Country? Not Country?

Many country music fans have been lamenting the appearance of Jessica Simpson on the country music scene, some much more than others. Here’s a list that someone put together of “5 Reasons Why Jessica Simpson Ain’t Daisy Duke”:

1. She’s "gone country" but ain’t country. Who sold more records last year, Carrie Underwood or Jessica Simpson?
2. [...]

Deford Bailey: A Black Star in Early Country Music

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum illuminates that DeFord Bailey:
Bailey grew up in a musical family who played what he called “black hillbilly music,” a tradition of secular string-band music actually shared by rural black and white musicians alike. He also learned songs in church, and developed a keen ear for the music [...]