This book focuses on 50 of the most important entertainers in contemporary country music, providing a brief biography of each artist with special emphasis on experiences that influenced their musical careers. The work is divided into five distinct categories. ""The New Traditionalists"" features artists such as George Strait, Reba McEntire, and Clint Black, who established the mainstream country sound in the 1980s and delivered country music to urban America for the first time. ""Alternative Country"" features artists such as Steve Earle and Bela Fleck, who made country music on their own terms and explored radical or alternative sounds. ""Groups"" includes several ensemble acts, among them Alabama, The Dixie Chicks, and Rascal Flatts, that have carried on the tight-knit traditions of the Carter family and other prominent groups of the 1920s and 1930s. ""Country-Pop"" features artists such as Garth Brooks and Shania Twain who firmly established the ""countrypolitan"" sound as the cash cow of Nashville while also attracting a new generation of fans. Finally, ""New Country"" focuses on the next generation of country-pop artists, with particular attention paid to international megastars, such as Keith Urban, and teen sensations, including LeAnn Rimes and Taylor Swift.
