I did not serve in the Military so I can’t participate in the “Which branch is best?” argument, but I do feel comfortable wading into the “Which branch produced the best country music artists?” debate, so let’s have at it.
There’s no shortage of outspoken supporters of our troops in country music and some of the most recognizable songs to the general public center around patriotism and support for the military, but there’s also been a few stars who served in the military before fully pursuing a music career.
Here’s a list of country music artists who served in the military, broken down by branch. I’ll give my opinion on which one takes top prize at the end…
Navy
Zach Bryan
Sturgill Simpson
Johnny Paycheck
George Jones (Marines)
Jamey Johnson (Marines)
Army
Kris Kristofferson
Charley Pride
John Prine
George Strait
Conway Twitty
Roger Miller
Craig Morgan
Fast-forward to July of this year, Craig decided to re-enlist in the Army Reserves right here on the Opry stage!
Wishing Craig Morgan a happy Opry Anniversary today, and we're looking forward to seeing him tonight! pic.twitter.com/VFwMFbZ2Gl
— Grand Ole Opry (@opry) October 25, 2023
Air Force
Johnny Cash
Willie Nelson
Happy Birthday to Air Force veteran and outlaw country music legend Willie Nelson! https://t.co/PnqoHLjUzS pic.twitter.com/GH0IQ3CQej
— Thomas Novelly (@TomNovelly) April 29, 2022
Okay, now that the rosters have been laid out, which one is the best?
For starters, there’s a pretty unequal distribution and since the Air Force has only two artists (albeit two of the best in country music history) we can probably agree that it’s not them.
The Army has the most artists on the list, including all around cool dude Kris Kristofferson, which certainly gives them a leg to stand on.
With the Navy, I included the Marines because they are technically part of the Navy although I know many consider them to be their own branch. Please don’t yell at me too badly.
With all that being said, in my opinion, the Navy makes the best country music artists. Call it recency bias or whatever you’d like but Zach Bryan, Sturgill Simpson, and Jamey Johnson are some of the most influential artists on my musical tastes and have quite literally altered my perspective on what good music is. Plus you throw in George Jones, who many people consider to be the greatest country artist of all-time, and it’s hard for me to vote against.
Did I miss any artists who served in the military? Let me know in the comments and, as always, give your opinion on which military branch makes the best country music artists.
