Uncle Tupelo - Legacy

Legacy

Uncle Tupelo is credited as one of the founders of the alternative country genre, a blend of alternative rock and traditional country music. While the genre eventually became associated with solo artists such as Gram Parsons and Lyle Lovett, Uncle Tupelo is considered the first alternative country band. Some media outlets like the BBC have even suggested that they were the genre's sole creator. However, Tweedy and Heidorn dispute this claim, and Farrar says that there is no difference between alternative country and other genres such as roots rock. Heidorn commented in a Country Standard Time interview:

It's strange to hear Uncle Tupelo mentioned because what we were doing was in such a long line of musical history. People are wrong in starting with us and saying we started anything because we were just picking up the ball, starting with Woody Guthrie and on to the early '60s and the Flying Burrito Brothers that we were influenced by. We didn't start a genre. We contributed to a long line of fairly good music. That's the way we looked at it at the time—doing what was right for the song.

The band's first three albums influenced contemporary roots rock artists such as Richmond Fontaine and Whiskeytown. Uncle Tupelo's usage of distorted guitars to play a style of music that was known for its earnestness became a lasting trend in 1990s modern rock. Jason Ankeny wrote in Allmusic that:

With the release of their 1990 debut LP, No Depression, the Belleville, IL, trio Uncle Tupelo launched more than simply their own career—by fusing the simplicity and honesty of country music with the bracing fury of punk, they kick-started a revolution which reverberated throughout the American underground.

Their 1990 album No Depression lent its name to an influential alternative country periodical. Due to the influence of the album and periodical, the term "No Depression" became a byword for alternative country—particularly for bands with punk rock influence. The alternative country movement played an important role in the success of future traditionalist country acts such as Robbie Fulks and Shelby Lynne.