ,

1705-530: A major influence on their vocal harmonies, and the group covered "Why Does It Have to Be (Wrong or Right)" in 2019. A table indicating the members of Restless Heart A list of albums released by Restless Heart Country music Country (also called country and western ) is a music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and

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1860-578: A marked decline in country/pop crossovers in the late 1980s, and only one song in that period— Roy Orbison 's " You Got It ", from 1989—made the top 10 of both the Billboard Hot Country Singles " and Hot 100 charts, due largely to a revival of interest in Orbison after his sudden death. The only song with substantial country airplay to reach number one on the pop charts in the late 1980s was " At This Moment " by Billy Vera and

2015-822: A number of shows for members of the United States Air Force as well as the Blue Suede Dinner and Auction, a charity event held by the Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse. By 2011, the band was doing over 100 concerts a year. Restless Heart was still primarily a touring band throughout the 2010s and had not released a new album in several years, although they thought their existing hit singles were "strong" enough to be accepted by younger generations of fans as well. In 2015, both they and Becky Hobbs were inducted into

2170-594: A number of years, owing to the disputes that had led to Innis departing the band several years prior. Stewart then chose to call Innis, at which point the two resolved and suggested re-forming Restless Heart. Immediately after their reunion the band resumed touring, with one of their first reunion concerts taking place at the French Lick Resort in French Lick, Indiana , in January 2002. They also released

2325-547: A number one single. Joe Edwards of the Associated Press noted that the band initially faced resistance due to the lack of traditional country instrumentation such as fiddle and steel guitar , or typical country lyrical content such as heartbreak or consumption of alcohol. In response to this, Stewart said he considered "lyrics that touch people's heart" more important by comparison. Gregg stated in June 1994 that, due to

2480-515: A part of the Outlaw country movement. Originating in the bars, fiestas, and honky-tonks of Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas, their music supplemented outlaw country's singer-songwriter tradition as well as 21st-century rock -inspired alternative country and hip hop -inspired country rap artists. Outlaw country was derived from the traditional western, including Red Dirt , New Mexico , Texas country , Tejano , and honky-tonk musical styles of

2635-494: A popular song for fans to play at their weddings. The song was nominated at the 30th Annual Grammy Awards in 1988, in the category of Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal . This nomination led to the band performing the song on the awards telecast. On March 2, 1988, Wheels was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of 500,000 copies in

2790-561: A producer. In 2007, Hendricks joined Warner Music Nashville as the Senior Vice President of A&R. In addition to his A&R duties at Warner, Hendricks’ producing efforts have been instrumental in Blake Shelton's ascent from mid-level act to bona fide star with 27 No. 1 singles, including “Hillbilly Bone,” a duet with Trace Adkins which won an ACM Award for Best Collaboration in 2011. In April of 2014, Hendricks

2945-809: A proposed album to honor the band's 35th anniversary, as well as his own commitments to the Frontmen and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic . Following their retirement, Innis moved to Waco, Texas , and began various music projects there. Stewart continued to record with The Frontmen, who signed a recording contract with BBR Music Group in mid-2023. DuBois said that he conceived Restless Heart as "a hot, instrumental band that could really play well on stage—that had great harmony" and that he had given them songs that he felt were "natural" but had been rejected by other artists such as Alabama for being "too pop". He noted that during showcases for radio representatives early in

3100-482: A result of traditionalist backlash within separate genres. In the aftermath of the British Invasion , many desired a return to the "old values" of rock n' roll. At the same time there was a lack of enthusiasm in the country sector for Nashville-produced music. What resulted was a crossbred genre known as country rock . Early innovators in this new style of music in the 1960s and 1970s included Bob Dylan , who

3255-529: A role in the larger country music, with western wear , cowboy boots , and cowboy hats continues to be in fashion for country artists. West of the Mississippi River , many of these western genres continue to flourish, including the Red Dirt of Oklahoma , New Mexico music of New Mexico , and both Texas country music and Tejano music of Texas . During the 1950s until the early 1970s,

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3410-458: A series of dates throughout Canada . To accommodate for Stewart's departure, the other band members assumed the vocal duties when singing their existing singles in concert. Innis sang "The Bluest Eyes in Texas" and "Fast Movin' Train", Dittrich sang "Dancy's Dream" and "Big Dreams in a Small Town", Jennings sang "A Tender Lie", and Gregg sang everything else. The only song omitted from their set lists

3565-428: A series of hugely successful songs blending country and folk-rock musical styles. By the mid-1970s, Texas country and Tejano music gained popularity with performers like Freddie Fender . During the early 1980s country artists continued to see their records perform well on the pop charts. In 1980 a style of "neocountry disco music" was popularized. During the mid-1980s a group of new artists began to emerge who rejected

3720-543: A significant shift in sound from earlier country music. The song was written by actual truckers and contained numerous references to the trucker culture of the time like "ICC" for Interstate Commerce Commission and "little white pills" as a reference to amphetamines . Starday Records in Nashville followed up on Dudley's initial success with the release of Give Me 40 Acres by the Willis Brothers . Rockabilly

3875-506: A singer-songwriter and producer who was also a member of Jimmy Buffett 's Coral Reefer Band . The recordings with Lehning and McAnally became the band's 2004 album Still Restless , released on the Nashville division of Koch Records (now MNRK Music Group ). In addition to co-producing, McAnally sang background vocals and played guitar, piano, mandola , and the Papoose, a custom-made guitar created by Tacoma Guitars . He also wrote three of

4030-488: A single titled "Torch of Freedom", which they performed in 2003 at the Larry H. Miller Utah Summer Games. After they had all reunited, the five members decided to record a new album. As both Hendricks and DuBois were involved in other projects at the time, the band selected a different set of producers. One of the producers was Kyle Lehning , best known for his work with Randy Travis . Lehning shared duties with Mac McAnally ,

4185-400: A solo artist with a more neotraditional country style, as opposed to the band's country pop influence. According to the other band members, his decision to leave was "a surprise at first", although the departure was amicable. Stewart initially remained with RCA as a solo artist. His debut single " Alright Already " reached number five on the country music charts in 1993, and "I'll Cry Tomorrow"

4340-495: A style of "neocountry disco music" was popularized by the film Urban Cowboy . It was during this time that a glut of pop-country crossover artists began appearing on the country charts: former pop stars Bill Medley (of the Righteous Brothers ), "England Dan" Seals (of England Dan and John Ford Coley ), Tom Jones , and Merrill Osmond (both alone and with some of his brothers ; his younger sister Marie Osmond

4495-514: A tour and greatest-hits album in 1998 before disbanding a second time. They and Innis re-established the band's full lineup in 2001, after which they resumed touring and released their final studio album Still Restless in 2004. The band continued to tour and perform until quietly disbanding in 2021, shortly after Stewart began touring as a member of the Frontmen . Restless Heart has released seven studio albums and two greatest-hits albums. Their second through fifth albums are all certified gold by

4650-479: A video for "(Back to the) Heartbreak Kid", which aired on VH-1 . DuBois felt that touring was not a financial necessity for the band at the time, due to all five members also being session musicians and having songwriting contracts with Warner Music Group at the time. While under such a contract, Innis co-wrote " Dare Me ", a hit single for the Pointer Sisters . Despite DuBois's statements about touring,

4805-499: Is a subgenre that first emerged in the 1970s. Although the term first referred to country music songs and artists that crossed over to top 40 radio, country pop acts are now more likely to cross over to adult contemporary music . It started with pop music singers like Glen Campbell , Bobbie Gentry , John Denver , Olivia Newton-John , Anne Murray , B. J. Thomas , the Bellamy Brothers , and Linda Ronstadt having hits on

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4960-411: Is primarily rooted in various forms of American folk music , such as old-time music and Appalachian music , many other traditions, including Mexican , Irish , and Hawaiian music , have had a formative influence on the genre. Blues modes from blues music have been used extensively throughout its history as well. Once called " hillbilly music", the term country music gained popularity in

5115-472: The Adult Contemporary charts. Released third and also reaching number one on the Billboard country charts was " Why Does It Have to Be (Wrong or Right) ", co-written by Randy Sharp . This song had been rejected from the first album and had originally been rejected from Wheels as well, due to the band considering it too similar in sound to Exile . RCA executives insisted that the band record

5270-656: The Allentown, Pennsylvania , Morning Call was less favorable, criticizing the album for "prefab harmonies" and formulaic lyrics. Fast Movin' Train became the band's third gold album in 1991, and the title track accounted for the band's fourth Grammy nomination. During this timespan, Stewart sang backing vocals on "They Just Don't Make 'em Like You Anymore", a track from Kenny Rogers ' 1991 album Back Home Again . A greatest hits package, The Best of Restless Heart , followed in 1991. It included two new recordings, both of which were released as singles: " You Can Depend on Me "

5425-654: The Bakersfield sound . It has the tempo of country rock and the emotion of honky-tonk, and its lyrics focus on a truck driver 's lifestyle. Truck-driving country songs often deal with the profession of trucking and love. Well-known artists who sing truck driving country include Dave Dudley , Red Sovine , Dick Curless , Red Simpson , Del Reeves , the Willis Brothers and Jerry Reed , with C. W. McCall and Cledus Maggard (pseudonyms of Bill Fries and Jay Huguely, respectively) being more humorous entries in

5580-759: The First National Band ), the Grateful Dead , Neil Young , Commander Cody , the Allman Brothers Band , Charlie Daniels , the Marshall Tucker Band , Poco , Buffalo Springfield , Stephen Stills ' band Manassas and Eagles , among many, even the former folk music duo Ian & Sylvia , who formed Great Speckled Bird in 1969. The Eagles would become the most successful of these country rock acts, and their compilation album Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) remains

5735-845: The Great Depression . However, radio became a popular source of entertainment, and "barn dance" shows featuring country music were started by radio stations all over the South, as far north as Chicago, and as far west as California. The most important was the Grand Ole Opry , aired starting in 1925 by WSM in Nashville and continuing to the present day. Some of the early stars on the Opry were Uncle Dave Macon , Roy Acuff and African American harmonica player DeFord Bailey . WSM's 50,000-watt signal (in 1934) could often be heard across

5890-487: The Maddox Brothers and Rose , Lefty Frizzell and Hank Williams ; the music of these artists would later be called "traditional" country. Williams' influence in particular would prove to be enormous, inspiring many of the pioneers of rock and roll, such as Elvis Presley , Jerry Lee Lewis , Chuck Berry and Ike Turner , while providing a framework for emerging honky tonk talents like George Jones . Webb Pierce

6045-595: The Mountain City Fiddlers Convention , held in 1925, helped to inspire modern country music. Before these, pioneer settlers, in the Great Smoky Mountains region, had developed a rich musical heritage. The first generation emerged in the 1920s, with Atlanta's music scene playing a major role in launching country's earliest recording artists. James Gideon "Gid" Tanner (1885–1960) was an American old-time fiddler and one of

6200-529: The Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame . One of their few releases in the 2010s was a cover of Glen Campbell 's " Wichita Lineman ". According to the band members, they had been encouraged by Campbell to record the song after meeting him thirty years ago, but had not previously found the time to do so. In 2018, Stewart began recording with the Frontmen , a group which also includes Richie McDonald of Lonestar and Tim Rushlow of Little Texas . Despite

6355-516: The Ozarks . As Webb Pierce put it in 1956, "Once upon a time, it was almost impossible to sell country music in a place like New York City. Nowadays, television takes us everywhere, and country music records and sheet music sell as well in large cities as anywhere else." The Country Music Association was founded in 1958, in part because numerous country musicians were appalled by the increased influence of rock and roll on country music. Beginning in

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6510-583: The Recording Industry Association of America . 26 of their singles have entered the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including six that reached number one: " That Rock Won't Roll ", " I'll Still Be Loving You ", " Why Does It Have to Be (Wrong or Right) ", " Wheels ", " The Bluest Eyes in Texas ", and " A Tender Lie ". The band has also had crossover success on the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts, including

6665-567: The country pop style that DuBois wanted the band to pursue. Replacing him on lead vocals was Larry Stewart , a college friend of Innis's. At the time, Stewart was working as a demo vocalist, in addition to working in the stockrooms of the Country Music Hall of Fame and mowing lawns at the Nashville offices of Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI). After leaving the group, Thompson recorded both by himself and in collaboration with Guy Clark , in addition to writing several country hit singles in

6820-552: The music of Hawaii . The U.S. Congress has formally recognized Bristol, Tennessee as the "Birthplace of Country Music", based on the historic Bristol recording sessions of 1927. Since 2014, the city has been home to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum . Historians have also noted the influence of the less-known Johnson City sessions of 1928 and 1929, and the Knoxville sessions of 1929 and 1930. In addition,

6975-531: The " I Can't Stop Loving You " single, and recording the landmark album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music . Another subgenre of country music grew out of hardcore honky tonk with elements of western swing and originated 112 miles (180 km) north-northwest of Los Angeles in Bakersfield, California , where many " Okies " and other Dust Bowl migrants had settled. Influenced by one-time West Coast residents Bob Wills and Lefty Frizzell , by 1966 it

7130-653: The "Best Female Country Vocal Performance" as well as the Country Music Association's most coveted award for females, "Female Vocalist of the Year". In response George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Jean Shepard and other traditional Nashville country artists dissatisfied with the new trend formed the short-lived "Association of Country Entertainers" in 1974; the ACE soon unraveled in the wake of Jones and Wynette's bitter divorce and Shepard's realization that most others in

7285-532: The "heavy guitar and keyboard action" on tracks such as "Jenny Come Back" and "The Storm" and the "up-tempo beat" of "Big Dreams in a Small Town", while noting "tender" vocal delivery on tracks such as "A Tender Lie" and "The Bluest Eyes in Texas". Reviewing their debut album, John Wooley of the Tulsa World thought the band's harmonies and rock influences were comparable to both the Eagles and Poco . He furthered

7440-611: The 1920s, were popularized by films made in Hollywood. Some of the popular singing cowboys from the era were Gene Autry , the Sons of the Pioneers , and Roy Rogers . Country music and western music were frequently played together on the same radio stations, hence the term country and western music, despite country and western being two distinct genres. Cowgirls contributed to the sound in various family groups. Patsy Montana opened

7595-405: The 1940s. The genre came to encompass western music , which evolved parallel to hillbilly music from similar roots, in the mid-20th century. Contemporary styles of western music include Texas country , red dirt , and Hispano- and Mexican American -led Tejano and New Mexico music , which still exists alongside longstanding indigenous traditions . In 2009, in the United States, country music

7750-473: The 1950s to the mid-1960s, western singer-songwriters such as Marty Robbins rose in prominence as did others, throughout western music traditions, like New Mexico music 's Al Hurricane . The late 1960s in American music produced a unique blend as a result of traditionalist backlash within separate genres. In the aftermath of the British Invasion , many desired a return to the "old values" of rock n' roll. At

7905-447: The 1980s. Country music propelled Kenny Rogers’ career, making him a three-time Grammy Award winner and six-time Country Music Association Awards winner. Having sold more than 50 million albums in the US, one of his Song "The Gambler," inspired several TV films, with Rogers as the main character. Artists like Crystal Gayle , Ronnie Milsap and Barbara Mandrell would also find success on

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8060-417: The 1990s. Stewart initially refused to join the band, as he did not think he was capable of serving as a lead singer; he rejected DuBois's offers to join the band twice before consulting with his mother and then-fiancée, both of whom encouraged him to join. The band then began rehearsing and recording demos with Stewart on lead vocals. As they had not officially selected a name yet, they referred to themselves as

8215-579: The Beaters, an R&B song with slide guitar embellishment that appeared at number 42 on the country charts from minor crossover airplay. The record-setting, multi-platinum group Alabama was named Artist of the Decade for the 1980s by the Academy of Country Music. Country rock is a genre that started in the 1960s but became prominent in the 1970s. The late 1960s in American music produced a unique blend as

8370-508: The Carters recorded some 300 old-time ballads, traditional tunes, country songs and gospel hymns, all representative of America's southeastern folklore and heritage. Maybelle Carter went on to continue the family tradition with her daughters as The Carter Sisters ; her daughter June would marry (in succession) Carl Smith , Rip Nix and Johnny Cash , having children with each who would also become country singers. Record sales declined during

8525-567: The Glaser Brothers with legendary producer Jimmy Bowen. Hendricks would also assist producer Barry Beckett in his work with Hank Williams Jr. , Alabama , Etta James , and many others. His first work as a producer came in 1985 when he and DuBois co-produced Restless Heart's debut album. Over the next decade he produced several artists, such as Alan Jackson , Brooks & Dunn , Trace Adkins , Faith Hill , John Michael Montgomery , Steve Wariner , and Suzy Bogguss . In 1991 he founded

8680-529: The Grand Ole Opry. That was the ordination of bluegrass music and how Bill Monroe came to be known as the "Father of Bluegrass." Gospel music , too, remained a popular component of bluegrass and other sorts of country music. Red Foley , the biggest country star following World War II, had one of the first million-selling gospel hits (" Peace in the Valley ") and also sang boogie, blues and rockabilly. In

8835-492: The Heartache Ride" due to its more country rock sound at a time when neotraditional country was beginning to rise in popularity. John Wooley of the Tulsa World reviewed the album favorably, praising the "intricate, tight harmonies and crisp instrumentation." After "I Want Everyone to Cry" became the band's first top-ten hit, DuBois and RCA promoted the band through radio showcases and music video rotation. This included

8990-515: The Judds . Scott Hendricks Scott Hendricks was born in Clinton, Oklahoma . While attending Oklahoma State University , Hendricks met Tim DuBois (who later would serve as President of Arista Nashville ) and Greg Jennings (who later became a member of the band Restless Heart ). Hendricks moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1978, first working as an engineer in a studio owned by Tompall &

9145-747: The Lane " for Okeh Records on June 14, 1923. Vernon Dalhart was the first country singer to have a nationwide hit in May 1924 with " Wreck of the Old 97 ". The flip side of the record was "Lonesome Road Blues", which also became very popular. In April 1924, "Aunt" Samantha Bumgarner and Eva Davis became the first female musicians to record and release country songs. The record 129-D produced by Columbia features Samantha playing fiddle and singing Big-Eyed Rabbit while Eva Davis plays banjo. The other side features Eva Davis playing banjo while singing Wild Bill Jones. Many of

9300-521: The Okie Project, due to three of the members and Hendricks all being natives of Oklahoma . One of the demos they recorded was for " Love in the First Degree ", later a hit for Alabama . Due to the success of the demos, the members chose to become an official band, and they were signed to RCA Records Nashville in 1984. Despite being signed, the band had yet to select a name. DuBois insisted

9455-450: The South, as far north as Chicago, and as far west as California. The most important was the Grand Ole Opry , aired starting in 1925 by WSM in Nashville and continuing to the present day. During the 1930s and 1940s, cowboy songs, or western music, which had been recorded since the 1920s, were popularized by films made in Hollywood, many featuring Gene Autry , who was known as king of the "singing cowboys," and Hank Williams . Bob Wills

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9610-536: The Southwest . First produced in the 1920s, country music is primarily focused on singing stories about working-class and blue-collar American life. Country music is known for its ballads and dance tunes (i.e., " honky-tonk music ") with simple form, folk lyrics, and harmonies generally accompanied by instruments such as banjos , fiddles , harmonicas , and many types of guitar (including acoustic , electric , steel , and resonator guitars). Though it

9765-694: The Southwestern United States, it was the Rocky Mountains , American frontier , and Rio Grande that acted as a similar backdrop for Native American , Mexican , and cowboy ballads, which resulted in New Mexico music and the development of western music , and it is directly related to Red Dirt, Texas country, and Tejano music styles. In the Asia-Pacific , the steel guitar sound of country music has its provenance in

9920-532: The Straw " by fiddlers Henry Gilliland & A.C. (Eck) Robertson on June 30, 1922, for Victor Records and released in April 1923. Columbia Records began issuing records with "hillbilly" music (series 15000D "Old Familiar Tunes") as early as 1924. The first commercial recording of what is widely considered to be the first country song featuring vocals and lyrics was Fiddlin' John Carson with " Little Log Cabin in

10075-714: The United States. Also during this timespan, the band contributed the song "Don't Ask the Reason Why" to the soundtrack of the 1987 movie The Secret of My Success . Restless Heart's tour schedule at this point included concerts with other RCA Nashville artists such as Alabama, Juice Newton , Eddie Rabbitt , and Earl Thomas Conley . The band's third album, Big Dreams in a Small Town , came in 1988. From it came two more number one singles: " The Bluest Eyes in Texas " and " A Tender Lie ", as well as top-five hits in its title track and " Say What's in Your Heart ". This album

10230-597: The West Coast. Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family are widely considered to be important early country musicians. From Scott County, Virginia , the Carters had learned sight reading of hymnals and sheet music using solfege . Their songs were first captured at a historic recording session in Bristol, Tennessee , on August 1, 1927, where Ralph Peer was the talent scout and sound recordist. A scene in

10385-448: The album more traditionally country than its predecessors due to increasing competition they had faced following the arrival of several new country bands in the early 1990s. Its only single, "Baby Needs New Shoes", fell short of the top 40. Alanna Nash of Entertainment Weekly rated the album "C", as she thought the tracks "Sweet Whiskey Lies" and "Hometown Boy" were more country-sounding than their previous songs, although she considered

10540-427: The album's songs including " Down the Road ", which was previously a single for him in 1990, and would later be re-released in 2008 as a duet between him and Kenny Chesney . Dittrich sang another one of McAnally's compositions, "Looking Back", as well as a cover of the Beatles's " The Night Before ", while Gregg sang "Yesterday's News". Lead single " Feel My Way to You " peaked at number 29 on the country music charts and

10695-423: The appeal of the Nashville sound, many traditional country artists emerged during this period and dominated the genre: Loretta Lynn , Merle Haggard , Buck Owens , Porter Wagoner , George Jones , and Sonny James among them. In 1962, Ray Charles surprised the pop world by turning his attention to country and western music, topping the charts and rating number three for the year on Billboard's pop chart with

10850-424: The arrangements "by the book". Restless Heart was one of several country music artists to make a cameo in the 1994 Mel Gibson film Maverick . They sang the title track to the movie's soundtrack , which also featured both them and Stewart on a multi-artist collaborative rendition of the hymn " Amazing Grace " credited to "The Maverick Choir". Due to the commercial failure of Matters of the Heart , Restless Heart

11005-464: The band began doing so in 1986. One of their first concerts was with Rita Coolidge in Tulsa, Oklahoma . Also that year, RCA released the band's second album Wheels . All four singles from the album went to number one on the country music charts. First was " That Rock Won't Roll ", a song which Innis had initially thought was "too pop" to be a hit single on country radio until the song reached number one. The follow-up single " I'll Still Be Loving You "

11160-429: The band members come up with a name before they released a single. He asked the members to submit potential names, which resulted in a list with "about fifty" entries; after this, he locked all five members in an office for seven hours until they agreed on a name. They narrowed the list down to five entries, on which they then voted by using a five-point scale, with five points for the names they liked most and one point for

11315-403: The band members had done so to honor the wishes of a terminally ill member of their fan club. At the time, Stewart was continuing to record as a solo artist, Jennings had joined Vince Gill 's road band, and Gregg was managing a chain of car washes owned by his family. In late 1996, Dittrich founded another band called the Buffalo Club with guitarist Charlie Kelley and lead vocalist Ron Hemby,

11470-565: The band reached the top of the Billboard adult contemporary charts as guest vocalists on Canadian smooth jazz saxophonist Warren Hill 's single " Tell Me What You Dream ". The next album, 1994's Matters of the Heart , included only Gregg, Jennings and Dittrich, along with a number of studio musicians. Among these were keyboardists Bill Cuomo, Carl Marsh, and Hawk Wolinski , as well as upright bass player Roy Huskey Jr. and fiddle player Stuart Duncan . The band intentionally sought to make

11625-530: The band's career, he was often questioned on the band's ability to "duplicate their records live" due to them having been assembled in a studio setting; however, DuBois felt that live performances were not an issue due to the band having played and sung everything on their debut album without any additional session musicians or studio vocalists. Although many of the band members had experience writing songs, they allowed songs from DuBois or other writers as well; Jennings said in 1992 that "when it comes to choosing tunes,

11780-573: The band's vocal harmonies comparable to both the Eagles and to Exile . Colin Larkin in the Virgin Encyclopedia of Country Music wrote that the band was "continuing with the soft rock sounds and harmonies" of the Eagles. He thought the track "Wheels" had a similar sound and concept to the Eagles's 1972 debut single " Take It Easy ". Mario Tarradell of The Miami News noted the band's ability to record both "rockers" and ballads, contrasting

11935-449: The band, Leo encouraged them to write more songs by themselves than on previous efforts, as he thought both this and the absence of Stewart would allow the other members to have more fully realized musical personalities than before. In particular, Jennings thought that Dittrich, being a drummer who also sang, was favorably comparable to Eagles vocalist and drummer Don Henley . One of the tracks with Dittrich on lead vocals, " When She Cries ",

12090-572: The basic ensemble consisted of classical guitar , bass guitar , dobro or steel guitar, though some larger ensembles featured electric guitars , trumpets , keyboards (especially the honky-tonk piano, a type of tack piano ), banjos , and drums . By the early 1950s it blended with rock and roll , becoming the rockabilly sound produced by Sam Phillips , Norman Petty , and Bob Keane . Musicians like Elvis Presley , Buddy Holly , Jerry Lee Lewis , Ritchie Valens , Carl Perkins , Roy Orbison , and Johnny Cash emerged as enduring representatives of

12245-405: The best song wins." Restless Heart's sound draws influences from mainstream country music, as well as from pop and rock. Because of the band's layered harmonies, many critics have drawn comparisons to the Eagles . Sterling Whitaker of Taste of Country describes Stewart as having a "clear, strong tenor". Stewart said that his affinity for vocal harmony was influenced by the music he listened to as

12400-425: The comparison to the Eagles by noting that both bands performed songs with "bittersweet imagery about quicksilver women". Because of their pop and rock influences, the band members initially had doubts as to their success at a time when neotraditional country acts such as Randy Travis were beginning to gain in popularity. Stewart later said their doubts about success were assuaged when "That Rock Won't Roll" became

12555-515: The country band Blackhawk in the early 1990s. The band members agreed to record the song because they had not previously recorded a song about the state of Texas and thought doing so would be appealing to fans from that state. People gave the album a positive review, noting the band's musicianship and prominent vocal harmony, as well as the "considerable amount of passion" in their music relative to their contemporaries. Writing for The Miami News , Mario Tarradell praised Stewart's "conviction" on

12710-468: The country charts. Between 1972 and 1975, singer/guitarist John Denver released a series of hugely successful songs blending country and folk-rock musical styles (" Rocky Mountain High ", " Sunshine on My Shoulders ", " Annie's Song ", " Thank God I'm a Country Boy ", and " I'm Sorry "), and was named Country Music Entertainer of the Year in 1975. The year before, Olivia Newton-John, an Australian pop singer, won

12865-465: The country. Many musicians performed and recorded songs in any number of styles. Moon Mullican , for example, played western swing but also recorded songs that can be called rockabilly . Between 1947 and 1949, country crooner Eddy Arnold placed eight songs in the top 10. From 1945 to 1955 Jenny Lou Carson was one of the most prolific songwriters in country music. In the 1930s and 1940s, cowboy songs, or western music, which had been recorded since

13020-833: The cowboy ballads, New Mexico , Texas country and Tejano music rhythms of the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico , reached its peak in popularity in the late 1950s, most notably with the song " El Paso ", first recorded by Marty Robbins in September 1959. Western music's influence would continue to grow within the country music sphere, western musicians like Michael Martin Murphey , New Mexico music artists Al Hurricane and Antonia Apodaca , Tejano music performer Little Joe , and even folk revivalist John Denver , all first rose to prominence during this time. This western music influence largely kept

13175-519: The crossover success of "When She Cries" and "Tell Me What You Dream" in the early 1990s, some radio station executives in the United States thought the band was attempting to abandon the country format and thus refused to play their later singles. The band members have noted their influence on subsequent generations of country musicians such as Brad Paisley and Little Big Town , both of whom have covered Restless Heart songs in concert. A cappella country group Home Free has also cited Restless Heart as

13330-839: The door for female artists with her history-making song "I Want To Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart". This would begin a movement toward opportunities for women to have successful solo careers. Bob Wills was another country musician from the Lower Great Plains who had become very popular as the leader of a " hot string band ," and who also appeared in Hollywood westerns . His mix of country and jazz , which started out as dance hall music, would become known as western swing . Cliff Bruner , Moon Mullican , Milton Brown and Adolph Hofner were other early western swing pioneers. Spade Cooley and Tex Williams also had very popular bands and appeared in films. At its height, western swing rivaled

13485-671: The earliest stars of what would come to be known as country music. His band, the Skillet Lickers , was one of the most innovative and influential string bands of the 1920s and 1930s. Its most notable members were Clayton McMichen (fiddle and vocal), Dan Hornsby (vocals), Riley Puckett (guitar and vocal) and Robert Lee Sweat (guitar). New York City record label Okeh Records began issuing hillbilly music records by Fiddlin' John Carson as early as 1923, followed by Columbia Records (series 15000D "Old Familiar Tunes") ( Samantha Bumgarner ) in 1924, and RCA Victor Records in 1927 with

13640-408: The early 1960s, however, it was rare for a country band not to have a drummer. Bob Wills was one of the first country musicians known to have added an electric guitar to his band, in 1938. A decade later (1948) Arthur Smith achieved top 10 US country chart success with his MGM Records recording of " Guitar Boogie ", which crossed over to the US pop chart, introducing many people to the potential of

13795-630: The early country musicians, such as the yodeler Cliff Carlisle , recorded blues songs into the 1930s. Other important early recording artists were Riley Puckett , Don Richardson , Fiddlin' John Carson , Uncle Dave Macon , Al Hopkins , Ernest V. Stoneman , Blind Alfred Reed , Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers and the Skillet Lickers . The steel guitar entered country music as early as 1922, when Jimmie Tarlton met famed Hawaiian guitarist Frank Ferera on

13950-585: The early eighties: Nelson charted " Always on My Mind " (#5, 1982) and " To All the Girls I've Loved Before " (#5, 1984, a duet with Julio Iglesias ), and Newton achieved success with " Queen of Hearts " (#2, 1981) and " Angel of the Morning " (#4, 1981). Four country songs topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the 1980s: " Lady " by Kenny Rogers , from the late fall of 1980; " 9 to 5 " by Dolly Parton , " I Love

14105-528: The electric guitar. For several decades Nashville session players preferred the warm tones of the Gibson and Gretsch archtop electrics, but a "hot" Fender style, using guitars which became available beginning in the early 1950s, eventually prevailed as the signature guitar sound of country. Country musicians began recording boogie in 1939, shortly after it had been played at Carnegie Hall , when Johnny Barfield recorded "Boogie Woogie". The trickle of what

14260-481: The end of World War II with "mountaineer" string band music known as bluegrass , which emerged when Bill Monroe , along with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs , were introduced by Roy Acuff at the Grand Ole Opry. Gospel music remained a popular component of country music. The Native American , Hispano, and American frontier music of the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico , became popular among poor communities in New Mexico , Oklahoma , and Texas ;

14415-529: The first all-country radio station was established in Lubbock, Texas . The music of the 1960s and 1970s targeted the American working class, and truckers in particular. As country radio became more popular, trucking songs like the 1963 hit song Six Days on the Road by Dave Dudley began to make up their own subgenre of country. These revamped songs sought to portray American truckers as a "new folk hero", marking

14570-406: The first famous pioneers of the genre Jimmie Rodgers , who is widely considered the "Father of Country Music", and the first family of country music the Carter Family . Many "hillbilly" musicians recorded blues songs throughout the 1920s. During the second generation (1930s–1940s), radio became a popular source of entertainment, and "barn dance" shows featuring country music were started all over

14725-454: The former crossing over to the US pop charts. Other country boogie artists included Moon Mullican , Merrill Moore and Tennessee Ernie Ford . The hillbilly boogie period lasted into the 1950s and remains one of many subgenres of country into the 21st century. By the end of World War II , "mountaineer" string band music known as bluegrass had emerged when Bill Monroe joined with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs , introduced by Roy Acuff at

14880-557: The foundation of this group, Stewart continued to tour with Restless Heart at the time. A year later, Restless Heart joined the Triple Threat Tour, which included Blackhawk and Shenandoah . One of this tour's first stops was at MontanaFair in Billings, Montana . Restless Heart officially retired in 2021, although little announcement was made of this. Stewart said that factors in their retirement included disagreements over

15035-418: The individual members of Restless Heart remained largely inactive until August 2001, when Stewart, Gregg, Jennings, Dittrich, and Innis all officially reunited and began rehearsing together. Stewart told CMT journalist Edward Morris that the impetus for their reunion was a telephone call from Hendricks, who was having lunch with Innis at the time. At this point, Stewart and Innis had not talked to each other for

15190-411: The industry lacked her passion for the movement. During the mid-1970s, Dolly Parton , a successful mainstream country artist since the late 1960s, mounted a high-profile campaign to cross over to pop music, culminating in her 1977 hit " Here You Come Again ", which topped the U.S. country singles chart, and also reached No. 3 on the pop singles charts. Parton's male counterpart, Kenny Rogers , came from

15345-549: The initial blending of the two polar opposite genres, other offspring soon resulted, including Southern rock , heartland rock and in more recent years, alternative country . In the decades that followed, artists such as Juice Newton , Alabama , Hank Williams, Jr. (and, to an even greater extent, Hank Williams III ), Gary Allan , Shania Twain , Brooks & Dunn , Faith Hill , Garth Brooks , Dwight Yoakam , Steve Earle , Dolly Parton , Rosanne Cash and Linda Ronstadt moved country further towards rock influence. In 1980,

15500-406: The late 1950s and 1960s. Songs such as the 1963 Johnny Cash popularized " Ring of Fire " show clear influences from the likes of Al Hurricane and Little Joe , this influence just happened to culminate with artists such as Ray Price (whose band, the "Cherokee Cowboys", included Willie Nelson and Roger Miller ) and mixed with the anger of an alienated subculture of the nation during the period,

15655-407: The late 2000s and early 2010s. Most of the best-selling country songs of this era were those by Lady A , Florida Georgia Line , Carrie Underwood , and Taylor Swift . Hip hop also made its mark on country music with the emergence of country rap . The first commercial recordings of what was considered instrumental music in the traditional country style were " Arkansas Traveler " and " Turkey in

15810-552: The latter part of the western heyday in country music, many of these genres featured popular artists that continue to influence both their distinctive genres and larger country music. Red Dirt featured Bob Childers and Steve Ripley ; for New Mexico music Al Hurricane , Al Hurricane Jr. , and Antonia Apodaca ; and within the Texas scenes Willie Nelson , Freddie Fender , Johnny Rodriguez , and Little Joe . As Outlaw country music emerged as subgenre in its own right, Red Dirt, New Mexico, Texas country, and Tejano grew in popularity as

15965-610: The latter. Innis also left the band in January 1993, with the other band members citing "erratic behavior" that resulted in the cancellation of five concerts a month prior as the reason behind his departure. Jennings also noted that Innis wanted to "assume a bigger role" after Stewart's departure and that there were unsubstantiated rumors among the other band members that Innis was subject to drug and alcohol abuse. In response to Innis's departure, they hired Dwain Rowe as touring keyboardist and Chris Hicks as touring guitarist. Three months later,

16120-417: The mid-1950s, and reaching its peak during the early 1960s, the Nashville sound turned country music into a multimillion-dollar industry centered in Nashville, Tennessee . Under the direction of producers such as Chet Atkins , Bill Porter , Paul Cohen , Owen Bradley , Bob Ferguson , and later Billy Sherrill , the sound brought country music to a diverse audience and helped revive country as it emerged from

16275-585: The more polished country-pop sound that had been prominent on radio and the charts in favor of more traditional "back-to-basics" production. During the fifth generation (the 1990s), neotraditionalists and stadium country acts prospered. The sixth generation (2000s–present) has seen a certain amount of diversification in regard to country music styles. It has also, however, seen a shift into patriotism and conservative politics since 9/11 , though such themes are less prevalent in more modern trends. The influence of rock music in country has become more overt during

16430-400: The movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? depicts a similar occurrence in the same timeframe. Rodgers fused hillbilly country, gospel, jazz, blues, pop, cowboy, and folk, and many of his best songs were his compositions, including " Blue Yodel ", which sold over a million records and established Rodgers as the premier singer of early country music. Beginning in 1927, and for the next 17 years,

16585-556: The music of the folk revival and folk rock from influencing the country music genre much, despite the similarity in instrumentation and origins (see, for instance, the Byrds ' negative reception during their appearance on the Grand Ole Opry ). The main concern was largely political: most folk revival was largely driven by progressive activists, a stark contrast to the culturally conservative audiences of country music. John Denver

16740-625: The music publishing company Big Tractor, whose writers penned “I Saw God Today” for George Strait and “Amazed” for Lonestar . In 1995, Hendricks was hired as President and CEO of Capitol Records Nashville. There, he oversaw the careers of Garth Brooks and Deana Carter as well as signing Keith Urban , and Trace Adkins . Hendricks exited Capitol in 1997 and took over as President and CEO of Virgin Records ' Nashville division; where he served from its establishment in 1998 until its dissolution in 2001. He then returned to his independent work as

16895-419: The music, it was something that got written in an article, and the young people said, 'Well, that's pretty cool.' And started listening." (Willie Nelson) The term outlaw country is traditionally associated with Willie Nelson , Jerry Jeff Walker , Hank Williams, Jr. , Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings and Joe Ely . It was encapsulated in the 1976 album Wanted! The Outlaws . Though the outlaw movement as

17050-505: The name Restless Heart, the band released its self-titled debut album on RCA Nashville in 1985. It charted four singles on Billboard Hot Country Songs : " Let the Heartache Ride ", " I Want Everyone to Cry ", " (Back to the) Heartbreak Kid " (previously recorded by Kathy Mattea on her self-titled debut album ), and " Til I Loved You ." DuBois co-wrote "Let the Heartache Ride" and "(Back to the) Heartbreak Kid" with Van Stephenson . According to Jennings, some stations refused to play "Let

17205-450: The ones they liked the least. This initially led to the name Heartbreak Kid getting the most votes, but after DuBois asked the band members if they were certain they liked the name, they voted a second time and chose the name Restless Heart due to it receiving one more point than the others. Once they had assumed the name Restless Heart, the band members began working on recording an album with DuBois and Hendricks as producers. After assuming

17360-565: The opposite direction, aiming his music at the country charts, after a successful career in pop, rock and folk music with the First Edition , achieving success the same year with " Lucille ", which topped the country charts and reached No. 5 on the U.S. pop singles charts, as well as reaching Number 1 on the British all-genre chart. Parton and Rogers would both continue to have success on both country and pop charts simultaneously, well into

17515-440: The original lead singer, but Thompson was replaced by Stewart in this role before the band had recorded any material. Between 1984 and 1998, Restless Heart recorded for RCA Records Nashville . They released the albums Restless Heart , Wheels , Big Dreams in a Small Town , and Fast Movin' Train in the 1980s. Stewart departed for a solo career in late 1991, shortly before the band's fifth studio album Big Iron Horses ;

17670-469: The other four members began alternating on lead vocals in his absence. Innis also left before 1993's Matters of the Heart , by which point keyboardist Dwain Rowe and guitarist Chris Hicks were added to their touring lineup. Restless Heart announced a hiatus in 1995, with Stewart continuing to record as a solo artist, Jennings joining Vince Gill 's touring band, and Dittrich forming the Buffalo Club . Stewart, Jennings, Dittrich, and Gregg briefly reunited for

17825-511: The other two members separated by year's end. According to a former Rising Tide executive, Dittrich's departure and the Buffalo Club's disbanding were due to Dittrich expressing interest in a Restless Heart reunion tour, which created conflict among him, the other two band members, and label executives. Stewart, Jennings, Dittrich, and Gregg reunited to record three new tracks for their second greatest-hits compilation in 1998, Greatest Hits . According to Stewart, this reunion and album were done at

17980-605: The pop charts with their records. In 1975, author Paul Hemphill stated in the Saturday Evening Post , "Country music isn't really country anymore; it is a hybrid of nearly every form of popular music in America." During the early 1980s, country artists continued to see their records perform well on the pop charts. Willie Nelson and Juice Newton each had two songs in the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100 in

18135-626: The popularity of big band swing music. Drums were scorned by early country musicians as being "too loud" and "not pure", but by 1935 western swing big band leader Bob Wills had added drums to the Texas Playboys . In the mid-1940s, the Grand Ole Opry did not want the Playboys' drummer to appear on stage. Although drums were commonly used by rockabilly groups by 1955, the less-conservative-than-the-Grand-Ole-Opry Louisiana Hayride kept its infrequently used drummer backstage as late as 1956. By

18290-438: The post-war period, country music was called "folk" in the trades, and "hillbilly" within the industry. In 1944, Billboard replaced the term "hillbilly" with "folk songs and blues," and switched to "country and western" in 1949. Another type of stripped-down and raw music with a variety of moods and a basic ensemble of guitar, bass, dobro or steel guitar (and later) drums became popular, especially among rural residents in

18445-436: The pseudonym "Thumper Jones", wanting to capitalize on the popularity of rockabilly without alienating his traditional country base. Cash and Presley placed songs in the top 5 in 1958 with No. 3 "Guess Things Happen That Way/Come In, Stranger" by Cash, and No. 5 by Presley "Don't/I Beg of You." Presley acknowledged the influence of rhythm and blues artists and his style, saying "The colored folk been singin' and playin' it just

18600-471: The request of RCA executives. In addition to their previous hit singles, the album included the new songs "No End to This Road", "For Lack of Better Words", and "Somebody's Gonna Get That Girl", the former two of which were issued as singles. The band promoted this project the same year by touring with Gill before disbanding a second time. Following this second disbanding, Stewart released a fourth solo album for Windham Hill Records in 1999. Other than Stewart,

18755-408: The same time there was a lack of enthusiasm in the country sector for Nashville-produced music. What resulted was a crossbred genre known as country rock . Fourth generation (1970s–1980s) music included outlaw country with roots in the Bakersfield sound , and country pop with roots in the countrypolitan , folk music and soft rock . Between 1972 and 1975 singer/guitarist John Denver released

18910-410: The second-best-selling album in the US with 29 million copies sold. The Rolling Stones also got into the act with songs like " Dead Flowers "; the original recording of " Honky Tonk Women " was performed in a country style, but it was subsequently re-recorded in a hard rock style for the single version, and the band's preferred country version was later released on the album Let It Bleed , under

19065-425: The singles' lyrics, while also noting a roots rock influence in the increased use of acoustic instruments over the preceding albums. David J. Remondini, writing for The Indianapolis Star , thought the album's title track had an "attractive melody and gripping lyrics", also considering the album to have "the right balance of tempos" and influences of bluegrass music in tracks such as "Dancy's Dream". Tim Darragh of

19220-480: The song anyway in order to provide more up-tempo material for the album, and Gregg threatened to quit unless they recorded it. This song was a minor adult contemporary hit as well. " Hummingbird ", the B-side of "Why Does It Have to Be (Wrong or Right)", was later recorded by Ricky Skaggs on his 1989 album Kentucky Thunder and was a top 20 country hit for him in 1990. The fourth and final country single from Wheels

19375-462: The songs were stronger than those of the debut album, highlighting "Victim of the Game" and "New York (Hold Her Tight)" in particular. Tom Roland of AllMusic later wrote that "[t]he guys found their niche with this project. Big, overpowering sound, heavy backbeats, and very tight harmonies are here." In the Virgin Encyclopedia of Country Music , Colin Larkin noted that "I'll Still Be Loving You" became

19530-404: The style. Beginning in the mid-1950s, and reaching its peak during the early 1960s, the Nashville sound turned country music into a multimillion-dollar industry centered in Nashville, Tennessee ; Patsy Cline and Jim Reeves were two of the most broadly popular Nashville sound artists, and their deaths in separate plane crashes in the early 1960s were a factor in the genre's decline. Starting in

19685-659: The subgenre. Dudley is known as the father of truck driving country. During the mid-1980s, a group of new artists began to emerge who rejected the more polished country-pop sound that had been prominent on radio and the charts, in favor of more, traditional, "back-to-basics" production. Many of the artists during the latter half of the 1980s drew on traditional honky-tonk, bluegrass, folk and western swing. Artists who typified this sound included Travis Tritt , Reba McEntire , George Strait , Keith Whitley , Alan Jackson , John Anderson , Patty Loveless , Kathy Mattea , Randy Travis , Dwight Yoakam , Clint Black , Ricky Skaggs , and

19840-474: The three states of Texhomex , those being Tex as , Okla ho ma , and New Mex ico . It became known as honky tonk and had its roots in western swing and the ranchera music of Mexico and the border states, particularly New Mexico and Texas, together with the blues of the American South. Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys personified this music which has been described as "a little bit of this, and

19995-481: The title "Country Honk". Described by AllMusic as the "father of country-rock", Gram Parsons' work in the early 1970s was acclaimed for its purity and for his appreciation for aspects of traditional country music. Though his career was cut tragically short by his 1973 death, his legacy was carried on by his protégé and duet partner Emmylou Harris ; Harris would release her debut solo in 1975, an amalgamation of country, rock and roll, folk, blues and pop. Subsequent to

20150-421: The title track and "gentle delivery" on "The Bluest Eyes in Texas", as well as the variety in tempo and arrangement between individual tracks. The band supported this album by touring with Alabama and The Judds , both of whom were also on RCA at the time. The album accounted for the band's second Grammy nomination in the category of Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1989, while its title track

20305-437: The trucking song subgenre following the success of Six Days on the Road and asked Red Simpson to record an album of trucking songs. Haggard's White Line Fever was also part of the trucking subgenre. The country music scene of the 1940s until the 1970s was largely dominated by western music influences, so much so that the genre began to be called "country and western". Even today, cowboy and frontier values continue to play

20460-405: The way I'm doin' it now, man for more years than I know." Within a few years, many rockabilly musicians returned to a more mainstream style or had defined their own unique style. Country music gained national television exposure through Ozark Jubilee on ABC-TV and radio from 1955 to 1960 from Springfield, Missouri . The program showcased top stars including several rockabilly artists, some from

20615-477: The year of rockabilly in country music. Rockabilly was an early form of rock and roll , an upbeat combination of blues and country music. The number two, three and four songs on Billboard's charts for that year were Elvis Presley , " Heartbreak Hotel "; Johnny Cash , " I Walk the Line "; and Carl Perkins , " Blue Suede Shoes ". Reflecting this success, George Jones released a rockabilly record that year under

20770-440: Was the title track , which topped the country charts in 1987. This song was written by Dave Loggins and originally recorded by The Bellamy Brothers on their 1985 album Howard & David . The B-side, "New York (Hold Her Tight)", accounted for Restless Heart's third chart entry on Billboard ' s Adult Contemporary chart. Wheels had favorable critical and commercial reception. James M. Tarbox of Knight Ridder thought

20925-430: Was "Why Does It Have to Be (Wrong or Right)", due to it having a more complex vocal arrangement which they felt could not be achieved with only four voices. The rotation of lead vocal duties continued on Restless Heart's next album, 1992's Big Iron Horses . Leo once again served as producer and alternated with Bruce Gaitsch as rhythm guitarist on several songs, while Bernie Leadon contributed on banjo. According to

21080-604: Was "introduced to the world as a Southern phenomenon." Migration into the southern Appalachian Mountains , of the Southeastern United States , brought the folk music and instruments of Europe and the Mediterranean Basin along with it for nearly 300 years, which developed into Appalachian music . As the country expanded westward, the Mississippi River and Louisiana became a crossroads for country music, giving rise to Cajun music . In

21235-476: Was a song that had been originally offered to Kenny Rogers , who turned it down. It was band's second number-one country hit and their first song to be successful outside the country music charts. The song peaked at number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 , making it the first country song to be a top 40 pop hit since Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias ' " To All the Girls I've Loved Before " in early 1984. Additionally, "I'll Still Be Loving You" reached number three on

21390-501: Was a top-five hit, while "Familiar Pain" was less successful. As DuBois had become president of Arista Nashville by this point, his production duties for the new songs were taken over by Josh Leo . The release of this compilation also led to "Til I Loved You" being re-issued for adult contemporary, peaking at number 33 on the Billboard chart for that format. Larry Stewart left the band in December 1991 because he wanted to perform as

21545-438: Was already an established country star) all recorded significant country hits in the early 1980s. Sales in record stores rocketed to $ 250 million in 1981; by 1984, 900 radio stations began programming country or neocountry pop full-time. As with most sudden trends, however, by 1984 sales had dropped below 1979 figures. Truck-driving country music is a genre of country music and is a fusion of honky-tonk , country rock and

21700-401: Was also a top-40 country hit. Both of these were included on his solo debut album Down the Road . He recorded two albums for Columbia Records in 1994 and 1996, and while these albums accounted for five more charted singles, none were as successful. The remaining four members decided to rotate lead vocal duties amongst themselves instead of hiring a new lead vocalist, as they thought Stewart

21855-634: Was also the first to feature members other than Stewart on lead vocals: Gregg sang "El Dorado" and shared lead vocals with Stewart on both "Carved in Stone" and "The Bluest Eyes in Texas", while Dittrich sang "Calm Before the Storm". The band members wrote some of the songs themselves and played all the instruments except for Fairlight CMI synthesizers, which were programmed by Carl Marsh and David Humphreys. DuBois co-wrote "The Bluest Eyes in Texas" with Van Stephenson and Dave Robbins, who would later become members of

22010-563: Was an important component of this style. The Nashville Sound collapsed in mainstream popularity in 1964, a victim of both the British Invasion and the deaths of Reeves and Cline in separate airplane crashes. By the mid-1960s, the genre had developed into countrypolitan . Countrypolitan was aimed straight at mainstream markets, and it sold well throughout the later 1960s into the early 1970s. Top artists included Tammy Wynette , Lynn Anderson and Charlie Rich , as well as such former "hard country" artists as Ray Price and Marty Robbins . Despite

22165-593: Was another country musician from the Lower Great Plains who had become very popular as the leader of a " hot string band ," and who also appeared in Hollywood westerns . His mix of country and jazz , which started out as dance hall music, would become known as western swing . Wills was one of the first country musicians known to have added an electric guitar to his band, in 1938. Country musicians began recording boogie in 1939, shortly after it had been played at Carnegie Hall , when Johnny Barfield recorded "Boogie Woogie". The third generation (1950s–1960s) started at

22320-417: Was dropped by RCA Nashville at the end of 1994. In response to this, the three remaining band members announced they would go on hiatus in January 1995. Stewart, Jennings, Dittrich, and Gregg reunited for one performance in June 1996 which included acoustic renditions of "Big Dreams in a Small Town", "The Bluest Eyes in Texas", "Fast Movin' Train", and "Amazing Grace". This was not considered a formal reunion, as

22475-596: Was initially called hillbilly boogie, or okie boogie (later to be renamed country boogie), became a flood beginning in late 1945. One notable release from this period was the Delmore Brothers ' "Freight Train Boogie", considered to be part of the combined evolution of country music and blues towards rockabilly . In 1948, Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith achieved top ten US country chart success with his MGM Records recordings of " Guitar Boogie " and "Banjo Boogie", with

22630-640: Was known as the Bakersfield sound . It relied on electric instruments and amplification, in particular the Telecaster electric guitar, more than other subgenres of the country music of the era, and it can be described as having a sharp, hard, driving, no-frills, edgy flavor—hard guitars and honky-tonk harmonies. Leading practitioners of this style were Buck Owens , Merle Haggard , Tommy Collins , Dwight Yoakam , Gary Allan , and Wynn Stewart , each of whom had his own style. Ken Nelson , who had produced Owens and Haggard and Rose Maddox became interested in

22785-544: Was most popular with country fans in the 1950s; one of the first rock and roll superstars was former western yodeler Bill Haley , who repurposed his Four Aces of Western Swing into a rock and roll band in the early 1950s and renamed it the Comets . Bill Haley & His Comets are credited with two of the first successful rock and roll records, " Crazy Man, Crazy " of 1953 and " Rock Around the Clock " in 1954. 1956 could be called

22940-418: Was nominated in the same category a year later. Restless Heart's fourth album, Fast Movin' Train , was released in 1990. Its title track (also written by Loggins) and " Dancy's Dream " were top-five hits, while " When Somebody Loves You " and " Long Lost Friend " were less successful. Robert K. Oermann of The Tennessean found this album superior to the ones before it, praising the "direct approach" of

23095-413: Was perhaps the only musician to have major success in both the country and folk revival genres throughout his career, later only a handful of artists like Burl Ives and Canadian musician Gordon Lightfoot successfully made the crossover to country after folk revival fell out of fashion. During the mid-1950s a new style of country music became popular, eventually to be referred to as rockabilly. In 1953,

23250-535: Was the "most conservative" member of the group and that alternating the lead vocal would allow the band to become "more adventurous". In addition, they thought this arrangement was tenable due to their admiration of other bands with more than one lead vocalist, such as the Eagles, Chicago , and the Beatles . They first performed without Stewart at a concert in Grand Forks, North Dakota , in early 1992, followed by

23405-518: Was the album's first single. It went to number nine on the country charts, number eleven on the Hot 100 (their highest entry on that chart), and number two on the adult contemporary charts. Additionally it accounted for the band's fifth and final Grammy nomination. After it came " We Got the Love " and " Mending Fences ", which both fell short of the country top ten. Dittrich also sang the former, while Gregg sang

23560-408: Was the album's only single before Koch Records closed its Nashville division in 2005. The band released a live album, 25 and Live , in 2007 through their website. This was later reissued in early 2009 as part of a 25th anniversary package which also included Still Restless and a compilation of music videos . Restless Heart continued touring throughout the first decade of the 21st century, including

23715-593: Was the first to revert to country music with his 1967 album John Wesley Harding (and even more so with that album's follow-up, Nashville Skyline ), followed by Gene Clark , Clark's former band the Byrds (with Gram Parsons on Sweetheart of the Rodeo ) and its spin-off the Flying Burrito Brothers (also featuring Gram Parsons), guitarist Clarence White , Michael Nesmith ( the Monkees and

23870-591: Was the most-listened-to rush-hour radio genre during the evening commute, and second-most popular in the morning commute. The main components of the modern country music style date back to music traditions throughout the Southern United States and Southwestern United States , while its place in American popular music was established in the 1920s during the early days of music recording. According to country historian Bill C. Malone , country music

24025-452: Was the top-charting country artist of the 1950s, with 13 of his singles spending 113 weeks at number one. He charted 48 singles during the decade; 31 reached the top ten and 26 reached the top four. By the early 1950s, a blend of western swing, country boogie, and honky tonk was played by most country bands, a mixture which followed in the footsteps of Gene Autry , Lydia Mendoza , Roy Rogers , and Patsy Montana . Western music, influenced by

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