As obie says, it is - to a large degree - a matter of perspective. In 1930, The Carter Family may have been "real" country; in the 40, Ernest Tubbs; by 1950, it would have been Hank Williams, and 10 years later Don Gibson - or maybe Jim Reeves ( two very different artists); in 1970, it could be Waylon Jennings BUT, somewhere, I believe there has to be some link to the past in all, so-called, country music; interestingly, my all-time favourite country music artist is an singer/som#ng-writer who emerged in the 1980s:Randy Travis. He has a fabulous voice; has written/co-written some classic songs, and has recorded a wide range of music within the country music genre.