10 Rock Stars That Went Country (And Nailed It)

6. Greg Graffin

As punk rockers start to get more miles under their belt, country doesn't seem like the worst idea in the world. Hell, if you wanted to be cynical, going country in the world of punk rock almost feels like a band on retirement mode half the time. If you're going to do country right, you have to have something to say, and Greg Graffin had a lot to get off his chest in his solo material.

Breaking away from Bad Religion for the first time, most of Greg's solo material are slices of Americana from the days before even rock and roll was born, as he dials back his punk shouts for something a lot more rustic. Granted, most of that shouting probably wouldn't fit on these albums either, since American Lesion shows him pouring his heart out about the divorce that he was going through at the time of writing.

While Bad Religion's material gives you a lot to think about when you put down the headphones, you get more in tune with who Greg is as a person when listening to these records, almost like you're catching up with an old friend that you haven't seen in ages. And as the years go by, some of that rustic side is finding its way into Bad Religion's material as well, like the acoustic side of Dissent of Man. Greg may have slowed things down on this record, but he's going for the heart every time he steps up to the mic.