The 1970s saw country traditions merge with rock in several directions. California country rock emphasized harmony and songwriting, Southern rock added blues and improvisation, and outlaw country pushed back against Nashville’s polished establishment.
Country rock
Eagles, Linda Ronstadt and related West Coast musicians carried country instruments and songwriting into the rock mainstream.
Southern rock
The Allman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd brought blues, country and extended guitar interplay into a distinctly Southern rock identity.
Outlaw country
Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and others sought greater control over repertoire and production, rejecting the most restrictive parts of the Nashville system.
Why it matters
These movements expanded country’s audience and helped create the roots-rock, Americana and alternative-country traditions that followed.