Biography
A collective known as Artists of Then, Now & Forever assembled for the 2016 single and video "Forever Country," which united numerous country hitmakers. The project honored the Country Music Association Awards on the occasion of their 50th anniversary and took the form of a medley drawn from three enduring tracks: "Take Me Home, Country Roads," first recorded and co-written by John Denver; "On the Road Again," written and originally recorded by Willie Nelson; and "I Will Always Love You," written and first recorded by Dolly Parton. Shane McAnally served as producer, shaping the recording to honor both the genre's heritage and its current practitioners through an extensive lineup of performers. Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton, whose compositions anchored the medley, joined veteran figures Reba McEntire, Ronnie Milsap, and Charley Pride. Traditional stylists such as Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, and George Strait appeared alongside more recent voices including Kacey Musgraves and Darius Rucker. Additional female contributors encompassed Faith Hill, Miranda Lambert, Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, and Carrie Underwood, while ensembles Alabama, Brooks & Dunn, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, and Rascal Flatts also took part. Contemporary Nashville artists Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Brett Eldredge, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, and Keith Urban added their voices. Randy Travis, whose prominence in the 1980s and 1990s was curtailed by a 2013 stroke, nonetheless received credit as one of the artists on the single and made a cameo in the video. The track appeared as a digital single on September 16, 2016, and a 90-second video preview aired on Dancing with the Stars on September 20. The Country Music Association, which organized and funded the effort, directed all proceeds from "Forever Country" toward its music education initiatives.
Singles