THE NASHVILLE SOUND

By Tripp Underwood

Today's charts are loaded with pop country acts like Keith Urban, LeAnn Rimes and the Dixie Chicks, but combining country's down-home appeal with pop aesthetics is by no means a new idea. Music producers Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley are credited with doing that 50 years ago, when they masterminded the popular Nashville Sound. The movement sold millions of albums, launched the careers of stars like Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves and Eddy Arnold, and exposed thousands of urbanites to the appeal of country music.

The Nashville Sound was born in the late 1950s when Atkins and Bradley combined elements of pop music of the time with their favorite aspects of country and honky-tonk. The result was polished, string-soaked ballad music that utilized both pop sensibilities and the rural, storytelling vernacular of traditional country. The genre featured a smooth, crooning vocal style instead of country's usual nasal drawl, but still managed to incorporate country elements like pedal steel, twangy guitars and lyrical content that dealt with lost love and heartbreak. The fusion proved to be extremely popular, appealing to traditional country fans as well as those usually concerned with pop music.

As more modern country stars spill over onto the Billboard charts, each one should tip their 10 gallon hat in recognition to Atkins and Bradley, whose vision to combine the simple heart and soul of country with pop music's broad appeal paved the way for their current success.