Beatin' on Country Music

by Various Artists

Beat and country music? You must be joking? It may seem ridiculous to look for country roots in beat music: The 1960s and everything they stood for appear to be galaxies away from the conservative traditionalism of the country establishment. In his excellent book 'Say It One Time For The Broken Hearted,' English music journalist and writer Barney Hoskins traces country music's contributions to the development of soul music in the early '60s. So maybe it's also worth checking out the country in beat music? Nico Feuerbach, head of production at Bear Family Records®, dug deep into his record collection and offers 30 country compositions or songs connected to the country field interpreted by beat bands from The Hague, Holland - Wellington, New Zealand - Liverpool, England - and Bielefeld, Germany (and many more cities in between). Some songs might not be country songs in a strict sense - some have a folk background, and some have mixed origins - but all are connected to country stars and the genre in general. Well-known bands like The Merseybeats, The Nashville Teens, The Downliners Sect, The Remo Four, The Searchers, The Hollies, and The Spencer Davis Group rub shoulders with the more obscure formations like Mike Warner and the New Stars, The Incrowd, Sonny Webb and the Cascades, a.m.o. This collection offers both - guaranteed fun on the dancefloor AND plenty of tears in your beer! Country and beat for your dancing and listening pleasure!