Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter, who has become an icon of country music, Rock 'n' Roll and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. A leading exponent of the Honky Tonk style, he had numerous hit records, and his charismatic performances and succinct compositions fueled his fame. His songbook is one of the backbones of country music, several are pop standards as well. He has been covered in a range of pop, gospel, and rock styles. His legend has only grown since his premature death at the age of 29.

Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 30, 1933) is an American entertainer and songwriter, born and raised in Abbott, Texas. He reached his greatest fame during the outlaw country movement of the 1970s

Johnny Cash (born J.R. Cash, February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an influential American country and rock 'n' roll singer and songwriter. Cash was the husband of country singer and songwriter June Carter Cash.

Cash was known for his deep and distinctive voice, the boom-chick-a-boom or "freight train" sound of his Tennessee Three backing band, and his dark clothing and demeanor, which earned him the nickname "The Man in Black." He started all his concerts with the simple introduction "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash."

Much of Cash's music, especially that of his later career, echoed themes of sorrow, moral tribulation and redemption. His signature songs include "I Walk the Line", "Folsom Prison Blues", "Ring of Fire", and "Man In Black". He also recorded several humorous songs, such as "One Piece at a Time", "The One on the Right Is on the Left", and "A Boy Named Sue"; bouncy numbers such as "Get Rhythm"; and various train-related songs, such as "The Rock Island Line".

He sold over 50 million albums in his nearly 50 year career and is generally recognized as one of the most important musicians in the history of American popular music.

Merle Ronald Haggard (nicknamed "The Hag"; born April 6, 1937 in Bakersfield, CA) is an American country music singer, guitarist and songwriter.

Emerging from prison in the 1960s, Haggard was one of the early innovators of the Bakersfield Sound. With his hard biting electric guitar, he almost single-handedly introduced country to the electric sound. By the 1970s, he was aligned with the growing outlaw country movement, and has continued to release successful albums through the 1990s and into the 2000s. His work in familiar country themes – jail, betrayal, drinking and wandering – include a directness that reflects his own life experience. His deep, grumbling voice and his guitar work gives his country a blues-like quality in many cuts.

Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is an influential country music songwriter, singer and actor. He is best known for hits like "Me and Bobby McGee", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night". Kristofferson is the sole author of most of his songs, but he has collaborated with various other figures of the Nashville scene such as Shel Silverstein or Fred Foster.

Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter, who became one of the best-selling country musicians of the 1990s.

Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962 in Tulsa, Oklahoma) and raised in Yukon, Oklahoma is an American country music singer-songwriter and charity director.

Brooks was a phenomenal musical force in the 1990s. He had his chart breakthrough in 1989, having come apparently from nowhere, and was an immediate commercial success. Lacking the tall and lanky physical appearance typical of some male country stars, he successfully integrated pop and rock elements into his recordings and live performances. He soon began to dominate the country singles and country albums charts and quickly crossed over into the mainstream pop arena, selling records like no one else in country music ever had and exposing country music to a larger audience than previously thought possible.

Brooks enjoyed one of the most successful careers in popular music history, with over 70 hit singles and 15 charted albums to his credit and over 115 million albums sold in the US alone, breaking records for both sales and concert attendance throughout the 1990s. Possibly dissatisfied and looking to expand his career boundaries, he then attempted an artistically ambitious (but uncompleted) multimedia project involving a fictitious alter ego.

Troubled by the conflicts between career and family, the year after the decade ended, Garth Brooks announced his retirement from recording and performing, thereby disappearing from the music world as suddenly as he had come. To his many fans the world over, he is a legend.

Hank Williams, Jr. is an American country and southern rock singer, son of country music pioneer Hank Williams.Randall Hank Williams ("Bocephus" was his late father's fond nickname for him) was born May 26, 1949, a month before Hank Sr.'s landmark first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry, and he was 3 when the elder Williams died. At 8, he went on stage as Hank Williams Jr. with his father's songs, voice and mannerisms. He debuted on the Opry at age 11 and at 14 made his first hit record, a rendition of his father's "Long Gone Lonesome Blues." A year later, he sang all the songs on the soundtrack of Your Cheatin' Heart, Hank Sr.'s film biography. In his teens, he learned piano from Jerry Lee Lewis, appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and performed for crowds of 20,000 people.
In 1969, he and Johnny Cash teamed up at Detroit's Cobo Hall for the largest-grossing country show to date, and in 1970, Williams signed the biggest recording contract in the history of MGM Records. But as much as he loved his father's legacy, he had grown weary of cloning his father and wanted to pursue his own musical identity. In the early 1970s, Williams adopted a Southern rock side, easily heard in the 1975 album Hank Williams Jr. and Friends. That same year, he nearly died from falling off a Montana mountain and endured numerous surgeries to keep him alive. After moving to a new record label in 1979, he issued his signature classic, "Family Tradition," which referenced his famous father and their shared love for the wild side. He remained a staple of country music radio in the 1980s with hits like "Texas Women," "Dixie on My Mind," "All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)," "A Country Boy Can Survive" and "Born to Boogie." He won the CMA's entertainer trophy in 1987 and 1988. In 1989, he won his first (and only) Grammy for the duet with his father, "There's a Tear in My Beer," which borrowed Hank Sr.'s vocals from a vinyl record. When the radio hits slowed down in the 1990s, Williams found notoriety by singing the opening theme for ABC's Monday Night Football. Alan Jackson turned Williams' song "The Blues Man" into a Top 40 hit in 2000. To this day, Williams remains a favorite among Southern rock fans.

Waylon Jennings is the #1 Outlaw in Country music history. From Littlefield, Texas to Buddy Holly's protégé to becoming the first country singer to sell a million records, Waylon's career spanned 6 decades. Grammy Winner, songwriter, actor, author and businessman; he was a lot of things to a lot of people. He is an American original.

George Harvey Strait (born May 18, 1952 – ), is an American country music artist. He has the second most number one hit songs among any artist in any genre in history, totaling 53 number one hit songs (Conway Twitty had 55 number one hits). Most recent #1 occurred on September 18, 2006 with "Give It Away" which will be on Strait's new album It Just Comes Natural. Strait has sold a reported 62 million albums, and his certifications from the RIAA include 13 multi-platinum, 30 platinum and 33 gold albums. According to the RIAA, he has received more Gold albums than any other country artist, and he is currently tied with Frank Sinatra in eighth place for the most gold albums of any artist in any musical genre. Strait has received 16 CMA Awards, including consecutive entertainer of the year honors in 1989 and 1990. Strait is often referred to as the "King of Country" and some critics call Strait a living legend. The native Texan is adored by millions of fans around the world for his smooth, honky tonk, traditional country western sound.

Affixing labels to Toby Keith is almost a cottage industry at this point. The obvious definitions include country music superstar, chart-topping recording artist and top-grossing live performer. Less recognized though no less significant descriptions include perennial award winner and nominee, subject of consistent critical acclaim and new label president. Challenging these for prominence are the various characterizations, at times caricatures, pinned on Keith by a mass media that thrives on political divisiveness.