44 minutes ago
By JOHN GEROME, Associated Press Writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Country music artists are hardly united in their support of the war in Iraq (news - web sites) — but you'd never know it from listening to the radio.
While Toby Keith (news), Darryl Worley (news) and Charlie Daniels have scored hits with patriotic, war-themed songs, others such as Willie Nelson (news), Merle Haggard (news) and Nanci Griffith released anti-war, or at least questioning, songs that went nowhere.
"Country radio does enough research that they understand listeners are supportive of the military in Iraq and just don't want to get involved with those songs," said John Hart, president of Nashville-based Bullseye Marketing Research.
"I work with 32 stations, and I have not seen one test any of these anti-war songs."
But the patriotic tunes that were everywhere at the beginning of the military campaigns in Afghanistan (news - web sites) and Iraq have slowed. John Michael Montgomery (news)'s touching "Letters from Home" is the only current chart hit with a war theme, and it is neither an angry call to arms nor a love letter to America.
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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=495&e=11&u=/ap/music_country_patriotism