Country music is a little more polite than many of the other genres, but that doesn’t mean the gloves can’t come off in private.
Taste of Country’s list of the Nastiest Breakups in Country Music includes some of the biggest and most beloved bands in country music history.
It’s tricky being in a band with a lot of other creative people, especially if there’s a lot of money involved. Throw in fame, adulation and ego and you’ve got a sure-fire recipe for conflict.
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Some country bands have flamed out pretty quickly, while others — like Alabama and Brooks & Dunn — managed to hold it all together and keep their internal squabbles relatively private for many years before they finally spilled over into the public eye.
Did you know that John Rich was once a member of Lonestar before they made it big? That was a bitter parting of the ways.
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For the Everly Brothers, their personal friction was as much a part of their legend as their music, while the Louvin Brothers kept their years of strife relatively hidden for decades.
It’s well-known that Dolly Parton had a major falling out with her mentor, Porter Wagoner, but did you know that one of the Oak Ridge Boys once filed a massive lawsuit against the others?
Check out those stories and many more of the Nastiest Breakups in Country Music in the gallery below.
Country music is a little more polite in public than some genres, but that doesn’t mean the gloves don’t come off in private. We tend to assume all of our favorite country artists are good friends with their bandmates, but when they go their separate ways, sometimes the truth turns out to be very different.
Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker
The music business is a high-stakes, high-risk venture, and it’s not unusual for artists to wind up in court to defend their interests, as we’ll see in this gallery of the nastiest country music lawsuits.
Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker
Country Music’s All-Time Nastiest Band Splits