SHORT TAKES : Tammy Sees Country’s Rebirth

Tammy Wynette says a new generation of performers has helped popularize country music all over again.

“The abundance of great new talent . . . is changing the demographics of the listening and buying audience,” she said in comments published in the Country Music Assn.’s “Close-Up” magazine.

“Because of their impact, the audiences are younger and the consumer dollars at both the record and concert levels have greatly increased,” she said in the publication’s January issue.

She cited Mary-Chapin Carpenter, Joe Diffie, Randy Travis, Ricky Van Shelton, Clint Black, Patty Loveless and Garth Brooks as among those making an impact.