Country music
Western music merges with country

The country music scene of the 1940s until the 1970s was largely dominated by western music influences, so much so that the genre began to be called "country and western". Even today, cowboy and frontier values continue to play a role in the larger country music, with western wear, cowboy boots, and cowboy hats continues to be in fashion for country artists.

West of the Mississippi River, many of these western genres continue to flourish, including the Red Dirt of Oklahoma, New Mexico music of New Mexico, and both Texas country music and Tejano music of Texas. During the 1950s until the early 1970s, the latter part of the western heyday in country music, many of these genres featured popular artists that continue to influence both their distinctive genres and larger country music. Red Dirt featured Bob Childers and Steve Ripley; for New Mexico music Al Hurricane, Al Hurricane Jr., and Antonia Apodaca; and within the Texas scenes Willie Nelson, Freddie Fender, Johnny Rodriguez, and Little Joe.

As Outlaw country music emerged as subgenre in its own right, Red Dirt, New Mexico, Texas country, and Tejano grew in popularity as a part of the Outlaw country movement. Originating in the bars, fiestas, and honky-tonks of Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas, their music supplemented outlaw country's singer-songwriter tradition as well as 21st-century rock -inspired alternative country and hip hop -inspired country rap artists.
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