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Genre
honky tonk
Parent Genre: rock

Honky tonk music is a subgenre of country music that emerged in the 1940s and 1950s. It is characterized by its raw and emotional lyrics, twangy guitar riffs, and a danceable beat. Honky tonk songs often focus on themes of heartbreak, drinking, and the struggles of everyday life. This genre has been popularized by many legendary artists, including those mentioned above, who have left an indelible mark on the country music landscape.


Top artists of honky tonk genre

George Jones
Hank Williams
Ernest Tubb
Ray Price
Faron Young
Lefty Frizzell
Webb Pierce
Stonewall Jackson
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honky tonk music timeline

Explore honky tonk 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 honky tonk

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

rockabilly traditional country nashville sound western swing classic country pop rock-and-roll cowboy western country rock traditional rockabilly country bakersfield sound traditional folk arkansas country oklahoma country deep contemporary country neo-rockabilly vintage rockabilly appalachian folk zydeco outlaw country
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honky tonk playlist created by Chosic

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

Play on spotify

List of honky tonk artists

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

#namePopularity instrumentalnessdanceabilityenergyacousticnessHappinesstempofollowers
1
George Jones
62 0 52 38 67 55 106 1103610
2
Hank Williams
57 0 59 25 87 61 123 884987
3
Ernest Tubb
43 0 70 36 74 78 134 135970
4
Ray Price
43 2 46 32 77 58 102 135647
5
Faron Young
42 0 61 42 72 80 125 94445
6
Lefty Frizzell
40 0 67 30 76 69 115 100841
7
Webb Pierce
39 0 60 46 69 74 114 65335
8
Stonewall Jackson
37 0 63 44 64 73 117 57160
9
Charlie Walker
33 0 60 47 74 87 139 5348
10
Eddie Noack
31 4 63 52 68 77 117 4808
11
Carl Smith
29 0 59 37 73 71 124 28130
12
Carl Butler
26 0 61 30 86 60 112 1549
13
James Hand
26 0 64 51 41 72 114 5179
14
Vernon Oxford
24 0 58 43 55 72 127 3262
15
Cowboy Copas
22 1 69 53 76 86 120 14280
16
Darrell McCall
21 1 61 40 45 69 111 5173
17
Malcolm Yelvington
18 0 82 54 55 84 103 2602
18
Skeets McDonald
17 0 51 92 54 83 90 2149
19
Curtis Potter
13 0 58 46 41 67 114 2220
20
The Maddox Brothers & Rose
11 0 68 67 47 91 111 2861
21
Rusty & Doug Kershaw
11 0 0 0 0 0 0 418
22
Carl & Pearl Butler
9 0 56 32 53 58 111 685
23
Leon Payne
7 0 52 42 71 70 116 1337
24
Charline Arthur
3 0 82 35 84 97 115 290
25
Bob Gallion
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 218
26
Jack Cardwell
3 0 63 34 89 86 143 70
27
Tibby Edwards
2 0 0 0 0 0 0 104
28
Dub Dickerson
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 66
29
Jack Tucker
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 23
30
Sonny Burns
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 169
31
Arlie Duff
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 67
32
Jimmy Swan
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 66
33
Gene Tabor
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9
34
Chuck Mayfield
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
35
Jimmie Walton
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
36
Patsy Elshire
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
37
Fred Crawford
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 21
38
Blackie Crawford
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8
39
Cotton Henry
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7
40
Jack Derrick
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
41
Jack Rhodes
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16
42
Frankie Froba
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9
43
Peck Touchton
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
44
Biff Collie
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 34