Good list of must-hear country songs

Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs
From: GUEST,Richard
Date: 09 Mar 15 - 12:19 PM

Anybody said "South of Cincinnati"? One of my favourites, by Dwight Yoakam

Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs
From: cnd
Date: 08 Mar 15 - 04:45 PM

Glad to see this is up again! I'll add a couple things saved by the Google cache.

Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: pdq
Date: 18 Feb 15 - 01:50 PM

Country Music went through a classic period where it was essentially America's Music. That was around the early 1950s through the early 1980s.

This list of stars from that period is entirely my own:


1. Johnny Cash

2. Hank Williams

3 . Eddy Arnold

4. Merle Haggard

5. George Jones

6. Buck Owens

7. Glen Campbell

8. George Strait

9. Willie Nelson

10. Marty Robins

11. Waylon Jennings

12. Dolly Parton

13. Patsy Cline

14. Loretta Lynn

15. Tammy Wynette

16. Kitty Wells

17. Rose Maddox

18. Jimmie Rodgers

19. Bob Wills

20. Lefty Frizzell

21. Charley Pride

22. Jim Reeves

24. Ray Price

25. Conway Twitty

26. Sonny James

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: Chris C
Date: 18 Feb 15 - 03:57 PM

A few that I don't think I saw upthread (sorry if repeating):
For the Good Times (Kris Kristofferson, many versions, probably Ray Price best known)
Sunday Morning Coming Down (KK again, maybe Johnny Cash has best known version)
Ramblin' Fever (Haggard)
Ballad of Forty Dollars (Tom T Hall)
Midnight (Red Foley, a great, overlooked record)
All My Ex's Live In Texas (Strait, kind of representative of a modernized western swing vibe)
Georgia on a Fast Train, Old Chunk of Coal (and others by Billy Joe Shaver...kind of a Texas rockin' brand of country...Waylon Jennings did more "country" versions of Shaver songs)
For early country, all the Hank (Williams) & Lefy (Frizzell) material is essential. Bob Wills is similarly important to the Western Swing style of "country music". San Antonio Rose is probably his signature piece, so should be mentioned on any list that includes Western Swing tunes.
Going further back: Carter Family, as mentioned above.
For the classic country sound, I think the voices of Patsy Cline (among female singers) and George Jones (among the guys) are sort of the standard, most representative of the style, regardless of song. (Highly subjective, perhaps.)
Then there are the tons of great drinking songs by the likes of David Allen Coe and others (Drink My Wife Away, etc...these are easily found via google, etc)
The "outlaw" country stuff: "This Time" and many others by Waylon, "Good Hearted Woman" and tons of others by Willie Nelson.
Tons of great truck driving songs (Dave Dudley, mentioned above, plus the rockabilly/country sounds of Bill Kirchen, Commander Cody, etc..a whole 'other country-related sub-genre.)
FYI, Rolling Stone magazine published a list a few years back (??)...kind of a mess, but included some greats.
Also, Johnny Cash famously gave daughter Rosanne a list of 100 essential country songs...I don't think that's published, but her album The List is all songs from...the list.
And, of course, there's so, so much more.

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: oldhippie
Date: 18 Feb 15 - 06:40 PM

Wild Irish Rose = George Jones
Sundown Mary = Billy Walker
The Ballad of Lucy Jordan - Bobby Bare
Crystal Skies = Casse Culver
Time In Babylon - Emmylou Harris
Route 1 Box 144 = Johnny Cash
Midnight Choir - Larry Gatlin
The Pill - Loretta Lynn
I Lost It - Lucinda Williams
Committed to Parkview - Porter Wagoner
In The Last Foxhole - Red Sovine
Atlanta Georgia Stray - Sonny Curtis

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: GUEST,Sidewinder.
Date: 19 Feb 15 - 06:56 AM

Angels Flying Too Close To The Ground-Willie Nelson.
Angel of The Morning -Juice Newton.
Angel From Montgomery -Bonnie Raitt.
If I Had The Wings of An Angel- Elvis Presley.
Paradise -Johnny Cash.
and anything by John Prine or Garth Brooks.

Best Wishes.

Sidewinder.

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: GUEST,silver
Date: 19 Feb 15 - 08:55 AM

El Paso - Marty Robbins
Leavin' Town - Bobby Bare (as sung by Waylon Jennings)
San Francisco Mabel Joy - Mickey Newbury (as sung by Waylon Jennings)
Gentle on my mind - John Hartford
Green Rolling hills of West Virginia - Utah Phillips (as sung by Emmylou Harris)
Starlight on the rails - Utah Phillips
Give my love to Rose - Johnny Cash
Sea of Heartbreak - Don Gibson
Wolverton Mountain - Claude King
Yonder comes a sucker - Jim Reeves
Healing Hands of Time - Willie Nelson
Sufferin' - Bill Gallaher (as sung by Gordon Bok)

Hey, I know that last one is written after 1980, but it's got all the ingredients of a classic. Also Bok isn't considered a country artist, but his work on the 12-string sure is impressive.

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: GUEST,gillymor
Date: 19 Feb 15 - 09:55 AM

Just some of my favorites:

He'll Have to Go
Tishomingo Blues
White Line Fever
Big River
You're Still on My Mind
Big Iron
Sing Me Back Home
That's the Way Love Goes
Saginaw Michigan
Golden Rocket
Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone
Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes
Hello Stranger
Singing the Blues
Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You
Break My Mind
From the Bottom of the Glass
Lonesome Fugitive
Timberline
Semi Crazy
Six Days on the Road
Sunday Morning Coming Down
White Lightnin'
The Race is On
For The Good Times
I Sang Dixie
Guitars, Cadillacs and Hillbilly Music
Long White Cadillac
Honky Tonk Man
Honky Tonkin'
Help Me Make it Through the Night
Highway Patrol
Venom Wearing Denim
I'll Be Your San Antone Rose
Time Changes Everything

When you get going it's hard to stop. I'll have to make some mix CD's for the truck.

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: GUEST,HiLo
Date: 19 Feb 15 - 10:24 AM

What a great thread. Here are A FEW OF MINE.

Waterloo/ Stonewall Jackson
Battle of New Orleans/ Johnny Horton
Wreck on The Highway/ Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper
Jimmy Brown The Newsboy/ Mac Wiseman
Come In Stranger/ Johnny Cash
Long Black Veil/ Lefty Frizell
Ode To Billie o/ Bobby Gentry
Amigos Guitar/ Kitty Wells
She's Got You/ Patsy Cline
Wings of A Dove / Ferlin Husky

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: Gurney
Date: 19 Feb 15 - 02:56 PM

Most of the songs so far are too serious for me.
A couple from our fairly meagre collection of Country.

I Gotta Get Drunk. George Jones/Willy Nelson duet.
Put Another Log On The Fire. By anyone.

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: Larry The Radio Guy
Date: 19 Feb 15 - 04:41 PM

The Mickey Newbury reference from Silver reminded me of some great Mickey tunes---aside from San Francisco Mable Joy.

She Even Woke Me Up to See Goodbye--Jerry Lee Lewis
Why You Been Gone So Long--(various bluegrass groups, Mickey himself, Johnny Darrell)
Frisco Depot--Mickey Newbury
Good Morning Dear--Don Gibson
Heaven Help THe Child--Mickey Newbury
Just Dropped In to See What Condition My Condition was In--Kenny   
          Rogers & First Edition.
Makes Me Wonder If I Ever Said Goodbye--Johnny Rodriguez
Time is a Thief--Solomon Burke
Funny Familiar Forgotten Feelings--Don Gibson

-lots more.

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: Janie
Date: 19 Feb 15 - 11:25 PM

Not following your last post with remarks directed to me, cnd - I'm thinking you meant to address and thank some one else. Easy to get confused or lose track in a good thread like this one. As it happens, if you were a member, I would say this via pm so as not to distract/divert from the topic, but will take the opportunity to say thanks for starting it!

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: GUEST,Desi C
Date: 20 Feb 15 - 03:51 AM

Blue Side Of Lonesome by Leon Payne (george Jones version)
You Win Again by Hank Williams Snr (Jerry Lee Lewis version)
I'm So Lonesome I could Cry by Hank Snr and his own version
She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye by Micky Newbury (J J Lewis)
I still Miss Someone by J Cash (Roseanne Cash Or Suzy Bogus versions)
Give My Love To Rose by J cash & his version
Comitted to Parkview by J Cash ( his or Porter Wagoner's version)
I aint Famous by Emi Sunshine & her version
Blackberry Winter by Emi Sunshine her own version
Thank You Kindly ;)

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 20 Feb 15 - 05:23 AM

take this job and shove it - johnny paycheck
anything by hoyt axton

Subject: Good list of must-hear country songs
From: Joe Offer
Date: 21 Feb 15 - 09:42 PM

Subject: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: GUEST,cnd
Date: 17 Feb 15 - 04:51 PM

Does anyone have a good list of must-hear classic country songs?

I have a list I can give, here's a few. They don't necessarily have to be famous, just ones you like.

500 miles away from home - bobby bare
Good ol' mountain dew - stringbean
rawhide - frankie laine
white lightning - george jones
tupelo mississippi flash - jerry reed
guitar man - jerry reed
US male - jerry reed
get rhythm - johnny cash
daddy sang bass - johnny cash
all over again - johnny cash
one piece at a time - johnny cash
ring of fire - johnny cash
folsom prison blues - johnny cash
i walk the line - johnny cash
i love you a thousand ways - lefty frizzell
the cowboy in a continental suit - marty robbins
big iron - marty robbins
mama tried - merle haggard
ballad of thunder road - robert mitchum
do wacka do - roger miller
king of the road - roger miller
chug-a-lug - roger miller
cry of the wild goose - tennessee ernie ford
sixteen tons - tennessee ernie ford
on the road again - willie nelson

Anyone else have some good suggestions?

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: Acorn4
Date: 17 Feb 15 - 06:27 PM

Love this:-

Lee Ann Womack

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: GUEST,Joseph Scott
Date: 17 Feb 15 - 06:33 PM

"Crazy" Patsy Cline
"I Fall To Pieces" Patsy Cline
"Walkin' After Midnight" Patsy Cline
"Hurt" Johnny Cash
"American Tune" Willie Nelson
"Mule Skinner Blues" Bill Monroe
"Molly And Tenbrooks" Bill Monroe
"Blues In A Bottle" Prince Albert Hunt
"Diddy Wah Diddy With A Blah Blah" Al Dexter
"Black Water" Doobie Brothers
"Boot Scootin' Boogie" Brooks and Dunn
"Milk Cow Blues" Cotton Thompson with Johnny Lee Wills
"Long Gone Lonesome Blues" Hank Williams
"Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)" Tex Williams

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: cptsnapper
Date: 17 Feb 15 - 07:36 PM

City Of New Orleans Steve Goodman

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: Larry The Radio Guy
Date: 17 Feb 15 - 07:48 PM

I wouldn't call Trent Reznor's "hurt" a country song, even if it was done so exquisitely by Johnny Cash. .

Lost Highway--Hank Williams
Your Cheatin' Heart--Hank Williams
(almost anything else by Hank Williams).
Waitin' for a Train--Jimmy Rodgers
He's in the Jailhouse Now--Jimmy Rodgers.
Summer Wages--Ian Tyson
Night Life--Willie Nelson
Heartaches By The Number--Ray Price
Crazy Arms--Ray Price
Do Ya--K.T. Oslin
Coal Miner's Daughter--Loretta Lynn
Ride Me Down Easy--Bobby Bare
Miller's Cave--Bobby Bare
A Fool Such As I--Hank Snow
I've Been Everywhere--Hank Snow
Gulf Coast Highway--Nanci Griffith
Independence Day--Martina McBride
I Didn't Know God Made Honky Tonk Angels--Kitty Wells
You Don't Know Me--Eddy Arnold
Further and Further Away--Kathy Mattea/Cheryl Wheeler
Addicted--Cheryl Wheeler/Dan Seals
The Battle Hymn of Love--Kathy Mattea
Tips of My Fingers--Roy Clark
He Stopped Loving Her Today--George Jones
She Thinks I Still Care--George Jones

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: pdq
Date: 17 Feb 15 - 07:52 PM

So far, in the first four posts, you have Western Swing, Pop, Blues, Bluegrass, Cowboy, Comedy, Commercial Country, Singer-Songwriter and Honkey Tonk.

Fine with me.

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: Joe_F
Date: 17 Feb 15 - 08:41 PM

Is "Lies" by Stan Rogers country? I've never been clear on all those classes, but, as philistines of old used to say, I know what I like.

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 17 Feb 15 - 10:19 PM

anything by Joe Ely
Bandy the Rodeo Clown - Moe Bandy
LA Freeway - Guy Clark
Streets of Baltimore - Charlie Pride
Happy Endings - Eric Taylor
Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother -Jerry Jeff Walker
Six Days on the Road - Dave Dudley
Golden Ring - Tammy Wynette and George Jones
Jimmy C Newman's versions of Louisiana Man and Jambalaya
Sing me back home - Merle Haggard
and millions of others!

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: Janie
Date: 17 Feb 15 - 10:29 PM

oh Jeez, how to decide? A few ideas...

Louvin Brothers - almost randomly choosing one A Soldiers Last Letter

Delmore Brothers - again, almost a random selection Blues Stay Away From Me

Keith Whitley probably was too young to be considered classic by Mudcat standards, but he recorded some real fine songs "in the country tradition" She Never Got Me Over You

Alice Gerrard has done some terrific country tunes. My Once True Love   Another Maybe This Time

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: Janie
Date: 17 Feb 15 - 10:43 PM

Written by Ray Cliff It Rains Just the Same in Missouri

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: Bert
Date: 17 Feb 15 - 11:18 PM

Half as much
Jambalaya
Sing it Pretty Sue
Bestest Friend
Big River
China Doll


Let me think of some more.

GUEST cnd, You need to join, Mudcat needs more positive members and good threads like this.

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: Janie
Date: 17 Feb 15 - 11:53 PM

Love Joe Ely, Big Al. Also Guy Clark. And as you said, must be a million good country songs, some written early, and contrary to popular belief, which is understandable based on the crap pop country top forty stuff of the past 20-30 years if all one listens to is radio, still a lot of good stuff being written and recorded today.

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: GUEST,cnd
Date: 18 Feb 15 - 12:20 AM

Hello all, and thanks for these great songs!

I don't know if there's a specific connotation to "classic" on mudcat, but when I said that I meant pretty much anything pre-1980, unless it's got that classic sound to it. You know what I mean.

To Janie, I sent in a request, membership pending! Hopefully I'll get that sorted out soon, and thanks.

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 18 Feb 15 - 04:03 AM

of course my unforgiveable ommission was England's Jack Hudson.

Strangely enough it was Jack who made me listen to Eric Taylor.

This Happy Endings - my favourite of his tracks - which he wouldn't play for me when he did Nottingham a few years back.... Eric is amazing - more Texas music than pure country, when live he does that Lightning Hopkins thing of rapping halfway through a song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syyRYfHdwe8

Beautiful song!

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: cptsnapper
Date: 18 Feb 15 - 04:54 AM

City Of New Orleans Steve Goodman

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: Artful Codger
Date: 18 Feb 15 - 11:22 AM

I think "classic" was somewhat understood, since most of what's come out since 1980 is rock lite.

To me, the quintessential country song is either Patsy Cline singing Willie Nelson's "Crazy" (don't it just wrench your heart?) or Homer & Jethro singing "Fascination". Of course, the Carter Family has to figure in there somewhere.

For old-time country, one of the best sampler albums would be the soundtrack to "O Brother, Where Art Thou". Its sequel rates up there, too.

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: ranger1
Date: 18 Feb 15 - 12:31 PM

I personally like Chris LeDoux a lot. He's not post 1980s, but he does have that classic country sound.

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Subject: RE: Good list of must-hear country songs?
From: ranger1
Date: 18 Feb 15 - 12:32 PM

Whoops! Meant to say pre-198s there.