Last week country singer Clay Walker voiced his displeasure with rock singers releasing country music.

“I can’t stand to see outdated rock ‘n’ rollers coming in to play country music,” Walker said to the Modesto Bee. “That really pissed me off. We have great singers, great country musicians. There’s no reason we have to dilute it by letting people in the format that don’t have any business being in the format.”

Walker’s comments appear to be aimed at Steven Tyler. Tyler, the Aerosmith lead singer, plans to release a country album in the near future and had his new single “Love Is Your Name” come out this past week.

In my opinion, Walker is completely unjustified in his comments about country music’s invasion.

If you look back at when country music really took off in the 1950s and ‘60s, study the names that led the movement: Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty, Jerry Lee Lewis and Charlie Rich. All four of these artists were primarily rock singers who transitioned to country as the genre got its footing, and without it country music would not be as it stands today.

Besides some of country music’s forefathers having rock ties, who is Clay Walker to say who can and cannot play country music?

First and foremost, music is all about freedom and allowing every person who wants to play the music do just that. That being said, Walker is not a superstar country musician by any stretch of the imagination. If a famous star like Garth Brooks or George Strait made these comments, perhaps there would be more substance to the gripe; the 45-year-old Walker has not had a No. 1 song since 1997.

It sure looks like Walker took this opportunity to have his name mentioned in the mainstream for the first time in years. He may not like what Tyler and others have done with country music, but the fact is this: Tyler will probably get more play time with his new music than Walker will.