Old Clasic Country Song My Gennies in the Bottle Once Again
How do you lot brand a sprawling listing of 100 tunes seem criminally short? Try to squeeze the greatest country songs of all time into that space.
As we considered a century's worth of story-driven songcraft, we did our darndest to brand sure all of the greats were recognized. And when nosotros say "of all time," we meanall time.
Every era is reflected here, from the Carter Family unit and Jimmie Rodgers' historic recordings to the reign of the "Nashville Sound," outlaws, singing cowboys and popular crossovers.
And before yous shake your fists and grumble furiously about how the list forgot "Friends in Low Places" or gave "9 to 5" the short stick, let's establish ane basic rule: One song per creative person, with the exception beingness duets.
I song from Cash. One song from Garth. And, yes, equally tough as it tin can be, only ane song from Dolly.
Now, dust off your turntable (or kicking up Spotify) and travel through 100 of the greatest tracks to come from Music City, Bakersfield and across.
Agree or disagree? We desire to hear from you lot:Join us on Reddit at 12 p.m. CDT Tuesday, Aug. 27 for an AMA with the writers who compiled this list
COUNTRY MILE:Artists, songs and lyrics take us through the rich history of land music
Dolly Parton — "Jolene"
Evocative and woeful, Parton'southward marquee recording crosses genre and generations — a one time-in-a-earth song without boundaries.
Tim McGraw — "Live Like You Were Dying"
McGraw'due south 2004 carol reminds listeners to love deeper, speak sweeter and give forgiveness that you lot've been denying.
Tammy Wynette — "Stand By Your Man"
Five decades removed from hit airwaves, and country music faithful still stand up tall for Wynette and her booming chorus.
Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss — "Whiskey Lullaby"
It's known for its layered, mournful instrumentation, just it's the ballad'due south devastating storytelling and Paisley's power to softly serenade that makes "Whiskey Lullaby" one of country'south best modern cuts.
Alan Jackson — "Where Were You (When the Earth Stopped Turning)"
The country music Class of 1989 returns to the all-time list, this time asking a question in the shadow of a generation-defining event.
Patsy Montana — "I Want to exist a Cowboy's Sweetheart"
In 1935, this jaunty melody became the beginning land song by a female creative person to sell more than 1 million copies. It'south since been covered past everyone from Patti Folio to Cyndi Lauper and Phish.
Clint Black — "Killin' Time"
On his 1989 chart-topper, Black tried — and failed — to beverage a woman off of his mind.
Eric Church — "Springsteen"
Church expertly captures a fleeting feeling chased by all musicians — like the chorus says, "Sometimes a melody sounds similar a retentiveness."
Chris Stapleton — "Tennessee Whiskey"
With a crude but welcoming warmth, Stapleton croons a rendition of this country classic that's worth toasting for years to come up.
George Jones — "He Stopped Loving Her Today"
The years go slowly by, just Jones still preys upon our minds.
Deanna Carter — "Strawberry Wine"
A commercial and disquisitional success still filling Lower Broadway taverns with a chorus that offers "My commencement taste of love, oh bittersweet."
Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton — "Islands in the Stream"
One of the biggest popular-state crossovers in history, the love duet has lived on through remixes and constant karaoke rotation.
The Judds — "Why Not Me"
With the title track of their debut album, mother and girl Naomi and Wynonna Judd made their case for beingness the biggest country duo of the '80s.
Conway Twitty — "Hello Darlin' "
This cocky-penned tune became Twitty's signature song, almost a guy who can't get over the woman he wronged and lost.
Loretta Lynn — "Coal Miner's Daughter"
A song, a film and a way of life for a generation raised on Lynn'southward working-form honesty.
Kris Kristofferson — "Sun Morning Coming Down"
Cash made it famous, but no vocal may improve exemplify the power and impact of Kristofferson's pen.
Don Williams — "Good Ole Boys Like Me"
During the vocal's 1980 release and beyond, Williams explains why "nosotros're all gonna be what we're gonna be."
Jimmie Rodgers — "Blue Yodel (T for Texas)"
Recorded more than 90 years ago, "T for Texas" is considered by many to be the premier vocal from a blue yodelin' father to the genre.
Carter Family — "Can the Circle Be Unbroken (By and Past)"
A torch-bearing telephone call for country music that's still celebrated on stages today.
Ray Price — "Heartaches by the Number"
It spent twoscore weeks on Billboard's Hot State Songs chart and sixty years at the elevation of listen for 1950s country classics.
Rosanne Cash — "Seven Year Ache"
Covered in drum loops and 1980s synthesized production, information technology's Rosanne Cash's sorrow that stands the test of time.
Steve Earle — "Guitar Town"
A foot-stomping land-rock tribute to wanderlust downward a lost highway.
Erstwhile Crow Medicine Show — "Wagon Wheel"
Sure, Darius Rucker fabricated it a hitting, simply lilliputian comes close to experiencing Quondam Crow howling this singalong for thousands of invested onlookers.
Jeannie C. Riley — "Harper Valley PTA"
A fictional Tennessee scandal that took Riley to the top of Billboard'southward Hot 100 nautical chart.
Miranda Lambert — "The Business firm That Built Me"
The fastest-rising unmarried of Lambert's career remains a haunting exploration of her music's ability to resonate for repeated listens.
Kitty Wells — "It Wasn't God Who Fabricated Honky Tonk Angels"
Ii-and-a-half minutes of truth that launched a career for this Tennessee legend.
Jerry Reed — "Eastbound and Down"
Country music'south best addition to soundtrack canon? Perhaps — it's the nearly lively, at to the lowest degree.
Roger Miller — "Rex of the Road"
A soft tap on the bass, a snap of the finger and Miller'southward off to croon listeners with his 1964 vagabond tale.
Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson — "Mammas Don't Permit Your Babies Grow Upwardly to Be Cowboys"
Ii of the genre's finest unite for a heartfelt warning that cowboys "never stay home and they're ever alone, fifty-fifty with someone they beloved."
George Strait and Alan Jackson — "Murder on Music Row"
"Someone killed country music/ Cut out its eye and soul," Strait laments on the seething duet. It was released in 2000, simply the sentiment still strikes a chord today.
Bobbie Gentry — "Ode to Billie Joe"
What did Billie Joe throw off the span? Regardless of the answer, Gentry captivates with every give-and-take.
Vince Gill — "Go Rest Loftier on That Mountain"
An monumental musical eulogy from Gill, delivered best during times when something moving needs to be heard.
Johnny Cash — "I Walk the Line"
Cash released his ode to temptation in 1956, cementing words in musical history that hold true in 2019.
Marty Robbins — "El Paso"
Complemented by Spanish picking, "El Paso" offers a encarmine romance worthy of western songwriting.
Keith Whitley — "I'g No Stranger to the Rain"
The last single released during Whitley's lifetime shows the vocaliser peacefully reminding listeners that "I've fought with the devil, got downwards on his level/ But I never gave in, so he gave up on me."
Eddy Arnold — "The Cattle Call"
The Tennessee Plowboy yodels his lonesome call, a sound that would shape country to come.
Reba McEntire — "Fancy"
Written by Bobbie Gentry in 1969, the almighty Reba unleashed burn down with her show-endmost 1990 version of this song.
Buck Owens — "Act Naturally"
A love song for the starry-eyed dreamers wishing nearly one day existence put in the movies.
Trisha Yearwood — "Walkaway Joe"
Zeal turns awry in the beloved 1990s ballad from Yearwood.
Lady Antebellum — "Demand You At present"
Backside the band's gorgeous harmony, Lady A sings of a longing some may know too well.
Shania Twain — "Man! I Feel Like a Woman"
The 1990s state anthem passed from Generation Ten mothers for millennial daughters to make their own.
Taylor Swift — "Mean"
In a characteristically triumphant move, Swift turns a tune about scathing critics into the brightest addition of her country music itemize.
Vern Gosdin — "Chiseled in Rock"
A tear-jerking ballad worthy of the Country Music Association's Song of the Year award in 1989.
Blake Shelton — "Ol' Ruby"
Before it was a chain of confined, Ol' Red was the prison domestic dog that helped Shelton's graphic symbol bosom out (cheers to his cousin's bluetick hound.)
Ronnie Milsap — "Smoky Mountain Rain"
Homecoming leads to heartbreak on Milsap'due south 1980 nautical chart-topper, wherein the singer "thumbed my mode from L.A. back to Knoxville," just to observe his dearest has moved on.
Tom T. Hall — "Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Vino"
"The Storyteller" drew from a real-life encounter for 1 of his greatest tales. During a trip to Miami, he met a janitor at his hotel, who told him there were "three things in this world that's worth a alone dime."
George Strait — "Amarillo By Morn"
The King of Country Music subtly parades his royal status with a crisp story from the road.
Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys — "Stay a Little Longer"
A taste of traditional western swing that simply asks listeners to trip the light fantastic toe all night and stay a little longer.
Alabama — "My Dwelling's in Alabama"
Country music's 6½-minute calling card to the South.
Emmylou Harris and Gram Parsons — "Love Hurts"
Nearly 60 years since beingness initially released — and 45 years since Harris and Parsons' duet — yes, love can nevertheless hurt.
Ricky Skaggs — "Country Male child"
A slick-picking slice of country music (and No. 1 hitting) from one of the finest to pick upwards an instrument.
Ernest Tubb — "Walking the Floor Over You"
A 1941 entry in which Tubbs shares a restlessness in a unproblematic chorus: "I'thou walking the floor over yous/ I tin can't slumber a wink, that is true. I'yard hoping and I'm praying equally my heart breaks right in two/ Walking the floor over y'all."
Glen Campbell — "Rhinestone Cowboy"
"Rhinestone Cowboy" definedCampbell's career. It was a country-pop hit that kept the singer balanced betwixt each globe.
Carrie Underwood — "Before He Cheats"
Country music has its share of anthems for scorned women, just Underwood'southward signature song is the gold standard. An instant archetype upon its release in 2006.
Charley Pride — "Osculation an Angel Good Morn"
With the biggest of his dozens of hits, the Country Music Hall of Famer shared the key to marital bliss: "Kiss an angel skilful morning/ And love her like the devil when yous get back home."
David Allan Coe — "You Never Fifty-fifty Called Me By My Name"
John Prine didn't desire credit when he co-wrote this kiss-off to Music Row. Simply information technology was the perfect message to be delivered past Coe, possibly state music's most infamous outsider.
Willie Nelson — "Blueish Eyes Crying in the Rain"
The Ruddy Headed Stranger narrates a story of emotional messiness with soothing clarity.
Johnny Paycheck — "Have This Chore and Shove It"
It spawned an eternal catchphrase, but don't forget there's another layer to Paycheck'south lone chart-topper: "My adult female done left and took all the reasons I was working for."
Tanya Tucker — "Delta Dawn"
Recorded when she was simply xiii, Tanya Tucker'south first haunting hit is ironically about an aging Southern belle, one who's under the delusion that a long-gone suitor is still coming for her.
Patsy Cline — "Crazy"
It'due south been covered by the likes of Neil Immature, LeAnn Rimes and Linda Ronstadt, but no creative person captured Willie Nelson's lyrical poignancy the way Cline did with her 1961 version.
Keith Urban — "Somebody Like You lot"
Urban sounds unstoppable on his 2002 chart-topper, a love song that's also wrapped upward in his personal redemption.
Garth Brooks — "The Dance"
What 1 song could possibly capture the career of this country music giant? How nigh the 1990 entry showcasing Brooks' unparalleled power to embody a story worth singing for decades to come?
Charlie Rich — "Behind Airtight Doors"
Land beloved songs didn't get much more suggestive than Rich'southward 1973 hit.
Tennessee Ernie Ford — "Xvi Tons"
It may be one of land's virtually depressing songs, and in this genre, that'southward saying something. Ford's beyond saving in his 1955 recording, as he's "sold my soul to the visitor store."
Dwight Yoakam — "Guitars, Cadillacs"
When he plant himself in Hollywood with a broken heart and shattered dreams, Yoakam clung to hope with his "guitars, Cadillacs (and) hillbilly music." Soon enough, it made him ane of land'due south biggest stars.
Hank Williams Jr. — "Family Tradition"
While he explained that he was only following in his dad's rowdy footsteps, "Bocephus" also truly stepped out of Hank Sr.'s shadow with this 1979 nail.
Oak Ridge Boys — "Elvira"
Airheaded-upwardly! We cartel you to name a song that's more fun to sing than this Oaks "oom-poppa" classic (named afterward an East Nashville street).
Ray Charles — "You Don't Know Me"
Charles' heartbreaking spin on the Eddy Arnold/Cindy Walker song is the pinnacle of his landmark album "Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music."
Kenny Rogers — "The Gambler"
Raise a glass to timeless communication.
Little Large Town — "Girl Trounce"
Some radio programmers were terrified of this 2014 song — in which Karen Fairchild sings of wanting to "taste (the) lips" of the woman who has her love interest's attending — simply listeners, critics and Music Row gave information technology a full comprehend.
Lee Brice — "I Bulldoze Your Truck"
Brice's powerful 2012 hit was inspired by a true story of a begetter who found comfort in driving the truck in one case owned past his son, who'd been killed while serving in Afghanistan.
Lacy J. Dalton — "16th Avenue"
Several years after she establish country distinction, Dalton made sure to tip her hat to those still chasing their dream on Nashville's Music Row — aka 16th Avenue South.
Porter Wagoner — "The Green, Green Grass of Home"
Before Tom Jones, Elvis and dozens of others put their spin on Curly Putman's classic, Wagoner commencement made it a hit. In a devastating twist, it turns out he's dreaming of his hometown while on death row.
Merle Haggard — "Mama Tried"
A slippy atomic number 82 guitar, Haggard'south sketched storytelling ... California state with "Mama Tried."
Randy Travis — "Forever and E'er, Amen"
Travis lays out his devotion in his signature song, and listeners haven't stopped loving information technology since its release in 1987.
Roy Acuff — "Wabash Missive"
This folk song about a mighty railroad train had already been passed down for generations when Acuff cutting information technology in 1936, and his version helped the "Wabash" legend spread around the world.
Guy Clark — "Desperados Waiting for a Train"
Clark penned a beautiful tribute to his grandmother'due south beau, Jack Prigg, "an old school man of the world" who would sing "Ruby River Valley" with the budding songwriter.
Brooks & Dunn — "Believe"
The country duo won multiple awards for this soulful ballad of unwavering faith.
The Highwaymen — "Highwayman"
Only songwriting great Jimmy Webb could conjure up an epic theme worthy of country'south greatest supergroup, composed of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson.
Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers — "All the Gold in California"
In soaring three-function harmony, the Gatlins issued a alert to all who head due west with stars in their optics: "It don't matter at all where you've played earlier/
California's a brand-new game."
Charlie Daniels Band — "The Devil Went Down to Georgia"
In 1979, Daniels institute the perfect showcase for his fiery fiddle technique — a familiar tale about a boy named Johnny who makes a bet with the devil (and wins).
Joe Diffie — "John Deere Green"
Against all odds, tractors accept null to do with Diffie's 1993 song. Instead, "John Deere Green" is the color used to paint "Billy Bob loves Charlene" on the town'south h2o belfry.
Earl Thomas Conley — "Property Her and Loving You"
It doesn't have a chorus, but "Holding Her and Loving You" has quite a hook. Conley counts down the hardest things he'll ever do, and the song's title tops the list.
Dixie Chicks — "Wide Open Spaces"
With the title track of their quantum album — about a young woman who'due south ready to spread her wings — the Dixie Chicks truly took flight.
Kacey Musgraves — "Follow Your Arrow"
On top of taking mainstream country into new territory with its "Kiss lots of boys/ Or kiss lots of girls" line, "Follow Your Arrow" was a powerful mission statement from Musgraves, as she'south proven to have bang-up artistic instincts.
Patty Loveless — "How Can I Help You Say Goodbye"
"Time volition ease your pain," Loveless sang. That may exist true, but this tearjerker well-nigh conveying on after a move, a divorce and the death of a parent still stings 25 years later on.
Sugarland — "Stay"
What if "Jolene" could have given her side of the story? On Sugarland's massive 2007 hit, Jennifer Nettles sings from the perspective of a mistress, who begs her lover to stay before deciding she'due south tired of waiting.
Martina McBride — "Independence Mean solar day"
It'south often falsely causeless to be a patriotic song, only McBride'due south triumphant canticle is actually well-nigh a woman breaking free of an abusive relationship.
Lee Ann Womack — "I Hope You Trip the light fantastic"
Whether yous're singing information technology to your kids, a loved one or yourself, Womack'due south plea to live life to the fullest and take chances truly resonates.
1000.T. Oslin — "80's Ladies"
Oslin rocketed through the decades on her 1987 hit, which fittingly sounds very much like a product of its time. "Now we're 80'southward ladies/ There ain't been much these ladies ain't tried."
John Anderson — "Swingin' "
Sure, it's about swinging on the porch (is it really, though?), but few state hits havestruttedthe style Anderson's feisty, horn-spiked 1983 hit does.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band — "Fishin' in the Night"
"You and me going fishing in the dark/ Lying on our backs and counting the stars." NGDB's archetype is all nigh simple pleasures, and listening to it is one, too.
Kenny Chesney — "The Good Stuff"
Kenny's bartender teaches him a valuable lesson: "The skillful stuff" isn't booze; it'due south the memories you lot make with your loved ones.
George Jones and Tammy Wynette — "Gilt Ring"
George and Tammy's greatest duet explains that "only beloved" tin can transform a "cold metallic thing" into something more than.
Luke Bryan — "Drink a Beer"
Bryan didn't write this song, only he made a powerful connexion to information technology, relating it to the deaths of his brother and sister. He sings well-nigh learning of the expiry of a friend and going to the pier they would sit down at to "watch the sunset disappear and drinkable a beer."
Lefty Frizzell — "If You've Got the Money, I've Got the Fourth dimension"
Some things never modify. In 1950, Frizzell kicked off his celebrated career with this No. one melody about painting the town red and going "honky tonkin.'"
Toby Keith — "How Do You Like Me At present"
Keith was already an established star, only he didn't really crank up the attitude until this 1999 hit, in which he rubs his success in the face of an unrequited love.
Waylon Jennings — "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line"
"Everybody knows you've been stepping on my toes/ And I'1000 getting pretty tired of it." The outlaw legend is barely property information technology together on his seething 1968 hit.
Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt — "Even Cowgirls Become the Blues"
The iconic trio finds exquisite harmony on a Rodney Crowell limerick.
Hank Williams — "Your Cheatin' Eye"
Some consider this Williams entry, a can't-miss in state music history, to define the genre.
Source: https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2019/08/25/best-country-music-songs-all-time/1760586001/
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