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All kinds of American popular music have been embraced by large groups in the Netherlands during the postwar era. One major exception to this general tendency is country and western music. Although its various brands, from old-time music to country-rock, do have their enthusiastic groups of Dutch aficionados, none of these draws a really large audience, comparable to, let's say, middle-of-the road pop music, rock, or even rap music. Country is hardly visible or audible in the public realm. This is strange, considering that not only in the domain of popular music but also in many other respects Holland is very strongly within the orbit of U.S. popular culture. In this study I will try to offer an adequate explanation for this intriguing fact.
A Late Start
Country music evolved rather slowly in the Netherlands. In the 1930s and 1940s some records may have been brought to Holland by crews of ships that sailed to and from America, other travelers who visited the United States, or American tourists, businessmen, and soldiers coming to this country. But these influences have left no clear traces. Country music was certainly not the background soundtrack of everyday life as it was in many southern parts of the United States. In the 1950s there was almost no airplay for country music in Holland. More generally, popular music then was quite suspect in the Dutch society with its restrictive cultural climate, particularly in the first decade after the World War II. The respectable middle class classified the performers of the popular music genre, in spite of their tidy clothing and decent demeanor, in the category of circus artists. Popular music, and rock and roll in particular, had a low status, due to its supposedly vulgar character. This kept Philips, just like some other large record companies, from starting a record division for these segments of the music market (ter Bogt 588). Furthermore, American records were only released in limited numbers, and often with some delay in Holland. The big exporting record companies in the United States waited for the success of the independent labels. Their own exports took off later and mostly encompassed the softer variants of rock and roll, and high school pop. Nevertheless, almost from the outset jukeboxes in...