OT: most influential country artist ever

Jul 5, 2020
487
406
63
I'm partial to Willie and Waylon; not sure they were ever the *most* influential, but Willie's legendary touring career puts him up there for me.
 

Villagedawg

All-Conference
Nov 16, 2005
1,959
1,914
113
The obvious answer is Hank “Hiram” Williams, but he was heavily influenced by Mississippi’s own Jimmie Rodgers. So is Jimmie Rodgers more influential than Hank Sr? Or is it Rufus “Tee Tot” Payne, since he was probably Hank Sr’s biggest influence?
Rodgers invented the whole genre. Along with a good influence on later R & B.
 

thatsbaseball

All-American
May 29, 2007
17,854
6,553
113
Interviewee Kris Kristofferson: "When i decided to stay in Nashville and not teach at West Point my mother wrote and told me I was an embarrassment to the family and don't come home again"

Interviewer Johnny Cash: " But Kris, ain't it always good to get a letter from home"

Both: Laughed out loud

They weren't the most influential but they were both characters and a big part country music's history and this interview cracks me up every time I think about it
 

OopsICroomedmypants

All-Conference
Sep 29, 2022
1,953
2,668
113
I heard in a song once Bob Wills is still the king, but if I had to cite which country singer is referenced by name in the most country songs it has to be Hank. When I was young, they referenced Hank Sr., now for the last 20 years they talk about Hank Jr. in the songs.
 

grinningmule

Heisman
Jul 15, 2021
3,456
11,923
113
We heard him sing about walking hard and we learned a little something about how we wanted to walk. What do we think about when we think about Cox? He's been called the drifter, also the shape shifter, the master chef, the chameleon, the problem child, the hard one, the white Indian, the giant midget.
If Elvis and Buddy Holly are the Kane and Abel of Rock and Roll, Bruce Springsteen is Zachariah, Iggy Pop is Methuselah, of course Neil Young is the wise prophet Ezekiel, what does that make Dewey Cox?

john c reilly comedy GIF