# What’s the difference between Rock & Roll and Country/Western music? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [May 4, 2022, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-rock-roll-and-country-western-music/963925 "2022-05-04T08:19:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-rock-roll-and-country-western-music/963925/21 "2022-05-04T13:01:43Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Chet Atkins would like to have a word with you, from beyond the grave: > > Shucks, I’m not even really much of a fan of Country music, but I feel like I’m becoming the default ignorance fighter in this thread. Hopefully someone will come along with more knowledge on the subject than me It seems that in the old days there was less distinctions than there is now. In addition to the already mentioned Chet Atkins, there was Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, and Jimmy Buffett (in his earlier years) among others. Were they country musicians or rock and roll? Now it’s easy to tell the difference between George Strait and Toby Keith vs. Coldplay or Linkin Park. Back then not so much. If anything, the genres seem to be moving further apart rather than coming closer together. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-rock-roll-and-country-western-music/963925/22 "2022-05-04T13:10:10Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > OP, are you asking about current country or classic, or what? I honestly didn’t consider the difference. This question first came to mind when I first heard REM in the mid-80’s (soon after meeting a new friend who loved the band), I told her that I was surprised that she liked country music. I was promptly scolded that they are a rock band. I was just a young teen who grew up in an urban area, so was really not exposed to much of these types of music. Now I feel I can distinguish, but still wondered what the actual differences really are. So basically, I waited about 35 years to ask this question here. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-rock-roll-and-country-western-music/963925/23 "2022-05-04T13:11:55Z")
In their song I Am Superman, I think that’s a country harmony during the I am…I am part. Plus, aren’t they from Georgia? Probably lots of country influences. @minor7flat5, what is the vocal harmony that seems to dominate today’s country music? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-rock-roll-and-country-western-music/963925/24 "2022-05-04T13:13:14Z")
I found this older thread: > [@What's the difference between Country and Rock?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-country-and-rock/401970): > > Is there any bright-line test? The Rolling Stones have written and performed country songs. Toby Keith has been known to rock out on occassion. Where do you draw the line? Especially since country is one of the roots of rock. Is it the presence of a slide guitar? Does a pickup truck have to be involved somewhere? Is the Marshall Tucker Band one or the other? ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-rock-roll-and-country-western-music/963925/25 "2022-05-04T13:17:03Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Plus, aren’t they from Georgia? Probably lots of country influences. Yes, I eventually watched the documentary about Athens GA, that drove home the point that there is quite a bit of overlap. > **[Athens, GA: Inside/Out](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athens,_GA:_Inside/Out)** > > Athens, GA: Inside/Out is a 1986 documentary film about the mid-1980s music scene in Athens, Georgia. The film has been described as "the definitive portrait of the city's world-renowned music scene." > Athens, GA: Inside/Out was the creation of Tony Gayton, a first-time director who recently graduated from the University of Southern California. He was director, writer, and shot the documentary on the film. The film was produced by Bill Cody. > The film features interviews and concert footage of ba... ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-rock-roll-and-country-western-music/963925/26 "2022-05-04T13:26:53Z")
Yeah, not all country music has steel guitar, but if your song has some, then I’m assuming country and/or western (we play both kinds here) until proven otherwise. Also, the twang as mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-rock-roll-and-country-western-music/963925/27 "2022-05-04T13:30:55Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Anyway, bass parts tend to be different, drum beats tend to be more 2/4 time, rarely do you see a shuffle beat in country, instruments tend to be different (banjo, pedal steel, and violins are much more common in country). Also, saxophone. The sax was a dominant instrument in early rock’n’roll, and though it got replaced by the electric guitar as a solo instrument, there are still many rock songs with saxophones. I’ve never heard a country song with a saxophone (or any horns, for that matter). Concerning bass, country tends to have acoustic upright bass whereas in rock today, it’s mostly electric bass guitar. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-rock-roll-and-country-western-music/963925/28 "2022-05-04T13:40:24Z")
I forgot the most important difference – Rock as a style is seriously waning, whereas Country is going strong. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-rock-roll-and-country-western-music/963925/29 "2022-05-04T13:42:27Z")
But that only applies to the US. Rock is waning everywhere, that’s true, but country always has been a niche market almost anywhere else. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-rock-roll-and-country-western-music/963925/30 "2022-05-04T13:43:01Z")
One key difference is that in country songs, the singers (especially women) all sound as though they’re at least in their '40s and have done way too much smoking and boozing. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-rock-roll-and-country-western-music/963925/31 "2022-05-04T13:49:15Z")
As far as I can tell, a country song has to be about something. It has to be evident what the subject matter is, and what the songwriter is saying about that subject matter has to be clearly stated. A rock and roll song can make a clear statement about whatever, but by no means does it have to. It can be some kind of obscure or dense thing, or it can even be complete gibberish if you can make it sound good. I guess the point is that if you’re an aspiring songwriter and you’re not sure what it is you want to say and/or don’t know how to say it, maybe someone would be doing you a favor to make sure you ply your trade in the rock and roll market rather than country music. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-rock-roll-and-country-western-music/963925/32 "2022-05-04T13:56:51Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > rarely do you see a shuffle beat in country Maybe rarer than in rock or blues, but the country shuffle is a thing. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-rock-roll-and-country-western-music/963925/33 "2022-05-04T13:59:12Z")
Yeah, I think you’re right about that. You don’t really shuffle beats in rock anymore, but it’s definitely in blues. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-rock-roll-and-country-western-music/963925/34 "2022-05-04T14:22:10Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Except that a lot of country songs use the standard blues chord pattern and scale. Maybe, but there’s much less of an emphasis on the rhythm section - drums, bass, guitar riffs - in country than there is in rock. Although there IS also honky-tonk and rockabilly, which are both country and rhythmic, so who knows? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-rock-roll-and-country-western-music/963925/35 "2022-05-04T14:26:02Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > A rock and roll song can make a clear statement about whatever, but by no means does it have to. It can be some kind of obscure or dense thing, or it can even be complete gibberish if you can make it sound good. This is definitely true; the two music styles have fairly well defined rules about what they are allowed to be about. Either can be about love or politics, but only rock can be ab out nothing, and country has some clarity of theme rock can’t be about. But that doesn’t change how they SOUND. You can recognize how country sounds, even if someone altered the song to deliberately garble the words. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-rock-roll-and-country-western-music/963925/36 "2022-05-04T14:33:04Z")
You’re right. I just don’t necessarily read the original question as wanting to limit the answer specifically to the instrumental portion. Maybe you (a “generic you”; not _you_ as an individual) could read it that way, but I don’t think you have to. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-rock-roll-and-country-western-music/963925/37 "2022-05-04T14:37:05Z")
Is there more to modern Western than the old acoustic guitar stuff? Modern Country has changed a lot, very much overlapping with Rock now. I haven’t heard anything new in the Western style, but admittedly don’t listen to music all that much. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-rock-roll-and-country-western-music/963925/38 "2022-05-04T14:38:23Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Chet Atkins would like to have a word with you, from beyond the grave: I am squinting, but still have not found the electric guitar in that clip. As mentioned, there are going to be exceptions, but can you point to a recent example of a country instrumental? In the last 20+ years, it seems ALL country is focused on the singer. Don’t get me wrong here, there are plenty of good singers in country, male and female, but today’s country is less about playing well and more about singing well. In rock the music seems more focused on the rhythm and beat and less about the vocals. I mean, I love them, but how does Rush become so successful in any other genre than rock? A musically talented but vocally challenged country band wont get far. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-rock-roll-and-country-western-music/963925/39 "2022-05-04T14:40:28Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > @minor7flat5, what is the vocal harmony that seems to dominate today’s country music? No idea. I was raised on a strict diet of Country and Elvis by my mom. I distanced myself from both as soon as I could. ETA: My alternating bass comment really fits best with the “BOOM chicka BOOM chicka” style of a bygone era. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-rock-roll-and-country-western-music/963925/40 "2022-05-04T14:40:35Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > but how does Rush become so successful in any other genre than rock? I think there’s room for him in the Chipmunks category, whatever that is. Also, the squirrels on helium genre. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-rock-roll-and-country-western-music/963925.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-rock-roll-and-country-western-music/963925.md?page=3)