Although country music started changing in the 60\u2019s to a more popular style, by 1999, the new sound of country pop had clearly taken over. For example, that year songs like \u201cBreathe<\/a>\u201d by Faith Hill and \u201cI Love You<\/a>\u201d by Martina McBride were both number 1 country singles at some point in the year. Also, Shania Twain \u201cQueen of Country Pop,\u201d won a Grammy in \u201999 for best female country vocal performance, a CMA award for entertainer of the year and an ACM award for entertainer of the year. These artists and their producers are examples of the metaphorical murderers of country music. Larry Cordle and Larry Shell wrote, \u201cMurder on Music Row.\u201d The songwriters wanted to vocalize their beliefs about the way country music has been shifting away from traditional tunes towards the superficial Billboard hits. \u00a0At the time, both George Strait and Alan Jackson were already well known, established country artists who stayed true to their time-honored style of music.<\/p>\n The unfortunate truth about the current CEOs\u2019 controlling these huge companies is that they have one thought in mind; how to make the most profit out of the music being produced. This issue is addressed in the song when Alan Jackson sings, \u201c The almighty dollar, and the lust for worldwide fame, slowly killed tradition, and for that, someone should hang.\u201d This issue of money over substance directly affects the future of country music. It is difficult to break into any competitive entertainment field. Whether the artist is the first violin of the Houston Symphony or a guitar playing singer songwriter in Nashville, it is challenging to effectively fight the establishment. Therefore, many new artists often do what they are told. Rather than staying true to authentic C&W, they gravitate towards the cushy, glitzy lifestyle of popular, Billboard bullets. Standing up for tradition in this era is limited to those who either have enough success to be bold or to those who are willing to risk their potential fame and fortune.<\/p>\n The amount of pressure put on artists to release catchy tunes as quickly as possible is what has caused the descending quality of songs. Larry Cordle said in a Country Music Television (CMT) interview with Edward Morris, \u201cEverybody\u2019s strained today in country music. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s meant to be that way. I don\u2019t think you can make great music when you\u2019re under that kind of pressure. I don\u2019t think you can make lasting music. You\u2019ll make disposable music, and that\u2019s basically what\u2019s being made here now since big business took over country music\u201d (Morris, \u201cIt’s Still ‘Murder on Music Row\u2026\u201d<\/a>).<\/p>\n This all brings us back to that performance by George Strait and Alan Jackson at the 2000 ACM\u00a0awards. \u201cThat evening, Strait and Jackson came not to praise country music, but to bury it\u201d (Gray, \u201cMurder on Music Row\u201d<\/a>). \u00a0The evolvement of country music had come to a point where two of the industries top artists felt the needed to go live on national television in an attempt to bring attention to the crisis in traditional country music. Unfortunately, in spite of the spotlight on the controversy, country style pop is still a mainstay. The industry has become dependent on country light pop songs to sell music and fill stadiums. At the same time, the songwriters, George Strait and Alan Jackson have reminded us of the importance of remembering the roots of country music.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Work Cited<\/p>\n Vinson, Christina. “The Stories Behind Alan Jackson’s ACM + CMA Awards Protests.” The Boot<\/em>. N.p., 15 Feb. 2015. Web. 23 Feb. 2016. http:\/\/theboot.com\/alan-jackson-awards-show-protests\/<\/a><\/p>\n Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. “Roy Acuff Bio | Roy Acuff Career.” CMT Artists<\/em>. CMT, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2016. http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/artists\/roy-acuff\/biography\/<\/a><\/p>\n Maness, Jessi. “The History of Music Row: 60 Years of Greatness.” Sports and Entertainment Nashville<\/em>. Entertainment Magazine, 13 Oct. 2015. Web. 23 Feb. 2016. http:\/\/sportsandentertainmentnashville.com\/the-history-of-music-row-60-years-of-greatness\/<\/a><\/p>\n Morris, Edward. “It’s Still ‘Murder on Music Row,’ Songwriters Complain Shell, Cordle Unfazed by Award Nominations.” News<\/em>. CMT, 6 Nov. 2003. Web. 24 Feb. 2016. http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/1472512\/its-still-murder-on-music-row-songwriters-complain-shell-cordle-unfazed-by-award-nominations\/<\/a><\/p>\n Gray, Christopher. “It Don’t Matter Who’s in Nashville, George Strait Is Still the King.” Murder on Music Row<\/em>. Austin Chronicle, 1 Sept. 2000. Web. 23 Feb. 2016. http:\/\/www.austinchronicle.com\/music\/2000-09-01\/78457\/<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Written by Shira Yoram. 1 March 2016. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ny3K9irFC5k Over time, country music has clearly evolved. Musicians, reviewers and fans around the world agree upon this fact. Whether the change has been positive or negative is entirely a different matter. \u00a0The … Continue reading ![\"George-Strait\"](\"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2016\/03\/George-Strait.jpg\")
<\/a>George Strait, the \u201cKing of Country\u201d had heard this song through one of his producers and asked Alan Jackson to record it with him. Strait is one of, if not the most influential, successful and admired\u00a0Country and Western (C&W) artists of all time. He is known for his traditional country style of music and rugged cowboy good looks. George is also one of the first country artists to stray away from the pop country era of the 1980s and bring country music back to its roots. He has sold over 160 million records worldwide which makes him one of the best-selling artists of all time. By the age of 60 he had made 59 #1 hit singles. So it\u2019s safe to say that George Strait deserves his title \u201cKing of Country.\u201d Given his earned respect, Strait is arguably the best artist to make the case for classic country music.<\/p>\n![\"Alan_Jackson\"](\"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2016\/03\/Alan_Jackson-291x300.jpg\")
<\/a>Alan Jackson is also a huge name in the country music industry, although he does have some differences with the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music. In 1994, the Academy of Country Music had asked Alan to perform his song \u201cGone Country\u201d with a pre-recorded track of his band. Jackson believed this was untruthful to his fans and didn\u2019t want to comply. He ended up performing the song like they asked. However, in order to clue the audience into the reality of the situation, he asked his drummer to play the drums without using sticks. Five years later at the CMA awards, the Country Music Association had only allotted singer George Jones, a friend of Jackson\u2019s, one minute to perform his song. When Jones didn\u2019t show up to the award show in outrage over this request, Jackson performed George\u2019s song \u201cChoices\u201d (that ended up winning a Grammy in 1999) instead of the song he had intended on singing (Vince, \u201cThe Stories Behind Alan Jackson\u2019s\u2026\u201d<\/a>). Alan\u2019s \u2018bad boy\u2019 reputation is most likely the reason that he has yet to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. However, because he had the guts to stand up to for what he believed in and \u2018stuck it to the man,\u2019 he is perhaps the most fitting artist George Strait could have asked to join him in recording \u201cMurder on Music Row\u201d.<\/p>\n![\"music_row\"](\"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2016\/03\/music_row-300x194.jpg\")
<\/a>Music Row is an area in downtown Nashville that has hundreds of country music recording studios and related businesses. Music Row is considered Nashville\u2019s heart of the entertainment industry. Roy Acuff, the first \u201cking of country\u201d was one of the founders of Music Row. He co-founded the first major Nashville based country music publishing company, Acuff-Rose Music. (Erlewine, “Roy Acuff Bio | Roy Acuff Career\u201d<\/a>) Acuff brought ample amounts of success to the area. This accomplishment proved that country music could survive on its own and was popular enough to exist separately from the music industry, located in New York and LA. The lyrics \u201cMurder was committed down on Music Row\u201d are symbolic of the death of traditional country music in the place that historically has produced the most country artists and songs in the entire industry. \u00a0Music Row was founded as a point of pride for country music, so singing about the death of this genre happening in its birthplace is especially powerful. However, everything evolves, things change and so has Music Row. It is still the most influential place in country music. It is also the place where big businesses control what songs are recorded and released to the public.<\/p>\n![\"maxresdefault\"](\"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2016\/03\/maxresdefault-300x169.jpg\")
<\/a>At the end of the day, the conflict that has been brewing for decades basically boils down to a single question. What makes country music country? This question leads to a decades old debate with numerous opinions and few answers. \u00a0As we can hear in the song, \u201cFor the steel guitars no longer cry, and fiddles barely play\u201d Strait and Jackson have said that the absence of these instruments result in the loss of the authentic sound needed to be considered country. \u201cMurder on Music Row\u201d emphasizes the use of classic country instruments to prove that it is, without a doubt, a country song. Newer music being released these days typically lacks the above mentioned instruments and is obviously contentious and upsetting to the duo; \u201cDrums and rock \u2018n\u2019 roll guitars are mixed up in your face.\u201d \u00a0\u201cMurder on Music Row\u201d might just be one of the most classical country sounding songs in contemporary times. \u00a0It was written and recorded that way to express both the writers and performers points of view.<\/p>\n![\"450300890-x600\"](\"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2016\/03\/450300890-x600-300x200.jpg\")
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