More than half a century ago, country music was in the middle of an identity crisis. Pop stars were crossing over onto the country charts, traditionalists were pushing back, and the Nashville establishment was debating what actually qualified as country music.
In November 1974, one of the greatest songwriters of all time offered his own answer.
Tom T. Hall, the legendary singer-songwriter nicknamed “The Storyteller,” reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart with “Country Is,” a song that attempted to define the genre through the people, places and everyday experiences that inspired it.
The single spent one week at No. 1 52 years ago this week. But the timing of its success was particularly fascinating, given the controversy unfolding throughout the country music industry.
Hall, who was later named one of Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time, had already established himself as one of Nashville’s most distinctive voices. With “Country Is,” he turned his storytelling talents toward a question that the music industry was struggling to answer.
By 1974, country music was experiencing a wave of crossover success. Artists including John Denver, Olivia Newton-John and Gordon Lightfoot were finding audiences on the country charts, blurring the lines between country, pop and folk music.
Not everyone in Nashville was happy about it.
According to Tom Roland’s “The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits,” the controversy became so heated that some country radio programmers began refusing to play records they considered insufficiently country. A group of Nashville performers even established the Association of Country Entertainers, or ACE, partly in response to the growing influence of pop artists on the country music industry.
The organization became particularly controversial because of its opposition to Newton-John, whose success in country music had sparked arguments over whether a pop singer from Australia belonged in the genre.
Against that backdrop, Hall released “Country Is,” a song that approached the question from an entirely different direction. Rather than defining country music through instruments, geography or commercial categories, Hall focused on the emotions and experiences that gave the music its identity.
Hall had already established himself as one of Nashville’s most distinctive songwriters, with hits including “The Year Clayton Delaney Died,” “(Old Dogs, Children and) Watermelon Wine” and “I Love.” He had also written “Harper Valley PTA,” the massive 1968 crossover hit recorded by Jeannie C. Riley that reached No. 1 on both Billboard’s pop and country charts.
Related: ‘Mrs. Steven Rudy’ Singer Dies at 58, 25 Years After His Breakout Country Hit
But Hall’s approach to “Country Is” was more philosophical than many of his previous recordings. As he explained in Roland’s book, the song originated with his habit of writing liner notes for his albums.
“It was the fashion to write liner notes,” Hall recalled, explaining that he had been using those notes to explore ideas about his music.
He initially planned to write a piece called “Country Is” for an album, but the concept eventually became a song instead.
“I was just trying to define country music,” Hall explained, before crediting fellow songwriter Kris Kristofferson with what he considered the perfect description—”If it sounds country, it’s country.”
The sentiment captured the central argument behind Hall’s recording: Country music wasn’t necessarily defined by a particular sound or style, but by the stories and feelings it expressed.
Released in 1974, “Country Is” reached No. 1 during the chart week ending Nov. 16, spending one week at the summit.
Hall’s success with “Country Is” was part of an extraordinary songwriting career that stretched across several decades.
Over the course of his career, Hall wrote 12 No. 1 country songs and 26 additional Top 10 hits. His compositions were recorded by artists ranging from Johnny Cash and Loretta Lynn to George Jones and Waylon Jennings.
He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2019. Hall died in August 2021 at the age of 85.
Related: 46 Years Ago Today, Waylon Jennings’ Biggest Pop Hit Went to No. 1 on the Country Chart
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