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Best Country Songs of All Time
- Thread starter prberk
- Start date
catmom46
Well-Known Member
Well, you could have just edited your first or second posts.
But then I'd have only 9,123 posts.
Seriously, though, usually when I do that, someone winds up quoting the post before I finish making edits, and then I just look like a nitwit.
catmom46
Well-Known Member
But then I'd have only 9,123 posts.
Seriously, though, usually when I do that, someone winds up quoting the post before I finish making edits, and then I just look like a nitwit.
That's OK. I think we've all looked like nitwits at one time or another on this forum!
So, now, starting a new post, rather than editing my last one.. 
...
Well, we are up to Number 3, which honestly I thought would be Number 2, but here it is at Number 3:
3. Crazy - Patsy Cline
Here's our Virginia native girl again showing us all how it is done. The song was written by Willie Nelson, but it was Cline's pure, raw emotion in the song, backed as usual by The Jordanaires (Elvis' backup group also) on vocals and the great Floyd Cramer on the piano, that made it a timeless classic. It doesn't need a video to feel the emotion. He it is on YouTube with just a single picture and the song:
I have a feeling that her friend, Loretta Lynn, for whom Patsy was a mentor, will show up in the Number Two spot tomorrow with her signature tune, "Coal Miner's Daughter," but we will see!
By the way, @Tiggerish , I like "Take Me Home Country Roads" too. Thanks for your comments.
...Well, we are up to Number 3, which honestly I thought would be Number 2, but here it is at Number 3:
3. Crazy - Patsy Cline
Here's our Virginia native girl again showing us all how it is done. The song was written by Willie Nelson, but it was Cline's pure, raw emotion in the song, backed as usual by The Jordanaires (Elvis' backup group also) on vocals and the great Floyd Cramer on the piano, that made it a timeless classic. It doesn't need a video to feel the emotion. He it is on YouTube with just a single picture and the song:
I have a feeling that her friend, Loretta Lynn, for whom Patsy was a mentor, will show up in the Number Two spot tomorrow with her signature tune, "Coal Miner's Daughter," but we will see!
By the way, @Tiggerish , I like "Take Me Home Country Roads" too. Thanks for your comments.
Here is an absolutely great read, by the way, on the recording of "Crazy" at Owen Bradley's famous intimate Nashville recording studio in a back yard on Music Row, the Quonset Hut. It also tells a lot about what they went through back then to make the perfect recording, in this case on a three-track machine:
http://www.mixonline.com/news/profiles/classic-tracks-patsy-clines-crazy/365112
http://www.mixonline.com/news/profiles/classic-tracks-patsy-clines-crazy/365112
Last edited:
catmom46
Well-Known Member
Thanks for this - it was a fabulous read! I love how pop music was considered "cosmopolitan" back then.
MaxsDad
Well-Known Member
What about "Blood on the Saddle"?
Seriously, reading through the post and thinking about the Top 40 I saw, I agree about Alabama, they have some classics. Perhaps they are not considered country?
Most of the ones that came to my mind I found in the Top 90, which is somewhat of a testament to the List's validity. Not because I am special, but because of the opposite: how little I know. If I know it as a benchmark, it was have made a wide impact.
Seriously, reading through the post and thinking about the Top 40 I saw, I agree about Alabama, they have some classics. Perhaps they are not considered country?
Most of the ones that came to my mind I found in the Top 90, which is somewhat of a testament to the List's validity. Not because I am special, but because of the opposite: how little I know. If I know it as a benchmark, it was have made a wide impact.
Well, we are up to Number 2.
Loretta Lynn has edged out her mentor, Patsy Cline, with her signature tune:
2. Coal Miner's Daughter - Loretta Lynn
Loretta's poignant autobiographical song tells about growing up in a mining town in Kentucky, where her father worked for the Van Lear coal mine, and lived in Butcher Holler, near Paintsville. A song that speaks right to the heart, and pays real homage to the faith, pluck, and genuine strength of her family -- a strength that, sadly, few would know today.
It is the song that inspired the 1980 movie of the same name, starring Sissy Spacek in her Academy-Award- winning role as Loretta. It is a rags-to-riches story that will inspire you if you have never seen it. I think it is one of the best character studies ever put on film. But now we get to celebrate the song, and the singer, who inspired the film.
Loretta Lynn has edged out her mentor, Patsy Cline, with her signature tune:
2. Coal Miner's Daughter - Loretta Lynn
Loretta's poignant autobiographical song tells about growing up in a mining town in Kentucky, where her father worked for the Van Lear coal mine, and lived in Butcher Holler, near Paintsville. A song that speaks right to the heart, and pays real homage to the faith, pluck, and genuine strength of her family -- a strength that, sadly, few would know today.
It is the song that inspired the 1980 movie of the same name, starring Sissy Spacek in her Academy-Award- winning role as Loretta. It is a rags-to-riches story that will inspire you if you have never seen it. I think it is one of the best character studies ever put on film. But now we get to celebrate the song, and the singer, who inspired the film.
By the way, "Blood on the Saddle" may not be on the list, but was in fact performed for the CBJ by a singer who was well-respected within Nashville, and who had already put it on record. It was sung by Tex Ritter, who was the go-to deep, gravely cowboy voice for a generation. He did have a number of hits, but was also popular in the movies. His son, of course, became even more popular on TV to a new generation: John Ritter of "Three's Company" fame. And now his grandson is also on TV. "Ole Slough Foot" ("He's big around middle...".) was a more popular traditional country song from the CBJ and was regularly performed on the Grand Ole Opry by Porter Wagonner even right up until his death about five years ago. The CBJ was well-researched for the time it was written, and used some familiar Americana tunes.
And, yes, Alabama is considered country and have some great standards. Even Brad Paisley referenced them in his recent hit, "Old Alabama." I liked "Mountain Music" by them. I do think that some people when they first came out did not really like the heavy use of drums in their music, but they did use the fiddle a lot, which is traditional. They seemed to take traditional country style and speed it up, almost mocking it -- which has become standard in some ways today, but was probably taken by some in the early days as an affront. But I think they are very well liked within country circles today.
Well, today is WSM's 90th anniversary, and the day that they revealed Number One in their Top 90 Country Songs of All Time summer-long survey. And it is hardly a surprise. And the Number One song is... (drumroll please...)
1. He Stopped Loving Her Today - George Jones!
Written by Bobby Braddock and performed with heart-wrenching perfection by George Jones, this song nails the emotion of long-lost love.
The familiar backstory to this single is that it took them a while of back and forth to get the lyrics just right, and that once George recorded the song, he left the studio saying, "Nobody's gonna buy the thing. It's too damned sad."
I guess he cried all the way to the bank. It ended up becoming the signature song of a man who performed for over 50 years and had more hit songs than most artists record in a lifetime.
When his funeral was performed at the Grand Ole Opry House a couple of years ago, Nancy Jones, his widow, asked Alan Jackson to perform the song at the service. Alan's performance was spot-on, backed by the Opry staff band, some who had been on George's orginal performance. It was another reminder of how powerful this song was:
Well, this has been fun for me, listening to WSM every day and reporting to you guys this piece of Americana. WSM and its signature radio show, The Grand Ole Opry, are true gems, and are rare today (live radio with live DJs all day, and a live weekly radio show). I think some of its persistent relevance is the same that keeps country music relevant: a tapestry of stories and songs about everyday people that touch on real emotion - both poignant and fun, gritty and real but reaching for the stars. A place where kids can dance and laugh with grandma, or where their parents can cry a little.
As Ray Charles said about country music, it's "Stories, man, stories!"
Somehow that whole narrative (the importance of story; modern things balanced by a fond reverence for the frontiers of the past) sounds very familiar to the Disney fan in me. And I hope that you all have enjoyed this little piece of Americana that I have been able to share here.
For anyone interested, WSM will play the entire "Top 90" list today throughout the day as they celebrate their actual birthday today. To listen, go to www.wsmonline.com and click "listen live," then "internet radio." They will play through the whole list from now through about 3:00 Central Time. During most of the day, they will be broadcasting from their famous tower on Concord Rd. in south Nashville, where they are having a picnic and open house for visitors today. Stop by if you are in Nashville. (Their famous tower design, a diamond shape rather than the normal pyramid, is itself famous and is reflected in the design of the Country Music Hall of Fame and other Nashville landmarks.) Normally they broadcast from the Opryland Hotel, but today they will be at the tower for the Open House.
1. He Stopped Loving Her Today - George Jones!
Written by Bobby Braddock and performed with heart-wrenching perfection by George Jones, this song nails the emotion of long-lost love.
The familiar backstory to this single is that it took them a while of back and forth to get the lyrics just right, and that once George recorded the song, he left the studio saying, "Nobody's gonna buy the thing. It's too damned sad."
I guess he cried all the way to the bank. It ended up becoming the signature song of a man who performed for over 50 years and had more hit songs than most artists record in a lifetime.
When his funeral was performed at the Grand Ole Opry House a couple of years ago, Nancy Jones, his widow, asked Alan Jackson to perform the song at the service. Alan's performance was spot-on, backed by the Opry staff band, some who had been on George's orginal performance. It was another reminder of how powerful this song was:
Well, this has been fun for me, listening to WSM every day and reporting to you guys this piece of Americana. WSM and its signature radio show, The Grand Ole Opry, are true gems, and are rare today (live radio with live DJs all day, and a live weekly radio show). I think some of its persistent relevance is the same that keeps country music relevant: a tapestry of stories and songs about everyday people that touch on real emotion - both poignant and fun, gritty and real but reaching for the stars. A place where kids can dance and laugh with grandma, or where their parents can cry a little.
As Ray Charles said about country music, it's "Stories, man, stories!"
Somehow that whole narrative (the importance of story; modern things balanced by a fond reverence for the frontiers of the past) sounds very familiar to the Disney fan in me. And I hope that you all have enjoyed this little piece of Americana that I have been able to share here.
For anyone interested, WSM will play the entire "Top 90" list today throughout the day as they celebrate their actual birthday today. To listen, go to www.wsmonline.com and click "listen live," then "internet radio." They will play through the whole list from now through about 3:00 Central Time. During most of the day, they will be broadcasting from their famous tower on Concord Rd. in south Nashville, where they are having a picnic and open house for visitors today. Stop by if you are in Nashville. (Their famous tower design, a diamond shape rather than the normal pyramid, is itself famous and is reflected in the design of the Country Music Hall of Fame and other Nashville landmarks.) Normally they broadcast from the Opryland Hotel, but today they will be at the tower for the Open House.
