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Genre
bakersfield sound
Parent Genre: country

Bakersfield sound is a subgenre of country music that originated in Bakersfield, California in the 1950s. It is characterized by a raw, stripped-down sound with twangy electric guitars, prominent drums, and a honky-tonk feel. The lyrics often focus on blue-collar themes and the struggles of everyday life. The genre gained popularity in the 1960s and has influenced many country musicians since.


Top artists of bakersfield sound genre

Merle Haggard
Dwight Yoakam
Merle Haggard & The Strangers
Buck Owens
Vern Gosdin
Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
Jean Shepard
Dale Watson
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bakersfield sound music timeline

Explore bakersfield sound history by listening to songs from every decade. Click on the decade to view songs.

2020s 2010s 2000s 1990s 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s

Similar Genres to bakersfield sound

Discover more related genres to bakersfield sound genre. This list is ordered by similarity from left to right.

country rock country traditional country classic country pop honky tonk nashville sound traditional folk western swing cowboy western outlaw country bluegrass oklahoma country rockabilly progressive bluegrass deep contemporary country texas country roots americana truck-driving country alternative country appalachian folk
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bakersfield sound playlist created by Chosic

Enjoy this playlist of popular bakersfield sound music. We made this playlist using an algorithm created by our team.

Play on spotify

List of bakersfield sound artists

Here is a list of bakersfield sound artists on Spotify, ranked based on popularity, who exemplifies the bakersfield sound genre. You can find out what bakersfield sound genre sounds like where you can preview artists or sort them the way you want, just click the headers to sort.

#namePopularity instrumentalnessdanceabilityenergyacousticnessHappinesstempofollowers
1
Merle Haggard
61 3 64 38 49 58 114 1211433
2
Dwight Yoakam
59 2 60 71 24 69 127 595243
3
Merle Haggard & The Strangers
52 0 65 37 59 60 110 28987
4
Buck Owens
52 4 60 53 49 81 108 302506
5
Vern Gosdin
47 0 65 36 45 53 107 160147
6
Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
37 25 64 39 89 83 125 36738
7
Jean Shepard
34 0 65 44 51 71 123 28591
8
Dale Watson
34 15 60 68 28 78 127 33405
9
Red Simpson
32 6 70 66 65 90 116 17809
10
Wynn Stewart
32 0 52 45 70 73 117 10411
11
Heather Myles
31 0 63 60 23 73 129 7033
12
Dick Curless
30 6 66 54 72 78 105 5581
13
Clarence White
28 87 45 58 54 92 115 4967
14
Susan Raye
28 0 65 53 37 81 104 1973
15
The Derailers
27 0 56 70 15 81 138 14733
16
Don Rich And The Buckaroos
25 42 66 61 62 87 114 1351
17
Tommy Collins
25 0 65 56 61 91 123 5960
18
Zephaniah OHora
22 2 68 52 31 58 108 8849
19
Tony Booth
21 0 59 53 27 81 134 4054
20
The Gosdin Brothers
19 0 55 31 91 66 86 362
21
The Buckaroos
17 86 61 70 73 97 157 225
22
Bonnie Owens
16 0 0 0 0 0 0 582
23
Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
15 0 74 58 60 84 119 3289
24
Big House
15 0 52 74 7 80 158 1204
25
The Maddox Brothers & Rose
11 0 68 67 47 91 111 2861
26
Liz Anderson
8 0 0 0 0 0 0 1191
27
Don Rich
8 0 0 0 0 0 0 575
28
Dead Winter Carpenters
7 1 58 65 1 54 76 2579
29
Leon Payne
7 0 52 42 71 70 116 1337
30
Buddy Alan
6 0 63 52 43 80 161 187
31
Billy Mize
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 216
32
The Hagers
3 0 44 94 44 86 162 58
33
Cliff Crofford
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 43
34
Kay Adams
2 0 0 0 0 0 0 149
35
Gib Guilbeau
2 0 0 0 0 0 0 183
36
Rusty Dean
2 0 0 0 0 0 0 118
37
Brokedown in Bakersfield
2 0 0 0 0 0 0 387
38
Grant Langston
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 130
39
The Farmer Boys
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 85
40
Joe & Rose Lee Maphis
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 301
41
Dennis Payne
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 27
42
Bob Morris
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 28
43
Bud Hobbs
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 28
44
Ronnie Sessions
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17
45
Leo LeBlanc
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
46
Guilbeau & Parsons
0 0 72 51 12 69 113 50
47
Chester Smith
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 42
48
Gib & The Reasons
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
49
Dee Mize
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
50
Jan Paxton
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5
51
Kenny Vernon
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 30
52
Nashville West
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 631
53
Bobby Austin
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 77
54
The Sanland Brothers
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5
55
Bakersfield's Big Guitars
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 25
56
Lorene Mercer
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8
57
Wayne Moore
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 47
58
Doyle Holly
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 90