Country music preceded the rise of rock and roll, but the insistent rhythms and broad popularity of rock and roll had a strong influence on country music's continual development. Their relationship has always been a slightly contentious one, however, as evidenced by songs such as Wayne Raney's "We Need a Whole Lot More of Jesus (and a Lot Less Rock and Roll)," and their impact on one another is not always easily acknowledged.
James E. Akenson writes, "Rock and roll, the dominant form of contemporary popular music, has roots in country music" (46). Elvis Presley, often seen as one of the most influential performers in establishing rock and roll's popularity, "began his career appearing on country music package tours and was billed as 'The Hillbilly Cat'" (Akenson 46). The sound of country artists were influenced by the newer styles. Don Gibson describes the kind of changes in instrumentation that resulted: "Right when rock and roll was starting . . . some of the artists had started using the Jordanaires, dropping the steel, not sounding so country" (Wolfe 211).
Perry Meisel argues that both country music and rock and roll are preoccupied with boundaries, "the boundary or opposition between East and West, settlement and frontier . . . between self and world, inside and outside . . . between North and South, urban and folk" (5-6). The shared roots of both styles continue to influence one another in many ways.
Akenson, James E. "Social and Geographic Characteristics of Country Music." America's Musical Pulse: Popular Music in Twentieth-Century Society. Ed. Kenneth J. Bindas. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1992. 45-52.
Meisel, Perry. The Cowboy and the Dandy: Crossing over from Romanticism to Rock and Roll. New York: Oxford U P, 1999.
Wolfe, Charles K. Classic Country: Legends of Country Music. New York: Routledge, 2001.
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