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Music lovers of today misconstrue classic country music as that of being something with a high pitch sound that refers to one's dog, their pick-up truck, or a lost love. While these topics can be readily found among the hundreds of thousands of recordings, they are not all indicative of what country music has to offer.

Once referred to as "Hillbilly Music," country music originated in the Appalachian Mountains as a form of folk music in the 1920's. "Hillbilly", considered to be a derogative term, was dropped in the 40's and became "country." As it spread across the states it began to take on different forms, thus giving us the various modes known as "Bluegrass" and " Country Western." With the broadening styles, and an array of new artists joining the scene, the term "Western" was dropped in the 70's.

Classic country music can be defined as fiddles, steel guitars and honky-tonk pianos. It instills a feeling in you that will be long remembered and even longer felt. It's impossible to listen to a country song and not be able to relate to the words. It's earth shattering, heart pounding and, most importantly, it's real.

Country music is what it is today because of the diverse talents of those since passed, like Porter Wagner, Buck Owens, Jim Reeves, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash, to name only a few. Conway Twitty was unable to make it in the rock-n-roll industry, yet is noted as being one of the most successful country artists of the twentieth century. Patsy Cline lost her life in a plane crash in 1963, yet you will still find her songs on the jukeboxes of today. Classic artists in the country music industry are never forgotten and, not only do their names remain prominent throughout the years, but their music is unsurpassed.

Country music sales increased by nearly 18% in 2006, and has some of the most loyal fans in the music industry. It is not a genre that one "outgrows" and, with the introduction of new artists like Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift, it has taken on more and more teenagers and young adults. One day our children will listen to these young entertainers and refer to them as classic artists, but classic country music will never fade away.

Learn more about this author, Tara Rijon.
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