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Progressive country
developed in the
late '60s as a
reaction to the
increasingly
polished and
pop-oriented sound
of mainstream,
Nashville-based
country. Inspired
equally by the
spare, twangy,
hard-driving sound
of Bakersfield
country, the
singer-songwriter
introspection of Bob
Dylan, classic honky
tonk and rock &
roll, progressive
country was the
first anti-Nashville
movement to emerge
since the dawn of
rock & roll.
Progressive country
was rootsier and
more intellectual
than many of its
contemporary genres;
it was more
concerned with
breaking boundaries
than with scoring
hits. The genre was
also
songwriter-based.
Many of its key
artists — Kris
Kristofferson,
Willie Nelson, Billy
Joe Shaver, Tom T.
Hall, Jimmie Dale
Gilmore, Butch
Hancock — were not
"good" singers by
conventional
standards, yet they
wrote distinctive,
individual songs and
had compelling
voices. By the early
'70s, such artists
had developed a
sizable cult
following, and it
began to inch its
way into the
mainstream, usually
in the form of cover
versions (Sammi
Smith took
Kristofferson's
"Help Me Make It
Through the Night"
to the country Top
10). Progressive
country also
provided the basis
for outlaw country,
a harder-edged genre
that shook country
pop (briefly) off
the top of the
charts in the
mid-'70s. Even after
Outlaw's five-year
reign in the late
'70s, progressive
country continued to
exist, until it
eventually
metamorphosized into
alternative country
in the '80s. |
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