Country pop (also known as pop country or urban cowboy) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends genres like rock, pop, and country, continuing similar efforts that began in the late 1950s, known originally as the Nashville sound and later on as Countrypolitan. By the mid-1970s, many country artists were transitioning to the pop-country sound, which led to some records charting high on the mainstream top 40 and the Billboard country chart. In turn, many pop and easy listening artists crossed over to country charts during this time. After declining in popularity during the neotraditional movement of the 1980s, country pop had a comeback in the 1990s with a sound that drew more heavily on pop rock and adult contemporary.
History
Beginnings: Nashville sound/50s-60s
The joining of country and pop began in the 1950s when studio executives Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley wanted to create a new kind of music for the young adult crowd after "rockabilly stole away much of country music's youth audience". According to Bill Ivey, this innovative genre originated in Nashville, Tennessee and thus became known as the Nashville Sound. He believes that the "Nashville Sound often produced records that sounded more pop than country" after the removal of the fiddle and banjo. Patsy Cline, Marty Robbins, Jim Reeves, and Eddy Arnold were among the most popular artists during this time. Both Reeves and Arnold had major influence on their RCA labelmate Elvis Presley, apparent not only in secular songs, but even more so in country gospel songs. Cline became famous in the early 1960s, gaining widespread acceptance from country and pop audiences alike. Other crossover hits during the 1960s included Skeeter Davis's "The End of the World", Sonny James' "Young Love", Jeannie C. Riley's "Harper Valley PTA", and Bobby Goldsboro's "Honey". However, the Nashville Sound was not well received by country purists and faced competition on that front, first from the Bakersfield Sound and later the outlaw movement; on the pop side, the format was overshadowed by the British Invasion, which was taking place during the same time that Cline and Reeves died by airplane accident.
1970s country pop
The Nashville sound eventually evolved into countrypolitan during the 1970s and had varying levels of success, with several artists recording in the style: Ray Price ("For the Good Times" 1970), Lynn Anderson ("Rose Garden" 1970), Charley Pride ("Kiss an Angel Good Morning" 1971), Mac Davis ("Baby, Don't Get Hooked on Me" 1972), Donna Fargo ("The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A." 1972, and "Funny Face" 1973), Marie Osmond ("Paper Roses" 1973), Kris Kristofferson ("Why Me" 1973), Charlie Rich ("The Most Beautiful Girl" 1974), Billy Swan ("I Can Help" 1974), Ray Stevens ("The Streak" 1974), Jessi Colter ("I'm Not Lisa" 1975), and Crystal Gayle ("Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" 1977), were all charted pop-influenced country hits during the 1970s.
Country pop started when pop music singers like Glen Campbell, John Denver, Olivia Newton-John, and Anne Murray (Canada), began having hits on the country charts. Denver's single "Take Me Home, Country Roads" went to No. 2 on the Billboard pop charts in 1971, and while the song stalled outside of the top 40 on Billboard's country chart, the album Poems, Prayers, and Promises reached the top 10 on the Billboard Country Album chart and was certified Platinum. Denver's career flourished from then on, and he had a series of hits over the next four years. In 1972, Denver scored his first Top Ten pop album with Rocky Mountain High, with its title track reaching the pop Top Ten in 1973. At the peak of his popularity in 1974 and 1975, Denver's albums (Back Home Again, and Windsong) reached number one on both the pop and country album charts. His singles were also successful on both charts - "Sunshine on My Shoulders" No. 1 pop, No. 42 country; "Annie's Song" No. 1 pop, No. 9 country; "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" No. 1 pop and country; "Back Home Again" no. 5 pop, No. 1 country; and "I'm Sorry" No. 1 pop and country.