Rock music and country music go together like two peas in a pod. And these eight country and rock crossovers surprised everyone with just how well they worked together.
1. Aerosmith and Carrie Underwood
Steven Tyler and Carrie Underwood have collaborated a few times through the years. One of their most noteworthy collabs was the 2012 song “Can’t Stop Loving You” from Aerosmith’s album Music From Another Dimension!
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Surprisingly, the addition of Underwood was last minute. Tyler said in an interview that after he had already recorded the vocals, he decided that someone should be brought in to add even more of a country flare to the song. Underwood recorded the song with Aerosmith that night.
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2.U2 and Johnny Cash
This is one of the oldest entries on our list, but it still hits so good. In 1993, U2 decided to shake things up and produce a track without Bono heralding the lyrics. Instead, they got the legendary Johnny Cash to sing for “The Wanderer”.
“I was thrilled to death, because I love that song,” Cash said after the song was released. Cash also went on to cover U2’s music for American III: Solitary Man.
3. Dolly Parton and Rob Halford
Dolly Parton is a great duet partner. She’s also quite a humble woman. She was nominated to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, to which she declined after saying she didn’t “earn” the right. She later changed her mind but promised to release a rock album. She’s a woman of her word and released Rockstar soon after. “Bygones” was one excellent country-rock collaboration with Judas Priest’s own Rob Halford. Nikki Stixx and John 5 (of Motley Crue) are also featured on the track.
4. Zac Brown Band and Chris Cornell
The late great Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Audioslave once collaborated with the Zac Brown Band for the track “Heavy Is The Head”. It was a surprising collaboration that worked quite beautifully. Cornell really knew how to scream, didn’t he?
5. Bon Jovi and Jennifer Nettles
This is probably one of the most well-known country and rock crossovers ever. Bon Jovi and Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland collaborated on the hit song “Who Says You Can’t Go Home”.
“The greatest compliment that I could give her is that she made the song her own…” said Bon Jovi of Nettles. “She comes from a rock background and fell into country.”
6. Tom Morello and Chris Stapleton
Nobody expected Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello to collaborate with country star Chris Stapleton, but here we are! “The War Inside” was the perfect combination of moody, enigmatic musicians. The pair met at a memorial service for Chris Cornell, and following a long conversation about fatherhood and mourning decided to work together.
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