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stylistic origins: Appalachian folk music, Gospel, Anglo-Celtic music
cultural origins: Early 20th century, South America, especially Appalachia (Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky)
sub-genres: 38
artists listed: 4,570
albums: 24,703
tracks: 384,827
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Countrystylistic origins: Appalachian folk music, Gospel, Anglo-Celtic music
cultural origins: Early 20th century, South America, especially Appalachia (Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky)
Country music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. It has roots in traditional folk music, Celtic music, gospel music, and old-time music and evolved rapidly in the 1920s. The term “country music” began to be used in the 1940s when the earlier term hillbilly music was deemed to be degrading, and the term was widely embraced in the 1970s. Country music has produced two of the top selling solo artists of all time. Elvis Presley, who was known early on as “The Hillbilly Cat” and was a regular on the radio program Louisiana Hayride, went on to become a defining figure in the emerging genre of rock and roll. Contemporary musician Garth Brooks, with 128 million albums sold, is the top-selling solo artist in U.S. history. The term "country music" is used to describe many styles and subgenres, such as alternative country, made famous by Gram Parsons. 
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