Musical tastes

For several consecutive summers in the late eighties and early nineties, I took my young daughter Christy on a Daddy-Daughter backpacking trip to S. Manitou Island, in Lake Michigan. These trips made for wonderful memories, beginning when Christy was only 5. Sadly, they were interrupted by my 1993 accident. However, in 2001, we went again, with my brother John (JB) joining us. During the several-hour road trip, having me as a captive audience, JB told me he wanted me to listen to a recording of a group he likes, Diamond Rio. Though he now disclaims all responsibility for my conversion, listening to this recording several times had the unintended consequence of turning me into a country music fan. This is especially unusual ("bizarre"!), because I have three degrees in music (BA 1979, MM 1982, DMA 1988), and served as a classical music professor for several years. Previously I disdained country music completely, but this was a judgment made out of ignorance and total unfamiliarity.