Overview
This lesson addresses two separate but related genres of rock. Country rock is a hybrid of country music and rock music, while Southern rock incorporates themes from the American South into music that is otherwise relatively standard rock in its sound and instrumentation. There are many different sounds and artists that have been classified as country rock, and many of these sound very different from each other.
Objectives
- Identify the defining stylistic characteristics of country rock
- Identify the defining stylistic characteristics of Southern rock
- Recall the instrumentation, musical influences and backgrounds, and lyric themes of several country rock and Southern rock artists
Conclusion
The late 1960s and 1970s saw the rise of two separate but related genres. Country rock combined elements of rock and country music, although there was no agreed-upon formula for this combination. Some country rock sounds like hard-driving country, while other country rock sounds like rock with the addition of a pedal steel guitar. Southern rock, on the other hand, is rock music whose artists hail from the American South and whose lyrics promote values of the South. One notable development in Southern rock is the use of multiple lead guitars, a gesture that was first developed by the Allman Brothers Band.
