Ben’s non-fiction writing is mainly centred on his research interests in the history and culture of the Southern United States, with a particular focus on country music and Americana. Ben has written two long-form pieces of non-fiction on country music, including his undergraduate dissertation on the ‘Changing British Attitude to Country Music’ and an article on the blending of genre boundaries within modern American country music.
The Changing British Attitude to Country Music: From the 1960s to the Present (2013)
Ben’s undergraduate dissertation focused on the changing British attitude to country music from the 1960s to the present day, with a particular focus on how the different styles of country music have been accepted in the UK and the impact that public attitudes to the genre, as well as marketing and promotion, have affected the success of the genre. In the years since this piece was written in 2013, country music has seen a huge paradigm shift in popularity in the UK and most of Western Europe. This study then is a great starting point for those interested in finding out more about the British love affair with country music over the preceding half-century.