Country music has enjoyed a long tradition of reflecting the everyday concerns of working men and women, good times and bad times. With 14 million Americans currently out of work, a crippling national debt, and a record number of people living below the poverty line, country music may be going through a sea change. Call it an indicator of economic times but in the time it took pickup trucks to go from stripped down working class boxes of mud and steel to plush seated luxury vehicles, country music went from the folksy tinny common man voice of Woody Guthrie to the likes of Tim McGraw singing about the perils of being rich.
The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.