a style and genre of largely string-accompanied American popular music having roots in the folk music of the Southeast and cowboy music of the West, usually vocalized, generally simple in form and harmony, and typidied by romantic or melancholy ballads accompanied by acoustic or electric guitar, banjo, violin, and harmonica.
Also called country-and-western, country-western /kun"tree wes"teuhrn/ .
[ 1965-70 ]