# Classic Country - Your favorites? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 24, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733 "2012-10-24T15:02:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/21 "2012-10-24T17:34:04Z")
Adding most of these to my Spotify list now. Keep 'em coming! ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/22 "2012-10-24T18:11:12Z")
[Eddy Arnold](http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=eddy+arnold&oq=eddy+arnold&gs_l=youtube-reduced.3..0l4.13754.16253.0.16713.11.7.0.4.4.1.197.1018.1j6.7.0...0.0...1ac.1.PMGzuqIupgs) --145 country chart appearances in 38 years. Take your pick. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/23 "2012-10-24T19:52:48Z")
Hank Thompson – [What’s Made Milwaukee Famous](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMrsPuwc7uI) and the very similar [New Records on the Jukebox](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoMfk4_XUls), both from his LP _Smoky the Bar_. Tex Williams – [Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! That Cigarette](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La1hHUz4CTs) Red Foley – [Tennessee Border](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nvldnr6rADA) Also, you might want to check out a contemporary artist who channels Hank Williams uncannily: [Wayne Hancock.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY5QqvMkFpc) ---
**Author:** ![A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a87d85/32.png) [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Dodgy_Dude)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/24 "2012-10-24T19:56:41Z")
The three lesser known songs Elvis sings in “Love Me Tender” all have a wonderfully strong country flavor: [Poor Boy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPZNLO7pH1A) [Let Me](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY0Gf4_Thbk) [We’re Gonna Move](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKJtYlsjwcE&feature=relmfu) ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/25 "2012-10-24T21:01:19Z")
Country is not my favorite but when I was growing up my best friends’ mother was from Tennessee _Make Believe_ by Conway Twitty Anything by Johnny Cash _Ring of Fire_ was a favorite _Ode to Billy Joe_ by Bobbie Gentry _Deeper Well_ Emmylou Harris ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/26 "2012-10-24T21:21:15Z")
“There Stands the Glass” by Webb Pierce “I Can’t Stop Loving You” and “Oh Lonesome Me” by Don Gibson ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/27 "2012-10-24T21:47:56Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > Faron Young: [Four in the Morning](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8Pt3oeL65Q). Saw him do this in concert once. Awesome. It might have helped that I was close to the speakers – my whole self was sorta vibrating. > [@](#): > > Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys: New San Antonio Rose (commonly called just San Antonio Rose). [Older single](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw2k8VfX83o); [later album version](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD8cr8IX3_U&feature=related). Love this one too. Used to play it at grandma’s house. I think George Strait can be considered classic country. _The Cowboy Rides Away_ is my favorite of his. I like that it was on the jukebox in the bar scene in _Near Dark_. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/28 "2012-10-24T22:35:02Z")
[For The Good Times](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1ZKIX0ICZo), Ray Price [He’ll Have to Go](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Smlaq1ezQRM&feature=related), Jim Reeves (worth mentioning again) [Mississippi Cotton Pickin’ Delta Town](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjX8p1h3b0Q), Charley Pride My personal favorite: [Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBk1aarcKws), Danny O’Keefe [Amos Moses](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7GyLr7Cz2g), Jerry Reed [Mr. Sandman](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71bw8Eme2UA), Chet Atkins Eddy Arnold had too many to list: the man had a hell of a voice. One of my faves is [The Cattle Call](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYFAtFQWf2o&feature=related) ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/29 "2012-10-24T23:43:01Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > I think George Strait can be considered classic country. _The Cowboy Rides Away_ is my favorite of his. I like that it was on the jukebox in the bar scene in _Near Dark_. 😃 Absolutely, George Strait is classic country. There are a few performers out there today who are doing true classic country (unlike most of the Nashville junk that the great Robbie Fulks called “soft-rock feminist crap” in his takedown of Nashville, “F\*\*k This Town”). Randy Travis, before his current troubles, recorded some great stuff. “On the Other Hand,” “Digging Up Bones,” and more. And his gospel stuff is great. The above-mentioned Robbie Fulks has a zillion great ones. “The Buck Stops Here” is truly a country classic. Dwight Yoakum, especially early in his career, has put out some great stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/30 "2012-10-24T23:44:23Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > [Livin’, Lovin’, Losin’–Songs of the Louvin Brothers](http://www.amazon.com/Livin-Lovin-Losin-Louvin-Brothers/dp/B0000CD5JG/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1351097117&sr=1-1&keywords=livin+lovin+losin+songs+of+the+louvin+brothers). More of the usual suspects sing heartbroken tunes from the hills. The Louvins were a throwback to the brother acts; Bill Monroe was half of one before he invented Bluegrass. (Gram Parsons loved the Louvins; so does Emmylou, of course.) Follow this line back to Old-Timey/String Band music if you like it… Yes. And where would the Everly Brothers have been without the Louvins? ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/31 "2012-10-25T00:05:43Z")
Here are a couple of funny country songs that fit your criteria: “They Ain’t Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore” by Kinky Friedman and “Last Meal” by Asleep at the Wheel. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/32 "2012-10-25T01:05:41Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Here are a couple of funny country songs that fit your criteria: “They Ain’t Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore” by Kinky Friedman and “Last Meal” by Asleep at the Wheel. Well shoot, if we’re tossing the 1980 criteria if it’s a country-esque comedy track (since [Last Meal](http://asleepatthewheel.bandcamp.com/track/last-meal) was released in 2001), let’s see what the OP thinks of [The Austin Lounge Lizards](http://www.austinlizards.com/)? A few of their hits: [Teenage Immigrant Welfare Mothers On Drugs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48H9MV-uPdg). [Leonard Cohen’s Day Job](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ1tMp8Q0dU). [The Dogs, They Really Miss You](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBW7L7Zb7zQ). There are a bunch of others, and they are great live. Hard to go wrong with Kinky, though. I am loving the recommendations in the thread. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/33 "2012-10-25T01:34:47Z")
Tom T. Hall, [Fox on the Run](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KuQILn2L2A) . ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mr.Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Me)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/34 "2012-10-25T02:04:56Z")
Mickey Gilley - [Headache Tomorrow (or a Heartache Tonight)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKWSZVNNKKI). My mom told me once that Mickey Gilley wanted to date her, but she wouldn’t have anything to do with a musician. She said she thought “He probably wouldn’t make anything of himself.” He wound up marrying a coworker of hers that he asked out after my mom turned him down. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mr.Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Me)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/35 "2012-10-25T02:16:03Z")
:smack:How could I forget [The Girls All Get Prettier At Closing Time](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj9d8rlZQws&feature=related)? ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/36 "2012-10-25T02:16:11Z")
There are some great suggestions here. I’ll add a few that I like: _The Jet Set_ George Jones and Tammy Wynette _Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man_ Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn _Just Someone I Used to Know_ Porter Waggoner and Dolly Parton _Always_ Patsy Cline _Four Walls_ Jim Reeves _Waltz Across Texas_ Ernest Tubb _Mule Skinner Blues_ Dolly Parton is my favorite cover _Paper Mansions_ Dottie West _Country Bumpkin_ Cal Smith Anything by Lefty Frizell, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash et al Look up the Real Country radio network. My local affiliate plays about a 50/50 mix of classics and top 40 country in their country rotation. You come across some really good ones. ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/37 "2012-10-25T02:27:26Z")
There are some current artists who belong on this list as well. Robbie Fulks was mentioned, but there is also BR549, Jamey Johnson, Wayne “The Train” Hancock, Chris Sprague, The Sprague Brothers, Drag the River, John Doe (of X) and the Sadies and SCOTS just to name a few. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/38 "2012-10-25T14:48:29Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > Absolutely, George Strait is classic country. There are a few performers out there today who are doing true classic country (unlike most of the Nashville junk that the great Robbie Fulks called “soft-rock feminist crap” in his takedown of Nashville, “F\*\*k This Town”). Double thumbs up for Robbie Fulks! “She Took a Lot of Pills and Died” is one of my favs, along with “North Carolina is a Cigarette State” and “Every Kind of Music But Country.” “Barely Human” if you want serious depression-good country. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/39 "2012-10-25T15:09:51Z")
_Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music_ by Ray Charles. Buy it now. I’ll wait. Don Gibson has been mentioned; don’t forget “Just One Time” and “A Legend In My Time.” “Please Help Me I’m Falling” and “Send Me the Pillow You Dream On,” Hank Locklin. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/40 "2012-10-25T15:15:10Z")
My dad was a big Country fan, so I grew up with his vast collection of 8-tracks (!). There was plenty of Merle Haggard, George Jones, etc., but the particular artists that have stayed with me through my Rock ‘n’ Roll rebellion are Hank Williams (Sr. of course), Johnny Cash, and Charley Pride (who I always thought was one of Country’s lesser-known lights; glad to see him mentioned here). Some favorites: Hank Williams:[ul][_]Move it on Over[_]Mind Your Own Business[_]Long Gone Lonesome Blues[_]Why Don’t You Love Me[_]Half As Much[/ul]Johnny Cash:[ul][_]I Walk the Line[_]Ring of Fire[_]One Piece at a Time[_]There You Go\* Riders in the Sky[/ul]Charley Pride:[ul][_]Before I Met You[_]Just Between You and Me[_]I Know One[_]Too Hard to Say I’m Sorry[_]All I Have to Offer You is Me[/ul] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733.md?page=3)