Louisiana Hayride was a "barn dance"-style radio program on KWKH out of Shreveport, La., that was loosely modeled on its more famous cousin, Nashville's The Grand Ole Opry, along with Chicago's lesser-known WLS Barn Dance. The program, originally called Cradle of the Stars, launched on April 3, 1948, and went on to feature some of the most revered names in country music.In fact, from the onset, Louisiana Hayride proved to be an invaluable tool for breaking new artists and new singles, as Hank Williams — who first appeared on the show in August 1948 — would attest. (Williams, who eventually had his own sponsored radio program on WSM/Nashville, would often record Hayride shows ahead of time so he could tour.) Performing a new song on a show like Louisiana Hayride was very often just the leg up an artist needed to propel a regional hit. With a firm commitment to exposing new and regional talent to a wider audience, the show became a beloved stop on artists' Southern tours.
Within a year of its debut, the program was so popular that a regional 25-station network was pieced together to broadcast portions of it. The music was certainly a large part of that popularity, but the rotating emcees who kept the show moving with interviews and artist cues provided another kind of magic. Here, the artists were given a chance to connect with the listeners and let their personalities shine.
By 1954, a special 30-minute version of Louisiana Hayride was broadcast overseas on Armed Forces Radio. Another watershed moment came in August 1954, when a teenaged Elvis Presley made his debut, singing "That's Alright Mama." (Incidentally, it was Hayride emcee Horace Logan who coined the iconic phrase, "Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building.") By the late '50s, however, the growing popularity of rock 'n' roll, in addition to the rise of televisions, cut into the show's popularity. On August 27, 1960, Louisiana Hayride ended its regular run.
In the years since, there have been many attempts to revive the name and what it stood for. Probably the best testament to the program is the volume of quality live music recorded during its tenure. Rhapsody has many of these releases available, so let's take a listen to some of them.
Click here to listen to a playlist:
Highlights from the Hayride
What holiday has more family traditions than Christmas? And who knows more about "family tradition" than country music lovers? We've spent the past few weeks trimming the tracks on our radio tree and adding plenty of shiny new tunes to make sure it sounds nice for all you folks—even you naughty ones.
Feeling like your collection of country-flavored Christmas carols could use an overhaul? The time to do it is now, and it’s definitely best to do a little sprucing up before Auntie Jane and Uncle Charlie land on your doorstep.
Sometimes my hipper-than-thou friends make fun of me for liking country music. To them, it's all just ignorant cowboy jams sung by toothless ol' fellas in a hat. Or, at the other end of the spectrum, it's heartless, slick, countrified pop sung by über-tanned hotties with hair too perfect to even bother with a hat.
Ahhh … welcome to November, country music fans! There has been a cornucopia of exciting new releases of late, and we're going to make it easy as pumpkin pie for you to discover them. 
"I got my toes in the water/ Ass in the sand/ Not a worry in the world/ A cold beer in my hand," begins 
Ahhhh. Fall has arrived, and with it comes some blessed relief from the heat. But don't worry — there are plenty of hot country releases to keep you warm and cozy. In the month or so since we last checked in, there have been a number of excellent releases, many of which could end up on those pesky "best of" lists come year's end. From multiplatinum stars like Lady Antebellum to alt country mainstays like The Jayhawks to heritage artists like Glen Campbell, we've put the spotlight on all sorts of new country releases. Hit play to get caught up!
Oh, the marvels of modern technology! A handful of long-forgotten 
We all reacted to the horrible events of September 11, 2001, in our own ways — wherever we were, whatever we were doing, whichever CD or radio station or fizzy pop single we first reached for to help us cope. Here, Rhapsody's editors offer their own musical perspectives, from saber-rattling country to hopeful worship music, from pop-punk bromides to plaintive protest songs, from the momentary tentativeness of comedy to the fieriness of hip-hop to the transcendence of jazz. As Sonny Rollins put it, "Maybe music can help. I don't know, but we have to try something." Here's what we tried. 
In the 1960s, most of the country charts were controlled by a handful of Nashville producers, and their fondness for lush string sections, syrupy background vocals and corny lyrics came to be known as the Nashville sound. At the same time, rock 'n' roll artists — who mostly wrote their own songs, played their own instruments, and had a hand in shaping their own sound while in the recording studio — were showing a growing number of young, blue-collar country lovers a different way of making music. 
Earlier this summer, country music icon 
Since our last roundup, a handful of articles have ruminated on the country music pendulum's swing away from a pop sound and toward a more traditional one. Certainly, brisk first-week sales from such blue-collar, down-home boys as Eric Church, Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins could indicate a trend, but what's more impressive (in my humble opinion, of course) is the 40-plus weeks on the sales charts racked up by 
If you grew up in the Midwest, you know what the 4-H Club stands for. I mean, what it really stands for — not just the "head, heart, hands and health" motto that makes up the four H's. The idea is simple: teach young people and their families the skills they need to be proactive forces in their communities, and develop ideas for a more innovative economy. The program revolutionized the way science was taught outside the classroom; in 100+ years of active service, more than 60 million youth have used the program, from elementary school kids to high school seniors.
Welcome to week two of 
Whether you're a fan of country pop, traditional fare or something a bit more alt-leaning, we've got something for you in our spring roundup of new country releases. This time around, we're highlighting new albums from superstars (Brad Paisley), legends (Levon Helm) and newcomers (Craig Campbell) alike, along with a bevy of fresh singles from both well-known artists (including Kenny Chesney and Neil Young) and up-and-comers like Hunter Hayes. It's all just a click away.
When rockabilly stole away much of country music’s younger audience in the mid-1950s, Nashville producers aimed for a more adult market. Producers 
London truly was swinging back in 1991. With a little help (read: hype) from music weeklies such as NME, Melody Maker and Sounds, new stars were being made at clubs such as Syndrome and Blow Up, while Camden-area pubs such as The Good Mixer overflowed with young Brit-pop stars nightly. It didn't take long before the music — and the legendary, drunken stories of those of those who made it — made its way to America. And although the release of 
Ten years ago, Luke Lewis, chairman of Universal Nashville, made his dream of a nurturing, singer-songwriter-oriented label into reality with the launch of Lost Highway. The aim was to create a label that, as he says, "might be a haven for artists that make enduring music not driven by hits on the radio," and Lost Highway put that dream to the test with their first release, the soundtrack to the quirky movie, O Brother, Where Art Thou? Five Grammy Awards and 7 million sales later, Lost Highway was up and running in the fast lane. Since then, the label has released gems from pioneers such as Willie Nelson, Elvis Costello and Johnny Cash as well as groundbreakers including Whiskeytown and the Jayhawks. Not to put too much emphasis on the numbers, but since its inception, the label has released 80 albums, sold 18 million units, and earned 53 Grammy nominations resulting in 15 wins.
March. March madness. Twenty-odd days until spring officially starts. St. Patrick's Day. There's something hopeful and expectant about the month of March; it's hard to pin down, exactly, but it's certainly there.
Back in 1980, you saw Urban Cowboy in the theater and it changed your life. You bought the boots. And a hat. Months later, The Dukes of Hazzard debuted on television, and you subsequently tuned in religiously each week. Let's be honest: you tried to do that Bo Duke slide about a thousand times and still couldn't git 'er done, right? Travolta's Bud may not have resonated with the high school crowd the way that Bo and Luke did, but the trendy fashions of the day yielded the same results: boots, prairie blouses/dresses, big ol' belt buckles — and the infamous Daisy Duke shorts and tied shirts, of course.
Although the 1980 movie Urban Cowboy was panned by critics, the general public was attracted to something beyond the thin plot and John Travolta's fine two-step moves — which, let's face it, paled in comparison to his electrifying disco moves in 
As most of the country digs out from under snow and ice, things are heating up here at Rhapsody. New releases on labels big and small are starting to flow with some regularity. Isn't it great that with Rhapsody, you can listen to the latest offerings while ensconced on your own sofa? But where to start?
Since the late 1960s, 
The idea of singing — harmonizing — as a duo has gone hand in hand with country music since long before labels started recording it in the 1920s. Family acts, who would have been harmonizing with each other at home and in church for years, became a popular attraction in the '30s and '40s, and laid the foundation for duos (related or not) for decades to come.
Happy New Year and welcome to 2011! Have you gotten used to writing 2011 on your checks yet? No? Yeah, we're with you on that. A week into the new year and our heads might not be screwed on right yet, but we do know one thing: there are some killer country music releases on the horizon. 
Along with a smattering of new releases by high-profile country artists, the past few months have seen an abundance of greatest-hits packages whose releases were timed with the holidays in mind. Confused? We'll sort out the wheat from the chaff and get you caught up on all the country releases!
The 44th annual CMA awards has come and gone, and all that's left are the hangovers. Here's a rundown of the highlights and winners.
Although the marriage of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash would end up being the marriage by which all others were measured, it was, famously, not without its trials. Each had been married before, and each had children from those marriages. You could hardly call them the Brady Bunch, but when it came to blending families, Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash were decades ahead of the curve. 
Just when we thought we'd get to take a breather and relax after the gazillion releases of the past few months, Tuesday rolls around once again, bringing with it another spate of killer new country (and quasi-country) releases. Whether you are a fan of country pop, traditional country or bluegrass, Rhapsody has all your favorites, including new releases from Keith Urban, Sara Evan and Randy Houser.
The 
Back in the '80s, 
As fall approaches, things are heating up in the world of country music, and not a minute too soon. This summer has been sluggish in terms of landmark releases, but things are definitely picking up! We're talking new releases from Trace Adkins, Taylor Swift, Zac Brown Band, Blake Shelton, Kenny Chesney, Reba and plenty more. Let's call it this the music industry's Indian summer, shall we, because these releases are HOT.
Just when we thought the summer months were going to chug on by with just a few new country releases, things picked up this week and some surprises were delivered. Rhapsody's got a windfall of tunes, including a sizzling single from Darius Rucker, that are guaranteed to heat up your summer, so let's check 'em out.
The music of these and countless other country artists is yours to rock out to whenever and however you want with your Rhapsody subscription. 
The first quarter of the year is almost over, and the country music catalog of Rhapsody has been blessed with an abundance of great new music. Along with a number of top-notch releases came some stream-it-before-you-can-buy-it premieres (we call them leaks). Just in case some of these releases got lost in the shuffle for all our country fans, here's a new release round-up for the first quarter of the year.
Waxing romantic: Jessica Harp and Blake Shelton
In the frenzy of year-end features, where albums naturally get put under the microscope, one thing became perfectly clear: although there were plenty of great singles on country radio in 2009, many of those songs were from albums released in 2008.
It's always gratifying when you see a celebrity or public person put their money where their mouth is; so often people say one thing yet do another. When Rhapsody heard that country star 
Country music went on a wild ride the past decade, a ride that took us to the honky-tonk, the Appalachian Mountains, where the blacktop ends, and to Small Town, U.S.A. The watered-down flavor of contemporary country music has been an issue for some time now, and for better or worse, a handful of young country artists have taken the genre more into the mainstream than ever.
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