The best country singer . . .

[brookdalebill]

I feel like I should mention how much I like John Anderson.
And Dwight Yoakam.
And Mark Collie.
And Wade Hayes.
And Chris LeDoux.
And the Glaser Brothers.
And Marty Robbins.

 

[danielreid27]

 

[johnny k]

Aren’t those synonyms

I guess hillbilly is a subgenre of country.
Hank SR quote
“To sing like a hillbilly, you had to have lived like a hillbilly. You had to have smelt a lot of mule manure.”

 

[rand z]

Hank is not country, he is hillbilly.

Country is HILLBILLY.

(Btw... define what is HILLBILLY?)

imo.

 

[HootOwlDude]

Just put this on when I got in. Her and Conway are next. She is certainly a contender for best all-around. R.I.P.

 

[johnny k]

Country is HILLBILLY.

(Btw... define what is HILLBILLY?)

imo.

In my mind hillbilly predates country. Like western swing, it is part of the country genre, but is not really country. Of course you can put anything under the label country, for the early blues to hick hop and so on. depends on how you interpret it.

If i think country, i think early johnny cash, early elvis and what came after.

 

[HootOwlDude]

In my mind hillbilly predates country. Like western swing, it is part of the country genre, but is not really country. Of course you can put anything under the label country, for the early blues to hick hop and so on. depends on how you interpret it.

If i think country, i think early johnny cash, early elvis and what came after.

I dunno, I think it’s all country, with bluegrass in there too, and even a lot of rockabilly, as well as Texas swing and maybe even some of the Mexican songs I here in the restaurant down the street. But, I see reason in your personal classification. I love old-ass (like ‘50s and ‘60s) electric country more than just about anything.

 

[oldunc]

In my mind hillbilly predates country. Like western swing, it is part of the country genre, but is not really country. Of course you can put anything under the label country, for the early blues to hick hop and so on. depends on how you interpret it.

If i think country, i think early johnny cash, early elvis and what came after.

Most of what became known as country is actually pretty urban; I suppose there were a lot of people sawing away in the hills- wonderful family bands are still popping up- but what became really known to the public was from huge urban radio stations, and the musicians generally lived in the city or on the road

 

[oldunc]

Okay, today belongs to Loretta Lynn (RIP) but Dolly has to be considered.

 

[danielreid27]

 

[danielreid27]

Just put this on when I got in. Her and Conway are next. She is certainly a contender for best all-around. R.I.P.
View attachment 1036533

 

[danielreid27]

 

[39martind18]

The thing I'm seeing in the responses is that the singers that are being touted as being best have a couple of things in common: the overwhelming majority of them are from the classic country era, and, by in large, most have unique voices and/or styles. While there are some excellent singers in country today, there, to my ears, seems to be a certain homogenous quality to the voices, due to the megalithic record companies' "me-too-ness." When a unique voice has a hit song, the record companies seem to roll out X number of soundalikes, to capitalize on the original voice's success.

The other thought I had on the era of the majority of choices is that the demographics of TDPRI John puts the Haggard, Cline, et al choices in the wheelhouse of our choices.

My choice? Vince Gill. His voice is very unique, has amazing quality and range, and he is an excellent songwriter. YMMV

 

[Boomhauer]

In my mind hillbilly predates country. Like western swing, it is part of the country genre, but is not really country. Of course you can put anything under the label country, for the early blues to hick hop and so on. depends on how you interpret it.

If i think country, i think early johnny cash, early elvis and what came after.

In your interpretation (and pardon for putting words in your mouth), is it that "hillbilly" is the sort of folk- and hill music from which modern (that is, phonograph era and later) bluegrass and country evolved?

 

[Boomhauer]

Most of what became known as country is actually pretty urban; I suppose there were a lot of people sawing away in the hills- wonderful family bands are still popping up- but what became really known to the public was from huge urban radio stations, and the musicians generally lived in the city or on the road

That's sorta my opinion - country music is whatever the record or radio companies say it is.

 

[johnny k]

In your interpretation (and pardon for putting words in your mouth), is it that "hillbilly" is the sort of folk- and hill music from which modern (that is, phonograph era and later) bluegrass and country evolved?

 

[brookdalebill]

Vern Gosdin was pretty great.
So was Wynn Stewart, Lefty Frizzell, Tammy Wynette, and Charley Pride.
RIP, and thanks.