I grew up listening to country music from the 80s and early 90s. Alabama. Brooks & Dunn. George Straight. Randy Travis. Garth Brooks. I could keep going. My parents listened to a lot of classic country, too. Johnny Cash (still one of my all-time favorites). George Jones (my dad’s all-time favorite). Hank Williams, Sr. Willie Nelson. Waylon Jennings. Loretta Lynn. Patsy Cline. Tammy Wynette. And of course, Dolly Parton.
I went through a phase where I hated this kind of music. I listened to it off and on as a teenager, and then after high school I pretty much stopped listening to country entirely. Maybe it had something to do with the country music that was being released in the early 2000s (which was horrible, almost across the board).
Recently, though, I’ve rediscovered all this old country I loved. And I’ve found I love it even more. I’ve even started appreciating some newer country (I think because a lot of the newer stuff is being influenced by the stuff I listened to as a kid; it’s the same thing with pop and rock especially, since a lot of it is influenced by 80s metal and 90s grunge).
So here’s a little something from the late 80s, from Alabama. I listen to this kind of thing and I find my foot tapping, despite the fact I once said I’d never listen to this kind of music again.
But even though I love this kind of music, you’ll also find a lot of diversity on my current playlist. Everything from Kid Rock (a high school favorite), Nirvana, Green Day, and Rob Zombie to DMX, Jay-Z, and Snoop, to Lady Gaga, Adam Lambert, MGMT, Death Cab for Cutie, and Matt Nathanson can be found alongside the Johnny Cash, Garth Brooks, Brooks & Dunn, and Dolly Parton.
