Why Country Music Was So Popular in the 1980s

In the 1980s, country music experienced a surge in popularity due in part to the success of artists like Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton. But why was country music so popular during this decade?

The Birth of Contemporary Country Music

Country music has always been a popular genre, but it saw a surge in popularity in the 1980s with the advent of contemporary country music. This new sound was a departure from the traditional country music of the time, and it appealed to a wider audience. Let’s take a closer look at the history of country music and how it became so popular in the 1980s.

The Outlaw Movement

In the 1970s, a new breed of country artists began to emerge who didn’t fit the traditional image of the Nashville sound. These “outlaws” were influenced by the rock music of the time, and they often incorporated elements of it into their own sound. This was a radical departure from the polished, pop-influenced country music that had been popular up to that point, and it quickly found an audience among those who were looking for something different.

Among the most popular outlaws were Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson, who formed a informal group known as the Highwaymen. They released a successful album in 1985 that featured some of their biggest hits, including “Highwayman” and “Desperados Waiting for a Train.”

The outlaw movement helped to revive interest in country music, and in the 1980s, it reached new heights of popularity. This was due in part to the success of artists like Alabama, who combined traditional country sounds with a more contemporary approach. Television shows like “The Dukes of Hazzard” and “Dallas” also helped to increase country music’s visibility, and by the end of the decade, it was one of the most popular genres in the United States.

The Urban Cowboy Movement

In 1978, the film Urban Cowboy was released, which is often credited with sparking a renewed interest in country music and giving birth to the contemporary country sound that would dominate the genre for decades to come. The movie told the story of a young man named Bud Davis who moves to Houston to work in the oil industry and finds himself caught up in the city’s rodeo and country music scene. Bud’s character was played by John Travolta, and his love interest, Sissy, was played by Debra Winger. The film’s soundtrack featured several popular country artists of the time, including Charlie Daniels, Willie Nelson, and Mickey Gilley.

The success of Urban Cowboy coincided with a new wave of popularity for country music in general. In the early 1980s, many country artists began crossing over into the mainstream pop charts with their singles. One of the most famous examples of this is “Urban Cowboy” by Anne Murray, which reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1980. This trend continued throughout the decade, with other notable crossover hits including “I Will Always Love You” by Dolly Parton (which went to number one on the Hot 100 chart in 1982), “Mama Tried” by Merle Haggard (which reached number eight on the Hot 100 chart in 1980), and “Always on My Mind” by Willie Nelson (which reached number five on the Hot 100 chart in 1982).

While some traditionalists may have decried this new crossover sound as selling out, there is no denying that it helped to make country music more popular than ever before. And it laid the groundwork for contemporary country music as we know it today.

The Popularity of Country Music in the 1980s

In the 1980s, country music became one of the most popular genres in the United States. It was a decade that saw the rise of many country music stars, including George Strait, Alabama, and Ricky Skaggs. There are a few reasons why country music was so popular in the 1980s.

The Country Music Association

The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 to promote country music and support the careers of country music artists. The association organizes the annual CMA Awards, which recognize achievements in the genre, and hosts the CMA Music Festival, a four-day event that draws more than 90,000 fans to Nashville each year. The CMA also works to promote country music through its radio and television programs, educational initiatives, and support for live events.

In the 1980s, the CMA was instrumental in helping to make country music more popular than ever before. The association worked closely with radio stations to promote the genre and encourage airplay of country songs. The CMA also launched successful marketing campaigns that featured popular country music stars such as Clint Black and Reba McEntire. These campaigns helped to raise awareness of country music and increase its popularity among Americans of all ages.

The Grammy Awards

The Recording Academy started giving out Grammys in 1959, but it wasn’t until the early 1980s that country music really started to make a splash. In 1980, Dolly Parton won Album of the Year for her record “9 to 5 and Odd Jobs,” and the following year she took home the award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female.

This was just the beginning of country music’s domination of the Grammys. In 1982, Alabama won the Grammy for Best New Artist, and then in 1983 they took home the award for Record of the Year for their single “Mountain Music.” That same year, Willie Nelson won his first Grammy for Record of the Year with his duet with Julio Iglesias, “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before.”

In 1984, country music had its biggest year yet at the Grammys. Alabama won four awards, including Album of the Year for “The Closer You Get…”; George Strait won both Best Country Vocal Performance, Male and Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for “Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind”; and Kenny Rogers took home three awards, including Best Country Vocal Performance by a Male for “I Don’t Need You.”

This string of successes continued into 1985, when Alabama won their fifth Grammy in a row (for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal), and Randy Travis became the first artist to win back-to-back Grammys in the new category of Best Country Solo Vocal Performance (which had only been created in 1984).

All in all, it was an incredible decade for country music at the Grammys. By the end of the 1980s, country artists had won a total of 37 Grammy Awards. And though other genres have since taken over prominently at the awards show (hip-hop and R&B have been particularly successful in recent years), country music continues to be well represented at music’s biggest night.

The American Music Awards

For a few years in the late 1970s and early 1980s, country music became less popular. But it came back in a big way in the mid-1980s, due in part to the popularity of The Judds, Alabama, and Earl Thomas Conley. Country music also benefited from the advent of MTV, which began airing music videos by country artists in 1981. The popularity of country music continued into the 1990s with Garth Brooks leading the way.

The Legacy of Country Music in the 1980s

The Nashville Sound

In the 1980s, the Nashville Sound began to change with the introduction of rock elements. This new style of country music was very popular, and many of the biggest country stars of the decade began to experiment with it. The result was a more polished, pop-friendly sound that was still country at its core. This new sound helped to make country music even more popular, and it dominated the charts throughout the decade.

The Bakersfield Sound

In the early 1980s, a new crop of country artists expanded on the Bakersfield Sound pioneered by Merle Haggard and Buck Owens in the 1960s. These artists came to be known as the subgenre’s titular “Bakersfield Sound.” Featuring a twangy, rough-hewn honky-tonk sound and personal, often sentimental lyrics, bands and artists like The Byrds, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, Randy Newman, Dwight Yoakam, and Rosanne Cash helped bring country music back into the national spotlight in the 1980s.