Opinion: Country music is one of the best genres ever

Tammy Wynette performing in London, 1975

Showtime television network’s brand-new drama/biopic series ‘George and Tammy’ premiered in December last year, finishing in early January, and it shone a light onto the tragic lives of George Jones and Tammy Wynette. Once the President and First Lady of country music, their marriage was brief, but their love was, enduring.

Through alcoholism, drug addiction, and ill health, they never truly stopped loving one another. But their lives were difficult. Tammy was plagued with pain as a result of a botched hysterectomy and eventually, she became addicted to the painkillers that made it possible for her to perform.

Jones meanwhile was a very heavy drinker and often missed shows due to how drunk he was most of the time. This earned him the nickname ‘No-show Jones.’ They divorced in 1975 after only 6 years.

They had hard lives, filled with pain and loss. They were ever lonely but never alone. And it is because of their unhappiness that they were so successful. Their songs are filled with this same pain. You only need to listen to ‘He stopped loving her today’ to get an idea of just how much emotion these people were feeling.

The truly great country songs are the ones in which sadness and regret form the pillars that carry the sheer weight of the artists heartache.

This is what makes country great, emotion. No other genre comes close to expressing the gut-wrenching grief that one feels in listening to country.

Country music does get a bad reputation, however, because of songs like ‘Wabash cannonball’ by Roy Acuff. They are basically jangly nonsense. These songs are made to make people in cowboy hats get up and dance with their hands on their hips right next to their guns.

The raw emotion and heartbreak that good country songs have should be the reputation of country. If it was, then you would agree, country music is one of the best genres ever.