Neotraditional Era
tagStarted 1986Peak 1986-1992Last big hit 1994
Located in 1 route
A deliberate back-to-basics correction after Urban Cowboy pop: fiddle and pedal steel restored to the front, shuffle and two-step rhythms, and warm, twangy vocals honoring Hank, Lefty, and Merle. Clean but unapologetically country production. Hard-country authenticity reasserted against crossover gloss.
History
The mid-1980s saw young traditionalists revive classic sounds: Ricky Skaggs and George Strait led, and Randy Travis's 1986 'Storms of Life' became the movement's commercial breakthrough. Dwight Yoakam and Patty Loveless deepened it. The movement's chart success directly set the stage for the platinum 90s Country boom that followed.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
- Bill C. Malone, Country Music U.S.A.
- Encyclopedia of Country Music (Oxford)
- AllMusic neotraditional essays