The truth is that cowboy hats are not a very important element of country music. Of course, many country artists do wear them and there's nothing wrong with sporting a familiar piece of western culture as you sing (some of them look better with the hat on). But by no means does this mean that cowboy hats are required. In fact, many country artists avoid wearing them to go against the stereotype. After all, it's not like the hats add anything to the music being played.

Over the years, country has become a musical style focused on ideals that are truly American, such as being an individual, taking chances and getting through the hard times with a cool attitude. The country genre can offer many different types of music, which appeal to a wide audience of people. There are some country songs aren't the most technical songs played, often focusing more on powerful lyrics instead of musical quality. However, there are also some country musicians that hold a tremendous amount of technical musical quality comparable to many jazz and classical performers, where lyrics might not even be used.

Many of today's country artists have been crossing over into the pop genre and succeeding. What's more is that in bridging over to pop, these country artists were able to keep the support of their country audience as they gained the pop audience's support, mostly because they were able to maintain their original country sound. Think about some of the huge names in country today. Shania Twain, Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and the Dixie Chicks are all examples of artists who stay true to their country roots while climbing the pop charts.

So now with country becoming part of the mainstream music industry you may have noticed some differences between your country and the country of 20 or 30 years ago.  Many things have changed about the genre, but the messages in the lyrics remain as clear and strong as ever.