Country music was always looking for a broader audience.  While a hit country song produced profits, a hit on the pop chart always generated more money.  The music industry of the early 1960’s was dominated by rock and roll, and many wondered if country music could survive.  “The Grand Ole Opry” played to half-filled seats and the number of country music radio stations dwindled. The Nashville sound that had first appeared in the late 1950’s was country’s effort to compete.  The production techniques of Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley at RCA in Nashville led the way as they minimized the traditional instrumentation of country music (banjo, guitar, fiddle) and employed more strings and background vocals. The studios recruited a collection of extremely talented musicians to provide the instrumentals on their country stars' tracks. They came to be called "The A Team," providing a solid base for the Nashville sound. The record producers smoothed out the sound even more with background vocals from The Jordanaires and the Anita Kerr Singers.

Rock and roll was mostly directed at teenage audiences, singing about first loves (“Johnny Angel” by Shelley Fabres), dance moves (“The Twist” by Chubby Checker), and teenage angst (“Lonely Teenager” by Dion).  Country music found a more adult audience.  Songs such as Tammy Wynette’s “Stand by Your Man” and “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” and Loretta Lynn’s “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’” and “Woman of the World” were about adult relationships.  The result was more cross-over hits which eventually made Nashville second only to New York as a record producing center.  Early in the decade Jim Reeves, Patsy Cline, Skeeter Davis, and Wanda Jackson had big crossover hits which were the product of the Nashville sound.  Jimmy Dean’s “Big Bad John” and Marty Robbins’ “El Paso” were number ones on the pop chart.

The radio had brought country music to the masses beginning in the 1920’s with “The Grand Ole Opry.”  Television gave it a big boost in the 1960’s.  The syndicated, “The Porter Wagoner Show” debuted in 1960 and lasted until 1981.  While Porter Wagoner was mostly viewed by country music fans, “The Jimmy Dean Show” was part of ABC’s primetime lineup from 1963 to 1966, exposing country music stars such as George Jones and Buck Owens to mainstream America.  At the end of the decade, ABC brought “The Johnny Cash Show” to primetime television.  Country stars such as The Statler Brothers, Roy Clark, Merl Haggard, Charley Pride, and Glen Campbell were given national exposure on the show.

While Nashville remained the center of country music, a new sound was emanating from Bakersfield, California.  The area had been a common destination for many migrants from the Midwest during the dust bowl of the 1930’s and they brought their affinity for country music with them.  By the late 1950’s the area was dominated by the honkytonk bars that were the bread and butter of country music.  The new sound that developed was highly influenced by rock and roll as it made heavy use of electronic instruments.  It offered a rougher alternative to the slick, polished sound of Nashville. It was music made for dancing at the honkytonks.   The two most successful artists originating in Bakersfield and recording in Los Angeles were Buck Owens and Merle Haggard.

500 Miles Away From Home by Bobby Bare
A Boy Named Sue by Johnny Cash
Abilene by George Hamilton IV
Act Naturally by Buck Owens
Big Iron by Marty Robbins
Chug-A-Lug by Roger Miller
D-I-V-O-R-C-E by Tammy Wynette
Don’t Come Home A’ Drinkin’ by Loretta Lynn
From a Jack to a King by Ned Miller
Harper Valley PTA by Jeannie C. Riley
I’m a Honky Tonk Girl by Loretta Lynn
In the Middle of a Heartache by Wanda Jackson
It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin' by Johnny Tillotson
Let’s Have a Party by Wanda Jackson
Mama Tried by Merle Haggard
Old Rivers by Walter Brennan
Once a Day by Connie Smith
Please Help Me I’m Falling by Hank Locklin
Ruben James by Kenny Rogers
Saginaw Michigan by Lefty Frizzell
Scarlet Ribbons by The Browns
Sea of Heartbreak by Don Gibson
She Thinks I Still Care by George Jones
Silver Threads And Golden Needles by The Springfields
Sink the Bismarck by Johnny Horton
Six Days On the Road by Dave Dudly
Still by Bill Anderson
Sweet Dreams by Patsy Cline
The Ballad of Ira Hayes by Johnny Cash
There She Goes by Jerry Wallace
Walk On By by Leroy Van Dyke
Wings of a Dove by Ferlin Husky
Wolverton Mountain by Claude King