The era where every song felt huge is alive in country music.
It took a long back road to get there.
Blame It on Their Roots
90s country is still the one in Nashville.
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
In 1996, Jo Dee Messinas debut single, Heads Carolina, Tails California, shot up the charts.
(The song peaked at No.
There were a lot of great story songs in the 90s, Messina tells me.
And people relate to a story.
Those stories drew thousands of fans to country music in the 90s, including a young Cole Swindell.
Growing up in southwestern Georgia, he loved George Strait, Reba McEntire, and Tim McGraw.
It literally was every artist, says Swindell, now 40.
After he became a singer and songwriter years later and bagged his first few No.
1s, he felt compelled to write an ode to the music he grew up with.
Who isnt right now?
Theyre thinking about the Jo Dee Messinas and the Tim McGraws and the Sammy Kershaws.
Thats all happening on top of splashy returns from a few of the periods biggest names.
Oh, and one of the nights biggest winners?
She Had Me at Heads Carolina, which took home Song and Single of the Year.
The Class of 89 arrived during a major authenticity crisis in the genre.
The songs excelled both in their sharply detailed, character-driven storytelling and the universality of the feelings.
Like Jackson once sang, it was a lot about livin and a little bout love.
You could see it on the charts too, afterBillboardbegan using Nielsen SoundScan to track sales.
Brooks soon became the first country artist to debut at No.
1, Diamond-certified albums (The Chase,In Pieces, andSevens).
Brooks wasnt alone putting up those numbers either.
7 with This Kiss and No.
2 with Breathe, and LeAnn Rimes, whose version of How Do I Live also hit No.
(Later into the 2000s, the Chicks and McBride would follow.)
Somebody would come in and be like, Man, you remember Alibis, by Tracy Lawrence?
What a great song, he says.
Throwing it back to the 90s started to seem like returning to more authentic roots.
Bro-country was so much about getting back tothecountry: Were ridin on the back roads.
Were sittin in the woods, says Osborne, noting hes even written for bro-country giant Sam Hunt.
I think people started having a response of, Okay, but lets get back to countrymusic.
It wasnt just about being in the country.
It was more about life, and it was about love, and all that kind of stuff.
At the same time, enough time had passed for 90s music to begin getting canonized.
(She further honored her 90s influence on a summer EP,Im in Love.)
Their influence has even crept past the boundaries of country music.
I Feel Like a Woman!
and Youre Still the One during his Coachella performance.
Because something like love and loss is so universal.
But she says something changed around the pandemic.
And shes not the only one who has noticed it, either.
Where do you go?
You always try and find those things that feel safe or feel good or remind you of better times.
I just come from a place of gratitude.
Backstage, Swindell responded the same way.
She kept saying, This is your moment, he remembers.
And Im like, No, this isourmoment.
Thank you for subscribing and supporting our journalism.
