Country pop

Start: Nashville Sound

The reunion of country and pop started in the 1950s when studio leaders Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley wanted to create a new kind of music for the young crowd that grew up after " rockabilly stole most of the country music youth audience." ^[1] According to Bill Ivy, this innovative genre originated in Nashville , Tennessee , and therefore became known as Nashville Sound . He believes that "after eliminating the violin and banjo , the Nashville sound in sound often looked more like pop than country." Patsy Kline, Jim Reeves and Eddie Arnold were some of the most popular artists at the time. The first singers of this genre, Jim Reeves and Eddie Arnold, were widely recognized in both country and pop music. Both artists had a great influence on Elvis Presley , which was manifested in secular songs, and even more so in songs of the country gospel genre. The first country pop singer, Patsy Kline , became famous in the early 1960s. She created a whole new breed of country singers such as Lynn Anderson , Crystal Gale and Shania Twain , which gained special significance in the following years.

Country pop in the late 1970s and 1980s

Country pop was first widely recognized in the 1970s. It all started with pop artists such as Glen Campbell , John Denver , Olivia Newton-John and Anne Murray , whose songs were successful on country charts. Songs such as Campbell’s Rhinestone Cowboy were among the biggest hits in country music history.

Revival in the 1990s