Purists And The CMA's

Purists cringe at Country Music awards shows. "That ain't Country" can be heard coming from many old time Country fans. The 2008 CMA show was no exception. Kid Rock and The Eagles aren't Country. And, well, neither is Taylor Swift or that Martina McBride song or any of the other songs we heard. But purists need to realize that Country music has always added Pop elements to its sound. There was the 60's Nashville Sound, 70's Countrypolitan, 80's Urban Cowboy and the 00's Pop/Country which now dominates. Yes, George Strait is the exception. Boy, sing a song about God or Jesus(Carrie Underwood) and you're bound to get some sort of an award in the Country community. Country music is in a stretch now where even the most Country of voices back up their music with Rock flourishes. The purists will always squirm, but the days of Hard Country songs charting at a regular rate are at an end.