Country Star Clay Walker Rips ‘Outdated Rock ‘n’ Rollers’ for Going Country
Classic Rock artists crossing over into different genres of music is by no means a new phenomenon. Neil Young infamously took on electronic synthesizer music in the '80s, Aerosmith dabbled in hip-hop in the '90s and Bob Dylan has lately taken to recording standards dating back to the '30s and '40s.
But to country artist Clay Walker, the recent trend of older rock stars dabbling in his musical backyard seems utterly abhorrent.
In an interview with the Modesto Bee, Walker revealed his deep displeasure with that particular pastiche. “We’ve seen the sound of country music go through a radical change,” the singer said. “I can’t stand to see outdated rock 'n' rollers coming in to play country music. That really pissed me off. We have great singers, great country musicians. There’s no reason we have to dilute it by letting people in the format that don’t have any business being in the format.”
While Walker doesn’t go on to name any specific offenders, one of the more prominent rockers to crossover lately is Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, whose debut solo album will dip fully into the country pool.
“I grew up with the Everly Brothers,” Tyler said last year. “There’s a piece of me that just loves country so much. And I’m not sure what kind of country that is, but it’s got the fifth harmony, and anyone who knows who the Everly Brothers is — it’s those kinds of melodies that are just so, so good.”
There's no release date set yet for Tyler’s album, but the first single, "Love Is Your Name," came out last week. And even though Walker may not care too much for it, the song has already managed to crack the Top 40 country airplay chart.
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