Most of the variations of "country" music DID start in the South. It started out as a mix of traditional folk music, celtic music, and old-time music and it was eventually popularized in Nashville, of course. This type of music was originally called hillbilly music, but since that's a little degrading, it was changed to country music in the 1940's. However, there was another type of "country" music that became popular in the 30's and 40's which consisted of Cowboy songs. Cowboy songs had been recorded since the 1920's and became popular in Hollywood Cowboy films.
Anyway, there are many definitions of country. In the South, early country consists of Hillbilly Boogie (Delmore Brothers), folk, bluegrass, and gospel (Red Foley), Honky Tonk (Hank Williams) and Rockabilly (Elvis Presley), to name a few. Nashville's modernized country includes more of a pop sound, and is called Countrypolitan (Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, etc.), moving on to Country Rock in the 60's which was made further popular in the following decades by singers such as Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton, Dwight Yoakam, etc. A few other genres of southern country include Outlaw Country (David Allan Coe, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson) and Neocountry (Charlie Daniels Band).Today's Country Pop has roots in Countrypolitan and Country Rock, and has combined these popular genres to pretty much rule the radiowaves today, and it started out in the 70's with singers such as the Bellamy Brothers, John Denver, and the Eagles.
Now here's a little lesson in Country WESTERN music. While not as diversified as the South, Country Western does have some good roots. :) Of course we have the Singing Cowboys, as mentioned above, who inclu
ded Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. Then we have a variation called Western Swing, which was a combination of Country and Jazz, and was made popular by Bob Wills, Tex Williams, and Spade Cooley.
ded Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. Then we have a variation called Western Swing, which was a combination of Country and Jazz, and was made popular by Bob Wills, Tex Williams, and Spade Cooley. Fun little fact: Bob Wills was one of the first ever known to add electric guitar to his band... nice work Bob!
In 1962, Ray Charles surprised the pop world and turned his musical talent to Country and Western music and topped the charts with "Can't Stop Loving You." In my research, I stumbled upon something I have never heard of before, called the Bakersfield sound, originating out of Bakersfield, CA; hence the name. :) It is a mix of hard core Honky Tonk mixed with Western Swing, and leading practitioners of this genre include Bob Wills, Merle Haggard, and Buck Owens. We as Westerners can also lay claim to Truck Driving Country (whoo hoo!) which is a mixture of Honky-Tonk, Country Rock, and the Bakersfield Sound. Its lyrics focus on a truck driving lifestyle and deal with trucks and love. The father of Truck Driving country is Dave Dudley.
All right, now that I've seen a breakdown of what Country music actually entails, I guess it's okay that they steal our Cowboys every once in a while. After all, they are dominating the Country market down there in Nashville, which is the Country Kingdom, so to speak. But I will definitely remain proud as can be of the Country Western that started around my neighborhood; of the Cowboys who roamed the plains, invented Cowboy Poetry around campfires, lived for rodeos, and the TRUE cowboys who wrote about "These Western Skies."
Embree
Sorry I couldn't find a bigger pic! 
