Shreveport is vitally important in the histories of country music, rockabilly, and the blues. So are such other North Louisiana cities as Monroe, Alexandria, and Ferriday, and the adjacent rural reaches of the Delta parishes, the piney woods, and the Kisatchie Forest. Gospel music is also a significant tradition in these areas as well as throughout the entire state, in both black and white communities.

The region's location, bordered by Texas on the west and the Mississippi Delta on the east has not led to a development of a "local" music. Traditional and modern country music has been dominant, creating its own country stars.

However, northern Louisiana's lasting contribution to the world of popular music was the radio program "The Louisiana Hayride", which started broadcasting in 1948 on KWKH in Shreveport. Hank Williams, George Jones, Elvis Presley and nearly every other country legend,or future country legend alive during the 1950s stepped on stage at the Shreveport MunicipalAuditorium. They performed, many for the first time on radio, on a signal that covered much of the southeastern US. The original production of the show ended in 1960, but re-runs and the occasional special broadcast continued for a few years. The Louisiana Hayride was regardedas a stepping stone to The Grand Old Opera, the legendary radio show from WSM in Nashville,Tennessee.