# What region does the Country music accent represent? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 18, 2010, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-region-does-the-country-music-accent-represent/525473 "2010-01-18T21:51:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-region-does-the-country-music-accent-represent/525473/21 "2010-01-18T23:55:01Z")
When Sugarland released their album, Love On The Inside, a reviewer on Amazon complained that Jennifer Nettles (The lead singer) sounded too twangy, he preferred she didn’t sound so country. (A woman born and raised in rural Georgia, in a country group, singing country songs, can’t imagine why she sounded so country. :smack: ) Her accent varies by the song, some it is barely noticable, others it is very thick. It depends on the particular style of the song. > [@missred](#): > > IME, in the music business in Nashville, most of the folks that I’ve worked with aren’t native to Tennessee. We’ve come from somewhere else to take a gamble on our art form. I’ve written with people from the UK, CA, WI, MA, FL, TX and other areas (I’m a native Hoosier myself). I’ve performed with a crowd just as geographically varied. After a few years here, we tend to mix some of the native accent with our original one to make a sometimes hard-to- place blend. > > So, no, there’s no one standard accent from a given place for all country music. /hijack You focus on anything in particular, like writing or singing, or just whatever is available? You might want to consider a Ask The… thread in MPSIMS, probably get some interest from folks here. /hijack ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-region-does-the-country-music-accent-represent/525473/22 "2010-01-19T00:17:35Z")
I would say that most country singers who have ‘southern’ accents sing in their natural accent; i.e, I seriously doubt that George Strait modifies his accent to sound ‘less Texas, more Tennessee’. People like Shania Twain (non-southerners who affect an accent) all seem to use a fairly generic southern one that I can’t place by geography. As someone upthread said, a southern accent is becoming more an identifier of culture than geography. There seems to be more pressure today for country singers to sing with southern accents. I’m 50, and not all the country music I heard growing up was sung with a drawl. For everyone who sounded like Hank Williams there was an Eddie Rabbitt, Hank Snow or Roy Clark. Heck, Buck Owens was originally from Texas, but his singing accent was less pronounced than George Strait’s. I find this odd given the much wider demographics of today’s audiences. A lot more non-southerners listen to country today, but I guess the music contains more of the cultural identity I mentioned above than it used to. FTR, I don’t mean to sound like I’m disparaging singers who use ‘fake’ accents. I’m an amateur singer whose repertoire includes old-time country and bluegrass. Even though I’m from West Virginia, I don’t have much of a drawl, but I affect a mild one when singing that music. American opera singers do the same thing, but no one ever complains that they’re trying to ‘sound Italian’. On preview, **missred** has summed this up nicely. And I too wouldn’t mind an “Ask the…” thread from her. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-region-does-the-country-music-accent-represent/525473/23 "2010-01-19T01:29:10Z")
> [@Lok](#): > > When Sugarland released their album, Love On The Inside, a reviewer on Amazon complained that Jennifer Nettles (The lead singer) sounded too twangy, he preferred she didn’t sound so country. Jennifer Nettles is too twangy? Next they’ll complain that Jessica Biel’s ass is too firm. No such thing! ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-region-does-the-country-music-accent-represent/525473/24 "2010-01-19T01:40:25Z")
What about Willie Nelson? He doesn’t sound like anyone else on the planet 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-region-does-the-country-music-accent-represent/525473/25 "2010-01-19T03:49:41Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > **Stratocaster** and **MitzeKatze** make an interesting point. Does anyone know of country singers from the northeast (let’s say NY/NJ and northwards) or the west coast? Or hey, how about from Canada? It’d be interesting to compare them to singers from the south part of the US and see if they sound similar or not. [The Higgins](http://www.higginsmusic.com/) are from the west coast of Canada. [Chris Guenther](http://www.chrisguenther.net/) is from Washington state, and is pretty “twangy” in his voice. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-region-does-the-country-music-accent-represent/525473/26 "2010-01-19T03:57:57Z")
People tend to forget Olivia Newton-John got her first sucesses in folk (“If Not For You”) and country. (“Let Me Be There,” “Please Mr Please”) In fact when she won the Country Music Association’s award for artist of the year, in 1974, some members lead by Tammy Wynette, left the association and started to heavily promote the rival Academy Of Country Music . Some artists like Reba McEntire have such heavy accents that there’s no mistaking them, but others such as Crystal Gayle (from Indiana) barely have any. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-region-does-the-country-music-accent-represent/525473/27 "2010-01-19T04:29:20Z")
> [@Lok](#): > > When Sugarland released their album, Love On The Inside, a reviewer on Amazon complained that Jennifer Nettles (The lead singer) sounded too twangy, he preferred she didn’t sound so country. (A woman born and raised in rural Georgia, in a country group, singing country songs, can’t imagine why she sounded so country. :smack: ) Her accent varies by the song, some it is barely noticable, others it is very thick. It depends on the particular style of the song. > > /hijack > > You focus on anything in particular, like writing or singing, or just whatever is available? You might want to consider a Ask The… thread in MPSIMS, probably get some interest from folks here. > > /hijack I don’t know how much of an expert I am on the subject though. Most of my experience has been on the peripheriary of the business (I’m one who has always had to keep a day job. :p). If you do have questions, feel free to PM me. /hijack over missred ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-region-does-the-country-music-accent-represent/525473/28 "2010-01-19T06:16:31Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > Just off the top of my head, [Hank Snow](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtJz_Wm-gG0) and [Shania Twain](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcBplbfXgSY&feature=channel) are both from Canada. Also, [Terri](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1ScBNkXaJk) [Clark](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plJMQeKpz40) Jennifer Nettles’ voice makes my dick hard 😃 But speaking of “twang”, it always cracks me up when people — usually children, but not always — sing a country song _and add in all sorts of extra, exaggerated twang that is completely absent in the original version_. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-region-does-the-country-music-accent-represent/525473/29 "2010-01-19T06:22:53Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Some artists like Reba McEntire have such heavy accents that there’s no mistaking them, but others such as Crystal Gayle (from Indiana) barely have any. Crystal Gayle is from Paintsville, Kentucky. Her sister was Loretta Lynn. Let’s not paint her as some kind of carpetbagger. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-region-does-the-country-music-accent-represent/525473/30 "2010-01-19T06:24:15Z")
Wilf Carter was also from Canada. Americans knew him as “Montana Slim”. Probably one of his best known hits: _There’s A Bluebird On Your Windowsill_: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/wlJ0UwHN3gc/hqdefault.jpg "There's A Blue Bird On Your Windowsil Wilf Carter") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlJ0UwHN3gc) ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-region-does-the-country-music-accent-represent/525473/31 "2010-01-19T06:42:44Z")
I’m not sure but Elizabeth Cook, some lady who hosts a country show on Sirius Radio really in the morning, has the hottest accent ever. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-region-does-the-country-music-accent-represent/525473/32 "2010-01-19T07:21:27Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > Crystal Gayle is from Paintsville, Kentucky. Her sister was Loretta Lynn. Let’s not paint her as some kind of carpetbagger. True, but as a very small child, she moved with her family to the northern Indiana town of Wabash (about 20 miles from where I grew up) and lived there until she was college age. She has a mixed accent like most of the transplanted kids from the hills. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-region-does-the-country-music-accent-represent/525473/33 "2010-01-19T08:07:35Z")
> [@missred](#): > > True, but as a very small child, she moved with her family to the northern Indiana town of Wabash (about 20 miles from where I grew up) and lived there until she was college age. She has a mixed accent like most of the transplanted kids from the hills. Yeah, while Loretta Lynn was a coal miner’s daughter, Crystal Gayle was a factory worker’s daughter (IIRC) because their daddy changed careers as part of the move. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Baldy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Gary\_Baldy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Baldy)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-region-does-the-country-music-accent-represent/525473/34 "2010-01-19T09:02:06Z")
Some names of non-American country singers who have won or been nominated for a Grammy in the country music category that even people who don’t listen to country music should be familiar with: Olivia Newton-John Neil Young Gordon Lightfoot K.D. Lang Anne Murray Additionally, [this guy is from Australia](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TC2xTCb_GU). ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-region-does-the-country-music-accent-represent/525473/35 "2010-01-19T09:10:18Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > While in a general sense California, Oregon, and Washington could be considered West Coast, I don’t think of Bakersfield as being coastal California the way San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego are. Tough. Bakersfield is in California. Its geographical location isn’t a matter of opinion. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-region-does-the-country-music-accent-represent/525473/36 "2010-01-19T10:50:12Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Tough. Bakersfield is in California. Its geographical location isn’t a matter of opinion. You might want to reread that, as you’re missing the most important word in his quote. Bakersfield is not a part of **coastal** California. And that’s the whole point of him mentioning all the states: just because the **state** is on the West Coast doesn’t mean the **city** is. Would you say Amarillo was on the Gulf Coast? And, yes, deciding where to draw the line between coastal and not coastal is… an opinion. You may consider 100 miles away from the coast to still be “West Coast,” but **Gary T** obviously does not, at least for the purposes of country music. And, really, it’s more like saying that Florida is not a part of The South, which is a declaration, not of geography, but of culture. Just because we use geographic terms doesn’t mean we’re referring to geography. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-region-does-the-country-music-accent-represent/525473/37 "2010-01-19T15:24:24Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > What about Willie Nelson? He doesn’t sound like anyone else on the planet 😛 Replace Johnny Horton’s quasi-yodel with twang and you should get an accent close to Willie’s. They both grew up in East Texas, though Johnny was born in LA. Trivia: they were both born on 30 April, 8 years apart. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-region-does-the-country-music-accent-represent/525473/38 "2010-01-19T18:27:12Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > You might want to reread that, as you’re missing the most important word in his quote. Bakersfield is not a part of **coastal** California. And that’s the whole point of him mentioning all the states: just because the **state** is on the West Coast doesn’t mean the **city** is. Would you say Amarillo was on the Gulf Coast? > > And, yes, deciding where to draw the line between coastal and not coastal is… an opinion. You may consider 100 miles away from the coast to still be “West Coast,” In Washington, my family was very surprised when we moved from Vancouver (across the river from Portland, OR) to Wenatchee (geographical center of Washington) and learned that we were from “the coast”. Apparently, as far as most people in Eastern Washington are concerned, everything west of the Cascade Mountains is “the coast”. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-region-does-the-country-music-accent-represent/525473/39 "2010-01-19T18:32:03Z")
Speaking of the west coast, Loretta Lynn started singing in public in Washington state, she moved there because her husband wanted to quit coal mining. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-region-does-the-country-music-accent-represent/525473/40 "2010-01-19T19:03:16Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > In Washington, my family was very surprised when we moved from Vancouver (across the river from Portland, OR) to Wenatchee (geographical center of Washington) and learned that we were from “the coast”. Apparently, as far as most people in Eastern Washington are concerned, everything west of the Cascade Mountains is “the coast”. [OT]Speaking as someone from Eastern Washington, that is definitely is true. Unfortunately, when referring to the part of the state west of the Cascades, I sometimes make that mistake myself although I do try to distinguish between the Puget Sound area and the _real_ coast (e.g, Aberdeen).[/OT] [QUOTE=Bijou Drains] Speaking of the west coast, Loretta Lynn started singing in public in Washington state, she moved there because her husband wanted to quit coal mining. [/QUOTE] I can’t recall if she lived around Bellingham or Wenatchee. In any case, it wasn’t long enough for her to lose her Tennessee accent. Anyway, on the subject of country singers from the Pacific Northwest, there’s Neko Case who grew up in Tacoma and lived in Vancouver, BC for a time. However, she does not have a Southern/Midwestern accent. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-region-does-the-country-music-accent-represent/525473.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-region-does-the-country-music-accent-represent/525473.md?page=3)