# Why so many pop stars/rockers going country? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 20, 2011, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-pop-stars-rockers-going-country/575335 "2011-03-20T06:26:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [March 24, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-pop-stars-rockers-going-country/575335/21 "2011-03-24T02:50:23Z")
> [@clarkstar](#): > > it’s sad that country fans welcome these posers Despite the protestations of some people who become famous in a particular genre of music, there are famous musicians in every genre who played in different bands in different styles while they were “paying their dues”, and the only reason they’re known for a particular genre is that they just happened to be playing in that particular genre when they got noticed. There are plenty of country singers who played in rock bands when they were coming up - Garth Brooks is a well-known example. I’m pretty sure Rascal Flatts was a pop rock band that wasn’t going anywhere until they “countrified” their sound. And it works the other direction as well. Marilyn Manson’s guitarist, John \ played with country singer Trisha Yearwood (IIRC) before joining Manson. There are thousands of unsigned bands out there that change their style to match whatever the “current thing” is, hoping to get noticed by a record company. Kevin DuBrow of Quiet Riot once stated that most of the L.A. “heavy metal” bands that hit it big in the '80s were playing power pop a few years earlier. What it boils down to is musicians who love music and want to perform music for a living. They’ll do what they have to do. Very few of them, if offered a spot in a band that had just signed a record deal, would say, “No thanks, I don’t play that style.” They’d _learn_ to play that style. Then there’s the simple fact that the odds of getting a “rock” record deal past the age of 30 is pretty low. Rock is marketed mostly to teens and 20-somethings, so record companies are looking for acts that can project a youthful image. Country and some other genres are more open to older artists, so it’s natural that an aging rock singer might gravitate toward country. ETA: Eric Adams, lead vocalist of “true metal” band Manowar, performs in Broadway musicals when Manowar isn’t touring or recording. ---
**Author:** ![clarkstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@clarkstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clarkstar)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-pop-stars-rockers-going-country/575335/22 "2011-03-25T05:47:25Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Good lord, why? > > And Green Day isn’t \*real \*punk, either - right? Those _bastards_. > > :rolleyes: well there is no punk scene anyway. greenday is ridiculous and total shite since dookie ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-pop-stars-rockers-going-country/575335/23 "2011-03-25T12:43:19Z")
> [@clarkstar](#): > > well there is no punk scene anyway. greenday is ridiculous and total shite since dookie There ya go. \*\*Mister Rik \*\*- it can be a push/pull: the audience often likes to fit an artist into a box that the artist feels in now way limits their music. ---
**Author:** ![Lips\_Obsession](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bbce88/32.png) [@Lips\_Obsession](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lips_Obsession)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-pop-stars-rockers-going-country/575335/24 "2011-03-26T00:19:34Z")
Tommy Shaw of “Styx” fame just released a new Bluegrass album… [http://music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/#/15](http://music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/#/15) ---
**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:** [March 26, 2011, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-pop-stars-rockers-going-country/575335/25 "2011-03-26T01:07:36Z")
> [@Lips\_Obsession](#): > > Tommy Shaw of “Styx” fame just released a new Bluegrass album… > > [http://music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/#/15](http://music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/#/15) I looked over the song titles and spotted the song “Calvary”. I thought Tommy had done a gospel song … until I listened to the song and discovered that what he’s singing is “…the CAVALRY is on it’s way…” I hope that spelling fail is AOL’s fault, and not on the actual album :smack: ETA: The iTunes store has it listed correctly as “Cavalry”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-pop-stars-rockers-going-country/575335.md?page=1)