# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/41 "2012-10-25T15:31:41Z")
How could I forget this one: “I’ve Been Everywhere”, man! ---
**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 25, 2012, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/42 "2012-10-25T15:47:20Z")
I’m loving nearly everything suggested so far. Thanks! Once I’m done putting together my Spotify playlist, I’ll post a link so that any other users of the service may subscribe. ---
**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, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/43 "2012-10-25T17:05:28Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > 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. My brother had a vinyl album by Asleep at the Wheel with “Last Meal” which was a birthday present some time in the 1970’s. I’ve been unable to find out which one, but the song is definitely pre-1980. ---
**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, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/44 "2012-10-25T17:12:53Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > My brother had a vinyl album by Asleep at the Wheel with “Last Meal” which was a birthday present some time in the 1970’s. I’ve been unable to find out which one, but the song is definitely pre-1980. Aha! Got it! It was actually written by Jimmy Rogers in 1959. (However, although the cover I remember was definitely “country”, the cite refers to the songwriter as a “blues legend”, so maybe it doesn’t fit the criteria after all.) [http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/top-stories/147375/new-last-meal-rule-on-texas-death-row-gives-journalist-the-blues/](http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/top-stories/147375/new-last-meal-rule-on-texas-death-row-gives-journalist-the-blues/) (The lyrics are included.) ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/45 "2012-10-25T17:15:24Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > 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. 🙂 “Barely Human” is just flat out one of the best songs ever, and the way Robbie sings it, man, I can’t even describe it. “Let’s Live Together” is another of his greats - “I’m not a dull Rotarian, you’re not a Jesus moron” ---
**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, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/46 "2012-10-25T18:09:05Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > My brother had a vinyl album by Asleep at the Wheel with “Last Meal” which was a birthday present some time in the 1970’s. I’ve been unable to find out which one, but the song is definitely pre-1980. Well shoot, teach me to rely some website, that may or may not be affiliated with the band, for a cite. Then again, they never claimed to have written it in 2001, only that the particular recording was made in 2001. Ignorance fought, thanks. (Still a good excuse to introduce someone to the Lizards, though.) ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/47 "2012-10-25T19:48:18Z")
You might find this hard to believe but [The Pointer Sisters](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXkllqtya90) wrote and sang an outstanding country song! ---
**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 25, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/48 "2012-10-25T20:26:22Z")
How could I have forgotten? [Ghost Riders In The Sky](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyDNnQbbkSQ), the original by Vaughn Monroe ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/49 "2012-10-26T10:27:00Z")
If you want to delve into the beginnings, you might want to start with Bill Monroe, Roy Acuff, Doc Watson, Jean Ritchie, and The Carter Family, just to get started. For more recent tunes: Dim Lights, Thick Smoke and Loud, Loud Music (covered by a lot of artists) When I Call Your Name—Vince Gill Bless The Broken Road—Rascal Flatts Third Rate Romance, Low Rent Rendevous—The Amazing Rythm Aces Any and all by Jesse Winchester, John Pryne, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, and Alison Krauss and Union Station. Oh! And Old Crow Medicine Show (Wagon Wheel.) ---
**Author:** ![Frosty\_Camel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c67d28/32.png) [@Frosty\_Camel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frosty_Camel)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/50 "2012-10-26T11:35:37Z")
Slightly off topic – Am I the only one who loves classic country but can’t stand Hank Williams? While reading through this thread most of the artists and songs that have been mentioned brought instant recognition and an earworm. Many of my all time favorites have been mentioned. But Hank’s voice is like nails on a chalkboard to me. I’ve never understood the man’s popularity. ---
**Author:** ![tomcar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tomcar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomcar)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/51 "2012-10-26T11:57:44Z")
> [@Frosty\_Camel](#): > > Slightly off topic – Am I the only one who loves classic country but can’t stand Hank Williams? > > While reading through this thread most of the artists and songs that have been mentioned brought instant recognition and an earworm. Many of my all time favorites have been mentioned. > > But Hank’s voice is like nails on a chalkboard to me. I’ve never understood the man’s popularity. I love it but I can see why someone wouldnt. His voice is very vulnerable. He makes Bob Dylan sound like Frank Sinatra. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/52 "2012-10-26T12:35:28Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Aha! Got it! It was actually written by Jimmy Rogers in 1959. (However, although the cover I remember was definitely “country”, the cite refers to the songwriter as a “blues legend”, so maybe it doesn’t fit the criteria after all.) > > [http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/top-stories/147375/new-last-meal-rule-on-texas-death-row-gives-journalist-the-blues/](http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/top-stories/147375/new-last-meal-rule-on-texas-death-row-gives-journalist-the-blues/) (The lyrics are included.) Country music & the Blues have always been close–even if the Nashville powers that be would prefer to whitewash things. (Charley Pride’s manager distributed no photos for the first two years of his musical career; by the time people realized he was not white, it was too late. He was just too good.) Go back to [Jimmie Rodgers](http://www.americaslibrary.gov/es/tn/es_tn_bristol_1_e.html)–the dude in white with the Original Carter Family. He recorded many a blues tune; [here he is with Louis Armstrong](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7rfq25JDJg). A P Carter took [Lesley Riddle](http://www.tvgnc.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5:leslie-riddle-bio&catid=6&Itemid=3) with him to gather songs–A P had a palsy that prevented him from playing any instrument. Riddle’s guitar playing inspired Maybelle Carter’s widely influential style. YouTube has some good recordings of these country roots artists. Merle Haggard recorded a couple of Jimmie Rodgers tribute albums & there have been some Carter family tributes over the years… ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/53 "2012-10-26T15:25:50Z")
This far and no “Crazy” ? That’s, uh, insane. Either Patsy Cline’s version, or, as I’ve started preferring, Willie Nelson’s original demo version. Johnny and June singing “Jackson” is pretty good, too. If we can edge slightly away from absolutely Classic Country to the folk-country end, I’d add “Pancho and Lefty” (Townes Van Zant original, but again most of Willie’s versions are OK, too). On another direction away from straight country, you might check out the high-lonesome bluegrass Stanley Brothers doing “Angel Band” (it’s on the Oh, Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack). And for an outside the box addition, Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Lodi”. The sound isn’t pure Nashville, but play it with a steel guitar added, and anyone would swear it’s a Hank Williams tune. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/54 "2012-10-26T15:51:44Z")
Hank Williams wrote the songs that most of us cry incoherently into our pillows. He was the Leonard Cohen of his day. _I Can’t Help It If I’m Still In Love With You_. (Pronounced “I cane-t hep it if…”) As is Dylan. Sometimes the purveyors aren’t the best conveyors, but they’ve got to get it out there. ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/55 "2012-10-26T17:01:37Z")
There have been at least three well known performers named Ro(d)gers first name Jimmie or Jimmy. The most famous historically speaking is “The Singing Brakeman” Jimmie Rodgers who wrote and sang some of the all-time classic county-western songs. He had several songs which he numbered called “Blue Yodel # --”. Some are known by other names such as “T for Texas,” “California Blues” and “Muleskinner Blues.” My favorite song of his is “Any Old Time.” He died in 1933 so he is not the author. The second famous one was Jimmy Rodgers who had several major folk type songs in the late 50’s and 60’s, the most famous being "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine"and “Honeycomb.” He is still alive. The least well known in most circles is Jimmy Rogers, the blues singer and guitarist. He performed on the Chess record label along with Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, Chuck Berry, Johnny Johnson and many others. Since “My Last Meal” is described as a blues song, he is probably the author. He died in 1997. ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/56 "2012-10-26T17:30:38Z")
Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys - San Antonio Rose; Milk Cow Blues Hank Snow - Pick Me Up On Your Way Down; Making Believe; He’s In the Jailhouse Now George Jones - He Stopped Loving Her Today; The Dor; The Grand Tour; She Thinks I Still Care Merle Haggard - Mama’s Hungry Eyes; Sing Me Back Home Tammy Wynette - Stand By Your Man; 'Til I Can Make It On My Own Buck Owens - Together Again; Close Up the Honky Tonks; Crying Time Ernest Tubb - Waltz Across Texas Ferlin Husky - Gone Gary P. Nunn - London Homesick Blues Jean Shepherd - Dear John Patsy Cline - I Fall To Pieces; Crazy; Sweet Dreams; Half As Much and a lot more If you haven’t listened to Emmylou Harris hearing her will be a great introduction into classic country, especially her early albums with and without Gram Parsons. Happy listening. ---
**Author:** ![kirk1168](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@kirk1168](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirk1168)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/57 "2012-10-26T20:50:05Z")
Stonewall Jackson, “Life To Go” [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJ2qeKnImNs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJ2qeKnImNs) ---
**Author:** ![Miltonyz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Miltonyz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miltonyz)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/58 "2012-10-26T23:17:42Z")
My current favorite is David Allen Coe “If that ain’t country”. There are many country songs especially now, that that glam up the country lifestyle. This is a raw take on the poverty and grind of everyday living. Kind of the polar opposite of “Coat of many colors” which also features crushing poverty but softens the blow through a love story. The only thing I think that keeps it from being perfect is an out of place N bomb. It is jarring and threw me out of the song the first time I heard it. ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2012, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/59 "2012-10-27T03:15:38Z")
Marty Robbins: “El Paso”; “My woman, my woman, my Wife” Merle Haggard: " Silver Wings"; “Mama Tried” Bobby Bare: “Dretroit City” Willie Nelson. “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” "Patsy Cline; “Crazy” And with a nod to our neighbors to the north: Ian Tyson; “Summer Wages” ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2012, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733/60 "2012-10-27T04:13:06Z")
Not sure if these count as classic country, but here we go… Stand By Your Man - Tammy Wynette (My absolute favorite country song, her version only) El Paso, My Woman My Woman My Wife, Beggin’ To You, (too many more to list really) - Marty Robbins You Never Even Called Me By My Name - David Allan Coe (favorite country karaoke song) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-country-your-favorites/638733.md?page=4)