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.