adrien, I think "country and western" was simply a term used by radio-station managers to describe pop music which sounded traditional. The two kinds sounded a lot alike, but one had cows and the other had horses. But come to think of it, the western music probably had more of a Mexican or Spanish tonality to it.

However, when you contrasted them with Elvis, the Beatles, or "The Girl from Ipanama" they constituted one class.
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Olddude, I like the SOTP too. Just the other day I was listening to them on YouTube. Don't forget "Ghost Riders in the Sky."