Here's the purpose of this list in a nutshell: you're looking to build a collection of country music CD's, or you're looking to put some of the greatest country songs ever recorded on your iPod, and you're looking for ideas. Well, pardner, you've come to the right place.
Country music - or country and western music, aka C&W, as it used to be called when I was knee-high to a cornstalk, has evolved a great deal since Hank Williams first sang Your Cheatin' Heart, but it has also honored and respected its roots. For this reason, putting together a list of the 100 Greatest Country Songs is easier than, say, a similar listing of rock songs. I know there will probably be disagreement with some of my choices, but that's okay. This is a free country, last I looked, and I'm just grateful to live in a society where we're allowed to hold differing opinions and yet can still find a way to all get along.
Enough philosophizing - here's the list:
Stand By Your Man - Tammy Wynette
Your Cheatin' Heart - Hank Williams
I Fall to Pieces - Patsy Cline
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry - Hank Williams
Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash
My Elusive Dreams - David Houston & Tammy Wynette
Amarillo by Morning - George Strait (1981)
He Stopped Loving Her Today - George Jones
D-I-V-O-R-C-E - Tammy Wynette
Streets of Laredo (Traditional) - Recorded by quite a number of artists, including Johnny Cash, Arlo Guthrie, Marty Robbins, Joan Baez, Willie Nelson, Michael Martin Murphey, and Clipper Erickson; the list goes on.
The Gambler - Kenny Rogers
El Paso - Marty Robbins
I Walk the Line - Johnny Cash
I Will Always Love You - Dolly Parton
Crazy Arms - Ray Price (1954)
Flowers on the Wall - The Statler Brothers (1963)
Back In the Saddle Again - Gene Autry
Mountain Music - Alabama
King of the Road - Roger Miller
Blue Moon of Kentucky - Bill Monroe
Fool Such As I - Baillie & The Boys
Two More Bottles of Wine - EmmyLou Harris
Before the Next Teardrop Falls - Freddy Fender
Anymore - Travis Tritt
Friends in Low Places - Garth Brooks
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance - Gene Pitney
Welcome to My World - Jim Reeves
Thank God I'm a Country Boy - John Denver
When You Say Nothing At All - Keith Whitley
Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash
Crazy - Patsy Cline
Forever and Ever, Amen - Randy Travis
Hey, Good Lookin' - Hank Williams
Take Me Home, Country Roads - John Denver
Fancy - Reba McEntire
Galveston - Glen Campbell
Make the World Go Away - Eddy Arnold
What You Give Away - Vince Gill
Hello Walls - Faron Young
Desperado - Eagles
It Wasn't God Who Made Honky-Tonk Angels - Kitty Wells
Walking the Floor Over You - Ernest Tubb
Act Naturally - Buck Owens
The Tennessee Waltz - Patti Page's big hit was released in 1950. Lyrics for this song were written in 1948 by Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart; the music was already around, existing as an instrumental entitled "No Name Waltz."
The Devil Went Down to Georgia - The Charlie Daniels Band (1979)
He'll Have to Go - Jim Reeves
Foggy Mountain Breakdown - Flatt & Scruggs
Green, Green Grass of Home - Porter Wagoner
Take This Job and Shove It - Johnny Paycheck
The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known) - Juice Newton
Delta Dawn - Tanya Tucker
Devil Woman - Marty Robbins
Mama Tried - Merle Haggard
Down at the Twist and Shout - Mary Chapin Carpenter
Ghost Riders in the Sky - This song was a big hit for Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra back in 1949. The tune was penned by Stan Jones, who based the lyrics upon a scary tall tale he'd heard at age 12 from an Arizona cowboy.
Little Rock - Reba McEntire
Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain - Roy Acuff & His Smoky Mountain Boys, also a hit for Willie Nelson
Born To Lose - Ted Daffan's Texans
Dreaming My Dreams With You - Waylon Jennings
Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys - Willie Nelson
Hello Darlin' - Conway Twitty
Walking After Midnight - Patsy Cline
Making Believe - Kitty Wells. This song was written by Jimmy Work. Emmylou Harris has a good recording of this song, too.
God Bless the USA - Lee Greenwood
Please Help Me I'm Falling (In Love With You) - Hank Locklin. This song was written by Don Robertson and Hal Blair.
I Cross My Heart - George Strait
I Wanna Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart - Patsy Montana
Happy Trails - Dale Evans & Roy Rogers
Seven Year Ache - Rosanne Cash
Long Black Veil - Lefty Frizzell (1959)
Always On My Mind - Willie Nelson
Elvira - Oak Ridge Boys
All I Have to Do Is Dream - The Everly Brothers
Help Me Make It Through the Night - Sammi Smith
Let's Live a Little - Carl Smith
Big Iron - Marty Robbins (1959)
My Maria - Brooks & Dunn
Rhinestone Cowboy - Glen Campbell
The Dance - Garth Brooks
Through the Years - Kenny Rogers
The Wild Side of Life - Hank Thompson & His Brazos Valley Boys (1952)
Take Me As I Am - Faith Hill
Jolene - Dolly Parton
Kisses Sweeter Than Wine - Jimmie Rodgers
I Can't Stop Loving You - Ray Charles released his version of this 1958 Don Gibson country tune in 1962, and it became an enormous hit.
Big Bad John - Jimmy Dean (1961)
Honey (Open That Door) - Ricky Skaggs
Oh Lonesome Me - Don Gibson
Sixteen Tons - Tennessee Ernie Ford
Big City - Merle Haggard
I've Got a Tiger By the Tail - Buck Owens
San Antonio Rose - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
I've Been Everywhere - Hank Snow
Heartaches by the Numbers - Ray Price
Sunday Morning Coming Down - Kris Kristofferson
North to Alaska - Johnny Horton (1960)
Coal Miner's Daughter - Loretta Lynn
Till You're Gone - Barbara Mandrell
I Never Knew Lonely - Vince Gill
Well, there you go. I'm sure I've omitted some great songs, and I'm sure the order could be rearranged, but it's a good attempt. Have fun listening!
Copyright © D. J. McAdam· All Rights Reserved