To a growing number of people, mainstream country music (see entry under 1940s—Music in volume 3)—the kind heard on most country radio stations—had grown very stale by the late 1980s. The music industry produced big stars and big hits with this music, but to many people, country music had lost its edge; it was now dull and predictable. Alternative country music emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s to challenge this mainstream music. It did so by combining older forms of country music—honky tonk, western swing, rockabilly, and even bluegrass (see entry under 1940s—Music in volume 3)—with the edge and attitude of rock and roll (see entry under 1950s—Music in volume 3), particularly punk (see entry under 1970s—Music in volume 4) rock. By doing this, alternative country musicians sought to recapture the spirit and originality of old country music...