Country pop

Country pop is a subgenre of Country and Pop which combines the two genres in order to appeal to a larger audience by taking Traditional Country elements and adding styles and structures from the pop music of multiple eras. Nashville Sound is considered to be the first effort in blending country and pop, pioneered by Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley. Dominated by artists from Nashville, Tennessee, it resulted in many songs removing traditional instrumentation such as fiddle and banjo and challenged the Honky Tonk dominance in music charts with smoother choruses and more sophisticated production. Such music helped artists like Patsy Cline and Glen Campbell gain acceptance from both country and pop fans, but upset country purists.