Top 10 Country Songs

[El Vez]

CMT recently unveiled their 100 Greatest Country Songs list. That a Garth Brooks song made it to #6 (or anywhere at all on that list) is exactly why I have to fight such an uphill battle on this subject.

So, here's to Oily Slick, Boy With(out) A Problem and Tootsie's in Nashville!

1. When I Stop Dreaming, The Louvin Brothers
2. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry, Hank Williams, Sr.
3. Hot Burrito #1, The Flying Burrito Brothers
4. Lock, Stock & Teardrop, Roger Miller
5. Silver Wings, Merle Haggard
6. I Walk The Line, Johnny Cash & The Tennessee Two
7. Blues Stay Away From Me, The Delmore Brothers
8. Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?, Waylon Jennings
9. That's How I Got To Memphis, Tom T. Hall
10. Look What Thoughts Will Do, Lefty Frizzell

[sulkygirl]

He's baaaaaaaack....

[A rope leash]

In no particular order:

Crazy - Patsy Cline (via Willie Nelson)

Big John - Jimmy Dean

Honkytonk Man - Hank Williams ( or Dwight Yaokam, if you prefer)

Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash

Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down - Merle Haggard

Tiger by the Tail - Buck Owens

Hey Good Lookin' - Hank Williams

Forty Miles from Poplar Bluff - Porter Wagner

Harper Valley PTA - That chick in the boots

Psycho - Roy Acuff? ( or Elvis Costello)


That new stuff ain't country.

[girl out of time]

in no particular order........

-how much i´ve lied/ graham parsons
-your cheating heart/ jerry lee lewis
-i´m your toy/ gene clark
-wild horses/ the flying burrito bros.
-stories we could tell/ the everly bros.
-i can´t escape from you/ hank williams
-ain´t got no home/ woody
-love hurts/ graham parsons & emmylou harris
-i still miss someone/ johnny cash
-you ain´t goin´nowhere/ the byrds

[sulkygirl]

Harper Valley PTA - That chick in the boots

That would've been Jeannie C. Reilly, Rope

(damn, the useless information that uses up space in my brain)...

[Boy With A Problem]

Syd Straw does a kick-ass version of PTA on the Tom T Hall tribute record -

Here's ten great ones - without repeating any of the fine choices in the earlier threads -

Hank Snow: Movin' On
Ray Price: Heartaches By The Number
Charlie Walker: Who Will Buy The Wine
Hank Thompson: The Wild Side Of Life
Merle Haggard: Mama Tried
Roger Miller: Sorry Willie
Johnny Cash: Folsom Prison Blues
Loretta Lynn: Coalminer's Daughter
Willie Nelson: Bloody Mary Morning
Louvin' Brothers: Knoxville Girl

[El Vez]

If CMT can have a Top 100 with Toby Keith and Garth Brooks, I can have one without them.

11. Oh Lonesome Me, Neil Young
12. The Pill, Loretta Lynn
13. Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain, Willie Nelson
14. Folsom Prison Blues, Johnny Cash
15. It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels, Kitty Wells
16. There Stands The Glass, Webb Pierce
17. Red Dirt Girl, Emmylou Harris
18. Changed The Locks, Lucinda Williams
19. I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes, The Carter Family
20. In The Jailhouse Now, Jimmie Rodgers
21. True Love Travels On A Gravel Road, Nick Lowe
22. Cold Hard Truth, George Jones
23. Sing Me Back Home, Merle Haggard
24. Broadminded, The Louvin Brothers
25. Dang Me, Roger Miller
26. I've Been To Georgia On A Fast Train, Billy Joe Shaver
27. Mr. & Mrs. Used To Be, Ernest Tubb & Loretta Lynn
28. I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive, Hank Williams, Sr.
29. Bandy The Rodeo Clown, Moe Bandy
30. Big Iron, Marty Robbins
31. Crazy, Patsy Cline
32. Dreaming My Dreams, Waylon Jennings
33. Move It On Over, Hank Williams, Sr.
34. The Beast In Me, Johnny Cash
35. Crazy Arms, Ray Price
36. Walking The Floor Over You, Ernest Tubb
37. He Stopped Loving Her Today, George Jones
38. Don't Come The Cowboy With Me Sonny Jim!, Kristy MacColl
39. Pardon Me (I've Got Someone To Kill), Johnny Paycheck
40. Stand By Your Man, Tammy Wynette
41. My Old Friend The Blues, Steve Earle
42. The Other Woman, Loretta Lynn
43. Sweet Dreams, Patsy Cline
44. Me & Paul, Willie Nelson
45. Wondering, Webb Pierce
46. L.A. County, Lyle Lovett
47. Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground, Willie Nelson
48. I'm Movin On, Hank Snow
49. Crying Time, Buck Owens
50. My Blue Eyed Jane, Jimmie Rodgers
51. Wildwood Flower, The Carter Family
52. Good For Nothing, Freakwater
53. Big River, Johnny Cash & The Tennessee Two
54. Who Will The Next Fool Be, Charlie Rich
55. You Win Again, Jerry Lee Lewis
56. Lay Lady Lay, Bob Dylan
57. Right In Time, Lucinda Williams
58. Dallas, Jimmie Dale Gilmore
59. Dixie Fried, Carl Perkins
60. If You've Got The Money (I've Got The Time), Lefty Frizzell
61. El Paso, Marty Robbins
62. Honky Tonk Song, Webb Pierce
63. Footlights, Merle Haggard
64. Matchbox, Carl Perkins
65. To Know Him Is To Love Him, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris & Linda Ronstadt
66. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight, Bob Dylan
67. I Can't Stop Loving You, Ray Charles
68. The Buck Starts Here, Robbie Fulks
69. Coal Miner's Daughter, Loretta Lynn
70. The Speed of The Sound of Loneliness, Nanci Griffith
71. A Satisfied Mind, Porter Waggoner
72. I'm Always On A Mountain When I Fall, Merle Haggard
73. Kiss An Angel Good Morning, Charley Pride
74. Ode To Billie Joe, Bobby Gentry
75. Shame On The Rain, Tom T. Hall
76. Dark As A Dungeon, Merle Travis
77. Tonight I Think I'm Gonna Go Downtown, Jimmie Dale Gilmore
78. Orphan Girl, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
79. Walking After Midnight, Patsy Cline
80. Christmas In Washington, Steve Earle
81. Wishing All These Old Things Were New, Merle Haggard
82. Hello Walls, Faron Young
83. Guilty Conscience, Carl Smith
84. A Good Year For The Roses, Elvis Costello
85. I've Seen Better Days, Johnny Paycheck
86. No Time To Cry, Iris DeMent
87. Sixteen Tons, Merle Travis
88. Jeannie's Afraid of The Dark, Dolly Parton & Porter Waggoner
89. Seminole Wind, John Anderson
90. San Antonio Rose, Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys
91. Marie, Willie Nelson
92. Didn't Leave Nobody But The Baby, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch & Alison Krauss
93. Harper Valley PTA, Jeannie C. Riley
94. When Two Worlds Collide, Roger Miller
95. Busted, Johnny Cash
96. Pancho & Lefty, Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard
97. Don't Put No Headstone On My Grave, Charlie Rich
98. Apartment #9, Tammy Wynette
99. In Spite of Ourselves, John Prine & Iris Dement
100. I Want To Sing That Rock & Roll, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

While this is completely laughable as a "definitive" list, I feel that it is a much better representation of how vital an artform country music is than the CMT list.

[Boy With A Problem]

El Vez -

Well done!

The list needs "Stranger In The House" on it though - this is the Elvis Costello board !

[spooky girlfriend]

I agree completely, BWAP. Nice job, ElVez!. You both have challenged me to take another look at country music and I'm glad you did.

Of course I've been watching TRIO way too much this weekend now with their "Country is Cool" series.

[Poppet]

El Vez!

do you have all of these? can i come visit and listen????

wow. trip down memory lane.

why is new country so BAD??? is there anything good about it at all? anyone know?

[PlaythingOrPet]

I'll have a stab at it..

In no order:

He Stopped Loving Her Today - George Jones
Coal Miner's Daughter - Loretta Lynn
I Walk The Line - Johnny Cash
Real Live Bleeding Fingers And Broken Guitar Strings - Lucinda Williams
Jambalaya - Hank Williams Sr.
Only Daddy That'll Walk The Line - Waylon Jennings
Uncle Pen - Bill Monroe
I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink - Merle Haggard
The Last Thing On My Mind - Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton
Crazy - Patsy Cline

[Boy With A Problem]

Plaything -

I love "Real Live Bleeding Fingers" - just a killer song. It transcends genres - as much blues and rock as country. And it was the highlight of my drive up to NH this past weekend.

[noiseradio]

1. Thunder Rolls - Garth Brooks
2. Boot Scootin' Boogie - Brooks & Dunn
3. Achy Breaky Heart - Billy Ray Cyrus
4. The Cotton Eyed Joe - Rednex
5. Mississippi Squirrel Revival - Ray Stevens
6. 9 to 5 - Dolly Parton
7. Elvira - Oak Ridge Boys
8. Just Some Good Old Boys (Theme From Dukes of Hazard) - Merle Haggard
9. Take This Job and Shove It - Johnny Paycheck
10. Photograph - Kid Rock

Runner Up - Your Wife Don't Understand You (But I Do) - Lerlene

[PlaythingOrPet]

Plaything -

I love "Real Live Bleeding Fingers" - just a killer song. It transcends genres - as much blues and rock as country. And it was the highlight of my drive up to NH this past weekend.

Indeed, BWAP. I know it's one of the more bluesy ones one on the album but as she's considered "country" - whatever the definition of that is - in she goes. Gorgeous.

[so lacklustre]

Noise - are those all songs that you've covered?

[noiseradio]

Don't tell anyone, but I wrote 'em.

You realize of course that the above list is tongue in cheek.

I would never rate 9 to 5 so low in real life.

[El Vez]

[quote="noiseradio"]Don't tell anyone, but I wrote 'em. quote]

I'm telling Mr. Jagger!

[Uncomplicated]

Great to see you again EV!!

Off the top of my head, here is my Top 10 country favourites.

1. Most Beautiful Girl - Charlie Rich
2. Kiss An Angel Good Morning - Charlie Pride
3. Luchenbach Texas - Waylon & Willie
4. El Paso - Marty Robbins
5. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry - Hank Williams
6. Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash
7. D-I-V-O-R-C-E - George Jones and Tammy Wynette
8. Would You Lay With Me In A Field Of Stone - Tanya Tucker
9. Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain - Willie Nelson
10. You've Never Been This Far Before - Conway Twitty

[sulkygirl]

8. Just Some Good Old Boys (Theme From Dukes of Hazard) - Merle Haggard

Sorry, Noise...

That was the late-great Waylon Jennings, not cousin Merle.

[BlueChair]

1. Wild Horses - The Rolling Stones
2. The Long Black Veil - Johnny Cash
3. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight - Bob Dylan
4. Sin City - The Flying Burrito Brothers
5. You Win Again - Hank Williams Jr.
6. Dead Flowers - The Rolling Stones
7. Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash
8. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry - Hank Williams Jr.
9. Indoor Fireworks - Elvis Costello
10. Harvest - Neil Young

Those are most certainly all country songs, regardless of who may perform them.