Rock Stars Cross Over to Country Music Charts
Hits on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, Singles, and Albums Charts
May 5, 2009
Just as country artists like Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, and Rascal Flatts have staked claims on Billboard’s pop music and adult contemporary charts, rock stars are going country and creating music that hits the upper reaches of Billboard’s country music charts.
Devoted Audience for Today’s Country Music Draws Pop and Rock Artists
What do rock legends see in today’s country music? A large, loyal audience, for one thing. Country music is the most popular radio format in the United States. Radio Locator reports more than 2000 country stations nationwide. The American Academy of Country Music announced in April 2009 that TV ratings for the 2009 broadcast of the Annual Country Music Awards jumped 21% from the previous year, drawing nearly 15 million viewers.
Country is also a best-selling musical genre at Wal-Mart, the nation's largest bricks-and-mortar music retailer, according to an August 5, 2008 report by The NPD Research Group. Statistics like those spell m-o-n-e-y for artists looking for listeners in a business where sales have been falling.
Darius Rucker Posts First Country Hits by an African American Since 1983
Darius Rucker was a staple of the rock music scene in the 1990s as the lead singer for the very successful rock band Hootie and the Blowfish. Rucker’s first solo country album, Learn to Live (2008), has been a huge success on today’s country music charts. “Alright,” the third single from the album, is currently riding the Hot Country Songs chart.
“It Won’t Be Like This for Long,” the second single from the same album, reached #1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, Hot Digital Songs, and Hot 100 charts earlier in 2009. The first single, “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About it,” ranked #4 on the Hot Country Songs chart in 2008. Not since Charlie Pride has an African-American artist achieved this kind of success in country music.
Rapper Kid Rock Goes Country with “All Summer Long”
Kid Rock’s fourth entry on the Hot Country Songs chart, “Blue Jeans and a Rosary,” followed his bigger country hit, “All Summer Long,” which peaked at #4 in 2008. “All Summer Long” was a true crossover song, lifting musical elements from both Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama.” Kid Rock’s previous songs “Single Father” and "Picture,” a duet with Sheryl Crow, both hit the Hot Country Singles and Tracks chart in 2003.
The Eagles Score on Country Chart with First Album in Many Years
The Eagles captured the #1 spot on Billboard’s 2008 country music album chart with Long Road Out of Eden, their first new studio album in nearly 30 years. Their earlier rock albums made them one of the supergroups of the 1970s and 80s. Their album, The Eagles: Their Greatest Hits is one of the best-selling pop albums of all time.
Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and Bluegrass Singer Alison Krauss
Raising Sand, the collaborative album by former Led Zeppelin front man Robert Plant and bluegrass singer Alison Krauss, took the #2 position on the Billboard Top Country Albums list for 2007 and the #8 position for 2008. The album also won wide acclaim from critics. Rolling Stone’s review called the album “skilled and inspired,” with “relaxed, smoky harmonies and reverbed midtempo rockabilly.”
Jewel Has Two Country Hits in 2008
Jewel’s album Perfectly Clear topped out at #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart in 2008, although it didn't make the list of the year's top 25 country albums. Two singles from that album, “I Do” and “Stronger Woman,” both charted on the Hot Country Songs list the same year.
John Bon Jovi Wins Grammy for Duet with Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles
John Bon Jovi was the first rock and roll artist to have a #1 hit on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. “Who Says You Can’t Go Home,” his duet with country singer Jennifer Nettles, reached the top spot in May of 2006. On February 11, 2007, the duo won a Grammy Award, for "Best Country Collaboration with Vocals."
Crossing Over is Always in Style
Crossing over is a time-honored trend in the country and pop music business, with artists moving in both directions, from pop/rock to country and back again. No doubt the country charts of future years will showcase more crossover artists just looking for a hit.
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