With every song released from Rock & Roll and Country Music Hall of Famer Dolly Parton’s latest record, Rockstar, the world is being reminded that the two genres go hand in hand. They have been intertwined for decades and the line separating them has only become blurrier with time.
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Below is a list of rock and country artists that have teamed up to create something even better than the sum of its parts.
1. “The War Inside” – Tom Morello and Chris Stapleton
Tom Morello has collaborated with artists in a number of genres throughout his career. Of course, he’s known for the rip-roaring guitar lines he has created for Rage Against the Machine, but he’s added something a little more classic rock infused to “The War Inside.” Add in Stapleton’s honeyed yet gruff vocals and you have something that is one part Nashville’s country scene and one part Los Angeles’ gritty rock world.
2. “Can’t Stop Lovin’ You” – Aerosmith and Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood has such a powerful voice, she could survive as a rock artist in her own right. Pair her wail with that of Steven Tyler’s and you have a match made in rock heaven.
“I sang it a little country and western,” Tyler once told Rolling Stone. “When it was done, it was discussed that I might have sang it a little too country. And all along we thought, ‘Should we get someone in?'”
They eventually thought to tap Underwood to add her own country flare to the song and she hopped in the studio with Tyler and Steve Perry.
3. “Picture” – Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow
One of the most classic examples of country rock fusion comes from Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow’s “Picture.” Both artists are known as genre-hoppers in their own right so their combined efforts are even harder to define. It doesn’t really matter what genre you put “Picture” into because, by all accounts, it’s a classic. But, if we had to give it a definition, we’d say it features the very best of what rock and country has to offer: an acoustic guitar-led melody and powerful, hard-edged vocals.
4. “The Wanderer” – U2 and Johnny Cash
“The Wanderer” is a rare U2 song that doesn’t feature Bono on vocals. In his place is the Man in Black himself, Johnny Cash. The lyrics are based on the Bible’s book of Ecclesiastes. Cash uses his twang to make the narrator of the song a wayfaring cowboy while the rest of U2 adds their trademark rock sound. Though Bono’s rich vocals are surely missed on this song, adding Cash into the mix makes this song all the more show-stopping in the band’s catalog.
5. “21 Forever” – Chris Janson, Dolly Parton, and Slash
Chris Janson teamed up with Dolly Parton and Slash for one of his recent releases, “21 Forever.” “Dolly and Slash, it doesn’t get any BIGGER than that,” Janson said at the time of the song’s release. “I’m incredibly humbled and grateful for these two. Hope you all enjoy ’21 Forever.'”
Parton and Janson team up to add the country flavor to the record while Slash wows with his prowess behind the guitar, as per usual. All three artists work together in perfect harmony to make something that they wouldn’t be able to do alone.
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
