Songbooks of cowboy ballads had begun to appear during the Civil War years, while ongoing westward expansion fuelled popular imagination of the lonesome cowboy taming the West.

This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. My guest, Charley Crockett, is a songwriter, singer and guitarist whose music ranges from country to rhythm and blues, cowboy songs, outlaw ballads and the song ...

Cowboy Carter has spurred plenty of discussion for being a groundbreaking country album. But for one critic, it calls to mind a cult favorite '70s psych-rock concept album.