The Nashville Sound [Disc 3]

"Countrypolitan -- an outgrowth of the Nashville sound of the '50s -- is among the most commercially-oriented genres of country music," writes AllMusic. "The Nashville sound emerged in the '50s as a way to bring country music to a broad pop audience.

"The movement was led by Chet Atkins, who was the head of RCA Records' country division. Atkins designed a smooth, commercial sound that relied on country song structures but abandoned all of the hillbilly and honky tonk instrumentation. He hired session musicians and coordinated pop-oriented, jazz-tinged productions.

"Similarly, Owen Bradley created -- most notably with Patsy Cline -- sophisticated productions and smooth, textured instrumentation. Eventually, most records from Nashville featured this style of production and the Nashville sound began to incorporate strings and vocal choirs."