Country music’s women through the years
A former contestant on the televised singing competition “Nashville Star,” Musgraves had a critical and commercial hit in 2012 with her single “Merry Go ‘Round.” It’s on her upcoming major-label debut, “Same Trailer Different Park,” which takes a skeptical look at such core country-music concerns as marriage, motherhood and religion. (Christopher Berkey / For The Times)
A Nashville veteran whose 2007 album “Satisfied” was lost in a record-label shuffle, Monroe broke through to a wide audience in 2011 as a member of Miranda Lambert’s Pistol Annies side project. Now she’s releasing a major-label record, “Like a Rose,” with production by Vince Gill and a duet with Blake Shelton. (Rick Diamond / Getty Images)
Rose’s mother is the Nashville songwriter Liz Rose, who’s co-written hits with Taylor Swift. But Caitlin Rose has come up largely outside the country-music establishment, releasing records on indie labels and playing rock clubs such as L.A.’s Bootleg Bar, where she’ll perform on May 2. (Andrew Benge / Redferns via Getty Images)
Younger singers readily credit Lambert for expanding the scope of what young female artists can write about. She released her most recent solo album, “Four the Record,” in 2011 and has a new Pistol Annies disc due out in May. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Taylor Swift has unleashed a new video on the world. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
Musgraves, Monroe and Rose call this country pioneer a major songwriting influence. Some of her biggest — and most controversial — hits include “Don’t Come Home A’ Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind)” and “Fist City,” which Pistol Annies has covered. (Hulton Archive / Getty Images)