What was life really like for a country fan of the 1990s? These pictures show a simpler time that relied on network television, wholesome endorsements and trusted news reporting from a legend.
Physical magazines (RIP Country Weekly) delivered everything you needed to know about Nashville but we were all aware change was coming. The internet was just beginning to change our daily lives in exciting — if often frustrating — ways.
Listening To Country Music In the 1990s
Digital music wasn’t a thing yet. If you wanted music on demand from Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, George Strait or Reba McEntire you needed to drive to the mall and walk to Sam Goody, Musicland or Camelot Music and purchase a cassette or compact disc.
At home you’d insert it into your boombox or, if you were cutting edge, Discman. Portable CD players were trying to replace the popular Walkman but the problem was the CD’s constantly skipped. Nobody ever really solved that problem, despite what you were told in commercials like this:
Biggest Country Music Stars of the 1990s
One way to determine the biggest country artists of any decade is to look at airplay achievements, record sales, blah, blah, blah.
Related: Everyday Life In the 1980s Captured Perfectly In These Photos
You could also just look at who was starring in television commercials. Randy Travis and McEntire were popular. Alan Jackson once did an endorsement for Fruit of the Loom underwear (did anyone attend the Country Comfort Tour?) but the focus was on t-shirts, not tighty-whities.
Waylon Jennings and post IRS-settlement Willie Nelson once shared a slice of Pizza Hut pizza, backwards. That’s included in our list of photos that show what life was like for a country music fan in the 1990s.
A nod to ’90s fashion, line dancing and the voice of America are also featured. Honestly we kind of miss these days!
What Life Was Like for a Country Fan in the 1990s
What was life really like for a country fan of the ’90s? These pictures show a simpler time that relied on network television, wholesome endorsements and trusted news reporting from a legend.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
LOOK: These Everyday Photos Show Life in the 1990s as It Really Was
Before smartphones and algorithms, there were AOL logins, floppy disks, mall hangouts, and one family computer everyone had to share.
Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz
