Short answers, pulled from the story.
The first commercial country music recording was released on the 14th of June 1923. Fiddlin John Carson recorded Little Log Cabin in the Lane for Okeh Records, marking the first widely considered country song featuring vocals and lyrics.
Vernon Dalhart was the first country singer to have a nationwide hit in May 1924. His song Wreck of the Old 97 achieved this status, establishing him as a pioneer of the genre.
The term country music was popularized in the 1940s to replace the earlier label of hillbilly music. Billboard replaced the term hillbilly with folk songs and blues in 1944 and switched to country and western in 1949.
Bob Wills was one of the first country musicians known to have added an electric guitar to his band in 1938. This innovation marked a pivotal shift in the sonic landscape of the genre and led to the development of western swing.
Outlaw country emerged in the late 1950s and 1960s from traditional Western music styles. The movement revolutionized country music in the early 1970s, epitomized by the 1976 album Wanted! The Outlaws.
Beyonce released her country album Cowboy Carter in 2024. The album received popular acclaim and featured original songs such as Texas Hold Em and a cover of Dolly Parton's Jolene.