Texas has long been a center for musical innovation and is the birthplace of many notable musicians. Texans have pioneered developments in Tejano and Conjunto music, Rock 'n Roll, Western swing, jazz, punk rock, country, hip-hop, electronic music, gothic industrial music, religious music, mariachi, psychedelic rock, zydeco and the blues. For this blog I am going to focus on Country Music.
Texas has been the birthplace of numerous Country Musicians and continues to host a traditionally vibrant country music culture. Texan Honky-Tonk Musicians like Milton Brown and Bob Wills helped popularize Western swing, and modern artists like Asleep at the Wheel continue the genre's distinct style. George Jones is considered the best Country Singer who ever lived.
Other genres of country also evolved in Texas. Marcia Ball, born in Orange, Texas, combined country with Cajun influences. Ernest Tubb and his country song "I'm Walking the Floor Over You" set the stage for the rise of stars like Lefty Frizzell and Johnny Horton. Mickey Gilley and Johnny Lee come from the Houston area. Joe Ely, Lloyd Maines, Butch Hancock, Terry Allen, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Tommy Hancock, among others, helped invent the 1960's Lubbock sound, based out of Lubbock, Texas. Mac Davis is a singer and songwriter from Lubbock who became one of the most successful country singers of the 1970's and 1980's.
Outlaw country is another offshoot that has its roots in Texas, with Texans like Waylon Jennings, Jerry Jeff Walker, Michael Martin Murphey, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Gary P. Nunn, and Willie Nelson leading the movement, ably supported by writers like Billy Joe Shaver. It was this scene, largely based out of Austin, that inspired performers like Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt, whose poetic narratives owe much to the folk tradition and proved enormously influential on younger Texan artists such as Nanci Griffith and Steve Earle, who in turn inspired the alternative country scene.
Tex Ritter and Jim Reeves both grew up in Panola County in East Texas. Bob Luman was born in Nacogdoches. Kenny Rogers, from Houston, has a career spanning more than 50 years. His 1978 album ‘The Gambler’ remains one of the most famous country albums ever released, having sold a reported 35 million copies worldwide. Tanya Tucker comes from Texas and spends a great deal of time here.
Modern musicians like George Strait, from the San Antonio area, continue to carry on the tradition of country music in Texas. Strait "The King of Country" is a singer, actor, and music producer known for his unique style of western swing music, bar-room ballads, honky-tonk style, and fresh yet traditional country music. He holds the world record for the most #1 hit singles by any artist in the history of music on any chart or in any genre, having recorded 60 #1 hit singles as of 2016.
Within country music, the distinct styles of singers such as The Randy Rogers Band, Robert Earl Keen, Kevin Fowler, Dale Watson, Jack Ingram, Jerry Jeff Walker, Pat Green, Wade Bowen, the Eli Young Band, and others are often dubbed "Texas music". The world of Texas Music is large and I am going to do my best to showcase as much of it as I can.
The Texas Country Music Hall of Fame is located in Carthage, Texas.
