Style: Country : Progressive Country
Greatest Album |  Greatest Artists |  Greatest Tracks
Progressive Country developed in the late '60s as a reaction to the increasingly polished and pop-oriented sound of mainstream, Nashville-based country. Inspired equally by the spare, twangy, hard-driving sound of Bakersfield country, the singer/songwriter introspection of Bob Dylan, classic honky tonk, and rock & roll, progressive country was the first anti-Nashville movement to emerge since the dawn of rock & roll. Progressive country was rootsier and more intellectual than many of its contemporary genres; it was more concerned with breaking boundaries than with scoring hits. The genre was also songwriter-based. Many of its key artists -- Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver, Tom T. Hall, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock -- were not "good" singers by conventional standards, yet they wrote distinctive, individual songs and had compelling voices. By the early '70s, such artists had developed a sizable cult following, and progressive country
similar styles
1950's Country1960's Country1970's RockCalifornia CountryHonky TonkOutlaw CountryProgressive BluegrassTexas CountryTraditional Country



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... began to inch its way into the mainstream, usually in the form of cover versions (Sammi Smith took Kristofferson's {&"Help Me Make It Through the Night" to the country Top Ten). Progressive country also provided the basis for outlaw country, a harder-edged genre that shook country-pop (briefly) off the top of the charts in the mid-'70s. Even after Outlaw's five-year reign in the late '70s, progressive country continued to exist, until it eventually metamorphosed into alternative country in the '80s.

  greatest album
 - The Essential Jerry Reed Jerry Reed
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 - Stardust Willie Nelson
Stardust Preview clips available!!
01/01/1978

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 - Twenty Years of Dirt: The Best of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
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 - Honky Tonk Masquerade Joe Ely
Honky Tonk Masquerade Preview clips available!!
01/01/1978

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 - Old Friends Guy Clark
Old Friends Preview clips available!!
01/01/1989

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 - Dangerous Spirits Ray Wylie Hubbard
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08/05/1997

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 - Keepers Guy Clark
Keepers Preview clips available!!
01/01/1997

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 - The Best of Sammi Smith (Varese) Sammi Smith
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10/22/1996

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 - A Potpourri of Bluegrass Jam Muleskinner
A Potpourri of Bluegrass Jam Preview clips available!!
01/01/1994

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 - I'm Just an Old Chunk of Coal Billy Joe Shaver
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01/01/1981

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 greatest tracks
Song Artist Album
New Cut Road (3:25) Bobby Bare The Columbia Years: Bare's Picks
Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends (2:35) Bobby Bare The Mercury Years
Ride Me Down Easy (4:18) Bobby Bare Live at Gilley's
Bobby Bare  
Bobby Bare  
Bobby Bare  
Alimony (3:58) Bobby Bare Hard Time Hungrys
Bobby Bare  
Bobby Bare  
Bobby Bare  

 greatest artists
Willie NelsonWaylon JenningsTownes Van ZandtMickey NewburyDolly PartonBilly Joe ShaverGary StewartJoe ElyRicky SkaggsSteve YoungGuy ClarkNanci GriffithMel StreetKris KristoffersonRay Wylie HubbardThe Nitty Gritty Dirt BandRobert Earl Keen, Jr.Michael NesmithJohnny RodriguezEd BruceBobby BareJerry ReedAlejandro EscovedoTom T. HallMuleskinnerSammi SmithCharlie RichThe Flying Burrito BrothersBillie Jo SpearsRank and FileDesert Rose BandJohn HartfordNeil YoungLone JusticeThe ByrdsUncle Walt's BandChris HillmanEmmylou HarrisJimmie Dale GilmoreDarryl WorleyKaren BrooksCache Valley DriftersDoug SahmPure Prairie LeagueGram ParsonsRosie FloresBob DylanLyle LovettOzark Mountain DaredevilsThe Marshall Tucker BandJo-El SonnierRodney Crowell

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