Country music

===Australia===
{{Main|Australian country music}}
[[File:Olivia Newton-John Sydney 2008.jpg|upright=0.7|thumb|left|[[Olivia Newton-John]] singing in [[Sydney]] in 2008]]

[[Australian country music]] has a long tradition. Influenced by US country music, it has developed a distinct style, shaped by British and Irish folk ballads and Australian [[bush ballad]]eers like [[Henry Lawson]] and [[Banjo Paterson]]. Country instruments, including the guitar, [[banjo]], [[fiddle]] and harmonica, create the distinctive sound of country music in Australia and accompany songs with strong storyline and memorable chorus.

Folk songs sung in Australia between the 1780s and 1920s, based around such themes as the struggle against government [[tyranny]], or the lives of [[bushranger]]s, [[swagmen]], [[Drover (Australian)|drovers]], [[Stockman (Australia)|stockmen]] and [[sheep shearer|shearers]], continue to influence the genre. This strain of Australian country, with lyrics focusing on Australian subjects, is generally known as "bush music" or "[[bush band]] music". "[[Waltzing Matilda]]", often regarded as Australia's unofficial [[national anthem]], is a quintessential Australian country song, influenced more by British and Irish folk ballads than by US country and western music. The lyrics were composed by the poet Banjo Paterson in 1895. Other popular songs from this tradition include "[[The Wild Colonial Boy]]", "[[Click Go the Shears]]", "The Queensland Drover" and "The Dying Stockman". Later themes which endure to the present include the experiences of war, of droughts and flooding rains, of [[Aboriginal Australians|Aboriginality]] and of the railways and trucking routes which link Australia's vast distances.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/music/bush/ |title=Bush songs and music – Australia's Culture Portal |work=Cultureandrecreation.gov.au |access-date=February 1, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110406104520/http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/music/bush/ |archive-date=April 6, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/music/country/ |title=Australian country music – Australia's Culture Portal |work=Cultureandrecreation.gov.au |date=November 24, 2006 |access-date=February 1, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110217020802/http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/music/country/ |archive-date=February 17, 2011 }}</ref>

Pioneers of a more Americanised popular country music in Australia included [[Tex Morton]] (known as "The Father of Australian Country Music") in the 1930s. Author Andrew Smith delivers a through research and engaged view of Tex Morton's life and his impact on the country music scene in Australia in the 1930s and 1940s. Other early stars included [[Buddy Williams (country musician)|Buddy Williams]], [[Shirley Thoms]] and [[Smoky Dawson]]. Buddy Williams (1918–1986) was the first Australian-born to record country music in Australia in the late 1930s and was the pioneer of a distinctly Australian style of country music called the bush ballad that others such as Slim Dusty would make popular in later years. During the Second World War, many of Buddy Williams recording sessions were done whilst on leave from the Army. At the end of the war, Williams would go on to operate some of the largest travelling tent rodeo shows Australia has ever seen.

In 1952, Dawson began a radio show and went on to national stardom as a singing cowboy of radio, TV and film. [[Slim Dusty]] (1927–2003) was known as the "King of Australian Country Music" and helped to popularise the Australian [[bush ballad]]. His successful career spanned almost six decades, and his 1957 hit "[[A Pub with No Beer]]" was the biggest-selling record by an Australian to that time, and with over seven million record sales in Australia he is the most successful artist in Australian musical history.<ref name="Guardian-obit">Dave" Laing, [https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/sep/20/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries "Slim Dusty: Country singer famous for A Pub With No Beer"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104171338/https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/sep/20/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries |date=November 4, 2021 }}, ''The Guardian (UK)'', 20 September 2003</ref> Dusty recorded and released his one-hundredth album in the year 2000 and was given the honour of singing "[[Waltzing Matilda]]" in the closing ceremony of the [[2000 Summer Olympics|Sydney 2000 Olympic Games]]. Dusty's wife [[Joy McKean]] penned several of his most popular songs.

[[Chad Morgan]], who began recording in the 1950s, has represented a [[vaudeville]] style of comic Australian country; [[Frank Ifield]] achieved considerable success in the early 1960s, especially in the UK Singles Charts and [[Reg Lindsay]] was one of the first Australians to perform at Nashville's [[Grand Ole Opry]] in 1974.<ref>{{cite news|last=Duncan |first=Jamie |url=http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/reg-lindsay-country-great-takes-final-bow/1236107.aspx |title=Reg Lindsay, country great, takes final bow – Local News – News – General |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=August 6, 2008 |access-date=February 1, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080807072605/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/reg-lindsay-country-great-takes-final-bow/1236107.aspx |archive-date=August 7, 2008 }}</ref> [[Eric Bogle]]'s 1972 folk lament to the [[Gallipoli Campaign]] "[[And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda]]" recalled the British and Irish origins of Australian folk-country. Singer-songwriter [[Paul Kelly (Australian musician)|Paul Kelly]], whose music style straddles folk, rock and country, is often described as the [[poet laureate]] of Australian music.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.civicsandcitizenship.edu.au/cce/default.asp?id=15390 |title=Civics &#124; Paul Kelly (1955–) |work=Civicsandcitizenship.edu.au |access-date=February 1, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110602031440/http://www.civicsandcitizenship.edu.au/cce/default.asp?id=15390 |archive-date=June 2, 2011 |url-status=dead |date=June 14, 2005 }}</ref> [[File:Keith Urban in PoAH (cropped).JPG|thumb|[[Keith Urban]] in 2007]]

By the 1990s, country music had attained crossover success in the pop charts, with artists like [[James Blundell (singer)|James Blundell]] and [[James Reyne]] singing "[[The Dingoes|Way Out West]]", and country star [[Kasey Chambers]] winning the [[ARIA Award for Best Female Artist]] in three years (2000, 2002 and 2004), tying with pop stars [[Wendy Matthews]] and [[Sia]] for the most wins in that category. Furthermore, Chambers has gone on to win nine [[ARIA Award for Best Country Album|ARIA Awards for Best Country Album]] and, in 2018, became the youngest artist to ever be inducted into the [[ARIA Hall of Fame]]. The crossover influence of Australian country is also evident in the music of successful contemporary bands [[the Waifs]] and the [[John Butler Trio]]. [[Nick Cave]] has been heavily influenced by the country artist [[Johnny Cash]]. In 2000, Cash, covered Cave's "[[The Mercy Seat (song)|The Mercy Seat]]" on the album ''[[American III: Solitary Man]]'', seemingly repaying Cave for the compliment he paid by covering Cash's "The Singer" (originally "[[The Folk Singer]]") on his ''[[Kicking Against the Pricks]]'' album. Subsequently, Cave cut a duet with Cash on a version of [[Hank Williams]]' "[[I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry]]" for Cash's ''[[American IV: The Man Comes Around]]'' album (2002).<ref>{{cite news| first=Nick | last=Cave |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/sep/13/arts.artsnews1 |title=Nick Cave on Johnny Cash &#124; Music |newspaper=The Guardian |date= September 13, 2003|access-date=February 1, 2011 |location=London}}</ref>

Popular contemporary performers of Australian country music include [[John Williamson (singer)|John Williamson]] (who wrote the iconic "[[True Blue (John Williamson song)|True Blue]]"), [[Lee Kernaghan]] (whose hits include "Boys from the Bush" and "[[The Outback Club]]"), [[Gina Jeffreys]], Forever Road and [[Sara Storer]]. In the U.S., [[Olivia Newton-John]], [[Sherrié Austin]] and [[Keith Urban]] have attained great success. During her time as a country singer in the 1970s, Newton-John became the first (and to date only) non-US winner of the [[Country Music Association Award for Female Vocalist of the Year]] which many considered a controversial decision by the CMA; after starring in the rock-and-roll musical film ''[[Grease (film)|Grease]]'' in 1978, Newton-John (mirroring the character she played in the film) shifted to pop music in the 1980s. Urban is arguably considered the most successful international Australian country star, winning nine CMA Awards, including three [[Country Music Association Award for Male Vocalist of the Year|Male Vocalist of the Year]] wins and two wins of the CMA's top honour [[Country Music Association Award for Entertainer of the Year|Entertainer of the Year]]. Pop star [[Kylie Minogue]] found success with her 2018 country pop album ''[[Golden (Kylie Minogue album)|Golden]]'' which she recorded in Nashville reaching number one in Scotland, the UK and her native Australia.

Country music has been a particularly popular form of musical expression among [[Indigenous Australians]]. [[Troy Cassar-Daley]] is among Australia's successful contemporary indigenous performers, and [[Kev Carmody]] and [[Archie Roach]] employ a combination of folk-rock and country music to sing about Aboriginal rights issues.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/music/folk/ |title=Australian folk music – Australia's Culture Portal |work=Cultureandrecreation.gov.au |access-date=February 1, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110217015929/http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/music/folk/ |archive-date=February 17, 2011 }}</ref>

The [[Tamworth Country Music Festival]] began in 1973 and now attracts up to 100,000 visitors annually. Held in [[Tamworth, New South Wales]] (country music capital of Australia), it celebrates the culture and heritage of Australian country music. During the festival the [[Country Music Association of Australia|CMAA]] holds the [[Country Music Awards of Australia]] ceremony awarding the [[Golden Guitar]] trophies.  Other significant country music festivals include the Whittlesea Country Music Festival (near [[Melbourne]]) and the [[Mildura Country Music Festival]] for "independent" performers during October, and the [[Canberra Country Music Festival]] held in the national capital during November.

''Country HQ'' showcases new talent on the rise in the country music scene [[down under]]. CMC (the [[Country Music Channel]]), a 24‑hour music channel dedicated to non-stop country music, can be viewed on [[pay TV]] and features once a year the Golden Guitar Awards, CMAs and CCMAs alongside international shows such as ''The Wilkinsons'', ''The Road Hammers'', and ''Country Music Across America''.