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Folk-Rock and Country-Rock attempt to fuse the direct, honest style of traditional American music with the power, energy and melodicism of rock & roll. Folk-Rock emerged during the mid-'60s, as such groups as the Byrds attempted to play Bob Dylan songs as if they were Beatles songs. Their signature sound -- chiming electric guitars and sweet, clear vocal harmonies -- became the template for folk-rock. As the '60s drew to a close, more folk-rock groups emphasized the acoustic origins of folk and backed away from the ringing electric arrpeggios of the Byrds. At the time, certain folk-rock pioneers, began moving toward country music. Under the direction of new member Gram Parsons, the Byrds tackled country music on their 1968 album =Sweetheart of the Rodeo.= Parsons proved to be the guiding force in country-rock, as his solo records and albums with the Flying Burrito Brothers and the Byrds provided the blueprint for country-rock. As it turned out, Country-Rock was not just country played by rock bands, it was country informed by rock's counter-culture ideals, loud amplification, prominent back-beat, and pop melodies. Most of the initial country-rockers borrowed from traditional country, honky tonkers like Hank Williams and the Bakersfield Sound (Merle Haggard and Buck Owens). As it moved into the '70s, Country-Rock had its rough edges smoothed out by the Eagles, Poco, Pure Prairie League, and Linda Ronstadt. Their laid-back, mellow music was predominant sound of country-rock in the '70s, much like how the gentle sound of singer/songwriters like James Taylor and Jackson Browne were the sound of Folk-Rock. Starting in the mid-'80s, however, a new generation of musicians revived the classic Folk-Rock and Country-Rock sounds, updating them with a stripped-down, underground, do-it-yourself spirit, and they spawned yet another new generation of musicians, who kept the music alive in the '90s.

 
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