NASHVILLE SOUND, THE

NASHVILLE SOUND , THE (c. 1957–1970) In an attempt to broaden the appeal of country music, several producers—mostly notably CHET ATKINS and OWEN BRADLEY—developed a more pop-oriented style of recording that almost completely eliminated traditional country instrumentation and molded the careers of singers away from a country or HONKYTONK orientation to a more bland, middle-of-the-road repertoire of pop ballads (for men) and tearjerkers (for women). In the mid-1950s there was some embarrassment…