In the early 1940s, when I first began to be aware that there were "different" kinds of music, the stuff about relationships and drinkin' and chasin' women was called "hillbilly," and stuff about ridin' horses, chasin' cows, and sunsets, and lonesome was called "cowboy."

In the earliest phases, "hillbilly" bands mostly wore business suits, and of course "cowboy" bands mostly wore cowboy costumes.

As both kinds evolved, many of the "hillbilly" bands migrated to cowboy style costumes, and began to mix in what was popular in the movies - cowboy kinds of songs. In the earliest times, when the only time you heard a band was when they came to town, you could dance to hillbilly music (it was made for jukeboxes); but you mostly just listened to cowboy stuff (made for movies), unless they included some square dancing.

"Hillbilly lonesome" was a popular theme, and meant you were drunk in a bar and needed a woman. (A lament about a bad thing?)

"Cowboy lonesome" meant you were free out on the prairie, and were glad there weren't a lot of people messin' with you. (A brag about a good thing?)

When TV came along the "hillbillies" sort of split two ways. Some affected "hick" costumes and some went "full-bore cowboy." Both kinds were featured, more or less separately, on the Grand Ol' Opry, and other early shows.

Numerous names for "styles" of music were created, sometimes by performers who wanted to appeal to a specific audience - and distance themselves from other similar (but lesser?) performers - but mostly by promoters who wanted to "target" groups of performers to an exploitable audience. The "country" tag was largely created so the "formerly hillbilly" performers who had a sequined shirt and a felt hat could distance/distinguish themselves from the "formerly hillbilly" performers who went the bibbies and straw hats. "Western" and in some cases "western swing," etc. were also used.

While the various "genre" names may have had some real meaning to those who invented them, to the public the names meant only which of the three bins the records would be in at the local music shop.

That's probably still the only real reason to debate what category a performer fits in with, although now there are quite a few more bins. It's all marketing, for the most part. There are differences of style that are worth recognizing, but names for them have been used broadly and interchangeably and hence ambiguously - and are not very reliable.

John