Hitting his streak during the war-torn 1970s, John Denver kept things peppy and pleasant, walking the family-friendly line between country, soft folk, and easy listening. The man had vices, but he largely kept them out of his songs
American Idol s fourth-season winner was a shoo-in from the start, with noted grump Simon Cowell proclaiming her the guaranteed victor early on but even he probably never realized how far she d take her talent.
Australia s biggest country-music export since Slim Dusty, Keith Urban became one of the genre s most celebrated guitar heroes during the early 21st century, championing a crossover-friendly playing style rooted
Brad Paisley stands out as the poster boy for the genre s time-honored traditions. One of the biggest stars of the 21st century, the West Virginian has had 19 singles top the country charts, many of which, like I m Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin Song)
An Oklahoma native and former oil-rig worker, Toby Keith has tapped into the blue-collar lifestyle with humor and sincerity since his debut single, Should ve Been a Cowboy, hit Number One in 1993.
Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn separately kicked around Nashville during the Eighties, scoring minor hits while working as writers for hire. Introduced and paired up in the early Nineties, they were seemingly the perfect match
Although rooted in bluegrass and traditional country, Alison Krauss has stamped her watermark across the full range of American roots music, winning a record-tying number of Grammy Awards with her solo albums, her work alongside the progressive string
Though not a native Texan, Jerry Jeff Walker was one of the artists who helped put the Lone Star State and, in particular, the city of Austin on the country music map in the 1970s. Originally from New York state
The life of the cowboy is one of country music s central narratives, to the point of being cliché, but it s the existence that Chris LeDoux actually lived. A bareback national rodeo champion, the Wyoming native s ranch songs were the real deal
A consummate perfectionist, Williams has made a career of holding out to do things her way, often spending years to get her albums just right; her masterpiece, 1998 s Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, was six whole years in the making.