Western

Western is a style of Country music which reflects and portrays the lifestyles of cowboys, ranchers, and other residents of the Western United States. The genre is rooted in the American Folk Music of frontier settlers of the 1800s. It further developed through the “singing cowboy” style performed in Musical Western films of the 1930s. Western music has a long-held association with country music due to their similar traditions and reciprocal influence, and the term “Country & Western” is often used to reference this relationship. Early Western music developed from English, Scottish, Irish, and Mexican Traditional Folk Music, Work Song, Blues, Spiritual, and Minstrelsy brought to the Southwest by pioneers during the era of great cattle drives, which lasted from 1865 to 1890. These songs were shared by working cowboys, who would sing both socially and to calm their herds at night. Songs, most often ballads, were adapted to reference specific geographical locations and figures. The practice of Cowboy Poetry also originated at this time, with many cowboy songs adapted from such poems. In the 1920s, traditional cowboy songs began to be recorded, often in a Traditional Country or Old-Time string band style. Many Western singers of this era practiced Yodeling, combining the Country Yodeling style of Jimmie Rodgers with their own cattle calls and falsetto vocals. In the early 1930s, Hollywood began producing Western B movies featuring performances of Western music. As these movies grew in popularity, they developed their own musical style, which featured smooth Traditional Pop vocals, Vocal Group harmonies, and orchestration influenced by Big Band and Western Swing. Popular performers of this era included Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and The Sons of the Pioneers. Both Western music and singing Western films declined in popularity by the late 1940s. Country artists continued to perform Western songs, with Nashville Sound performer Marty Robbins in particular recording multiple Western albums in the early 1960s. The genre saw a brief revival in the 1980s, with the appearance of traditionalists like Michael Martin Murphey and Ian Tyson, vocal groups like Riders in the Sky and Sons of the San Joaquin, and Chris LeDoux, who incorporated elements of rodeo culture into his music. Western music continues to be a touchpoint for contemporary country artists, including Corb Lund and Colter Wall.