But it’s a record that defies explanation. Because Jackson perfectly inhabits the song’s affable weariness, and because Scott Hendricks and Keith Stegall arrange it to honky-tonk heaven. You end up believing that some boozed-up guy actually could be making this request – if, perhaps, mentally – and couching his hurt in a quirky half-joke, the way people often do when they’re first emerging from a lonely spell.

In sum, it’s like hearing a sunnier, contemporary Johnny Paycheck. Little surprise, then, that this odd duck took Jackson’s career to its rightful next level.

Written by Alan Jackson, Roger Murrah and Keith Stegall

Grade: A

Listen: Don’t Rock the Jukebox

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMDq-MnpbTo

“Unwound” was originally written with Johnny Paycheck in mind, but since he was in jail, Strait got the chance to record it instead.  Thus began a long and fruitful partnership with songwriter Dean Dillon, who has a knack for writing slightly offbeat songs that Strait brings into the mainstream.

This would be a great record just for the fiddle alone, but a very youthful Strait is still able to deliver the goods, and the band is so country that you can almost smell the sawdust when they let loose.   A remarkable start to a legendary career.

Written by Dean Dillon and Frank Dycus

Grade: A

Listen: Unwound

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHHU-Aeuxg8

100 Greatest Men: The Complete List

He wasn’t part of the landmark Outlaws album, but David Allan Coe has been more the living embodiment of that label than any other artist in the history of country music.

Coe was born in Akron, Ohio in 1939.  He spent his youth in and out of reformatory schools, the beginning of a long history of run-ins with the law.  After spending most of his twenties in prison, he moved to Nashville in the late sixties. His style was jarring, with tattoos, long hair, and piercings, and for a stretch, he lived in a hearse parked right outside the Ryman Auditorium.

Major labels wouldn’t bite early on, but he did sign with Plantation Records in 1968, releasing albums that reflected on his experiences in prison.  After a stint on tour with Grand Funk Railroad, he adapted the Masked Rhinestone Cowboy persona, with a little help from Mel Tillis, who donated  a  rhinestone suit for part of the costume.   He was soon commanding large audiences, but his outlandish persona kept the major labels at bay.

In the end, it was his songwriting that caught the attention of Columbia. The label signed him after he penned the #1 hit “Would You Lay With Me (In a Field of Stone)”, recorded by Tanya Tucker.   Despite it being his songwriting that landed him the deal, it was a cover of Steve Goodman’s “You Never Even Called Me By My Name” that first enchanted radio programmers.

While radio play was inconsistent during the seventies and early eighties, Coe amassed a stunning string of albums that rank among the greatest of that time.  Along with his contemporaries Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, Coe embodied the new album-oriented era of country music, a genre that had been dominated by singles up until that point.

Even though Coe would score a pair of top five hits in the early eighties (“The Ride”, “Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile”), his biggest success was still as a writer.  When Johnny Paycheck covered “Take This Job and Shove It”, it was a #1 hit in 1977. Besides being a popular catchphrase, it was also the foundation for a movie based on the song’s storyline.

Coe’s career was also limited by his association with underground albums that were in remarkably bad taste.  His reputation was further harmed, albeit unfairly, by the Napster era of illegally downloaded music, which falsely credited racist songs by Johnny Rebel as songs by David Allan Coe.

Coe continues to be a major force on the road, even in his early seventies.  For lovers of Outlaw music, and all serious historians of the genre, his classic Columbia sets remain required listening, and better capture his talent than any of the various compilations released over the years.

Essential Singles:

• You Never Even Called Me By My Name, 1975
• Longhaired Redneck, 1975
• Willie, Waylon, and Me, 1976
• The Ride, 1983
• Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile, 1984

Essential Albums:

• The Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy, 1974
• Once Upon a Rhyme, 1974
• Longhaired Redneck, 1976
• Spectrum VII,1979
• Invictus Means Unconquered, 1981

Next: #94. Ricky Van Shelton

Previous: #96. Gary Allan

100 Greatest Men: The Complete List

The end result was that some solid talent was discovered a bit too early, before they’d fully refined themselves into artists. Tracy Byrd’s a great example of this. Only 25 years old when his first single went to radio, Byrd had been plucked from the Beaumont, Texas music scene that had groomed Mark Chesnutt.

Byrd’s hit material from the nineties was reflective of what the B-list hat acts recorded during that era, though his vocal charm helped him elevate middling songs from time to time. He also turned in a few gems, with his music getting far more consistent as he entered his thirties.

His last studio album, 2006′s Different Things, was excellent, but radio had already moved on to the new twentysomethings at that point, artists who will probably be making better music a decade from now and being overlooked for the new, new twentysomethings.

Ten Essential Tracks:

“Holdin’ Heaven”
from the 1993 album Tracy Byrd

When surprisingly strong sales greeted the release of Byrd’s debut album, radio jumped on board. This catchy tune briefly knocked Garth’s “Ain’t Goin Down” out of the top spot, though Brooks would return to #1 a week later.

“Watermelon Crawl”
from the 1994 album No Ordinary Man

The line dance craze taken to its absolutely goofiest extreme. This is as representative of the early nineties as it gets.

“The Keeper of the Stars”
from the 1994 album No Ordinary Man

This romantic ballad was the surprise winner of Song of the Year at the 1995 ACM awards.

“Walkin’ to Jerusalem”
from the 1995 album Love Lessons

One of the craziest choruses to hit country radio sounds like a Mideast geography lesson taking a detour through southern America.

“Don’t Take Her She’s All I Got”
from the 1996 album Big Love

There’s no question that Tracy Byrd knows his country music history, and he effectively revived this Johnny Paycheck classic for the nineties.

“I Wanna Feel That Way Again”
from the 1998 album I’m From the Country

You can hear that Byrd is beginning to mature and settle in to his voice. He wouldn’t have been able to deliver this as well on earlier albums.

“Put Your Hand in Mine”
from the 1999 album It’s About Time

Another mature record that deals with a father and son relationship being strained by the tensions between father and mother.

“Just Let Me Be in Love”
from the 2001 album Ten Rounds

A warm and romantic love song with a Spanish flavor. By this record, he’s almost an entirely different singer than the guy who once sang “Watermelon Crawl.”

“Ten Rounds With Jose Cuervo”
from the 2001 album Ten Rounds

Two decades after Shelly West spiked sales of the titular drink, Byrd topped the charts with this entertaining track.

“Cheapest Motel”
from the 2006 album Different Things

A roving husband pays a far higher price in the end than the motel clerk charged him.

Two Hidden Treasures:

“Someone To Give My Love To”
from the 1993 album Tracy Byrd

Early evidence of Byrd’s affection for Johnny Paycheck surfaced with this cover featured on his first album. Despite only reaching #42, it helped stimulate sales of his debut set.

“Different Things”
from the 2006 album Different Things

It’s a shame that Byrd’s success and talent peaked in different decades. Nearly every track on his 2006 album, including the title cut, would make radio sound a whole lot better.

While the Grammys have honored country music from the very first ceremony in 1959, they did not begin honoring by gender until 1965, when the country categories were expanded along with the other genre categories. This year, the 45th trophy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance will be awarded.

In a continuation of our Grammy Flashback series, here is a rundown of the Best Country Vocal Performance, Male category. It was first awarded in 1965, and included singles competing with albums until the Best Country Album category was added in 1995. When an album is nominated, it is in italics, and a single track is in quotation marks.

As usual, we start with a look at this year’s nominees and work our way back. Be sure to vote in My Kind of Country’s Best Male Country Vocal Performance poll and let your preference for this year’s race be known!

2009

• Trace Adkins, “You’re Gonna Miss This”
• Jamey Johnson, “In Color”
• James Otto, “Just Got Started Lovin’ You”
• Brad Paisley, “Letter to Me”
• George Strait, “Troubadour”

As with the album race, this year’s contenders for Best Male Country Vocal Performance are a combination of unrecognized veterans and promising newcomers. In fact, none of this year’s nominees have won in this category, and only one of them – Brad Paisley – has a Grammy at all.

First, the veterans. Paisley has numerous ACM and CMA victories to his credit, including two each for Male Vocalist.  Although he’s been nominated for this award twice before, this is the first time he’s contended with a cut that can’t be dismissed as a novelty number. The touching self-penned “Letter to Me” is his best shot yet at taking this home.

Trace Adkins has been at this a bit longer than Paisley, but this is his first Grammy nomination. His crossover exposure from Celebrity Apprentice might help him out here, along with the fact that the song was considered strong enough by voters to earn a nomination of its own.

But the real veteran to watch out for is George Strait. After being nominated only twice for this category in the first 25 years of his career, voters have now given him three consecutive nominations. This is one of four nods he’s earned for the 2009 ceremony, and “Troubadour” is essentially the story of his epic career distilled into a radio-length song. It would be the perfect way to honor the man and his music in one fell swoop.

However, there’s a newcomer that might be a Grammy favorite already.  We just haven’t found out yet. Not James Otto, of course, who is nominated for his charming romantic romp “Just Got Started Lovin’ You”, but rather, Jamey Johnson. The recent Nashville Scene critics’ poll further confirmed the depth of his support among tastemakers, and his nominations for Best Country Song and Best Country Album indicate that he’s very much on the academy’s radar. It helps that he has the most substantial track of the five, and it’s the obvious choice for traditionalists, who have little reason to split their votes in this category. If voters aren’t considering legacy when making their selections, he has a great shot at this.

2008

• Dierks Bentley, “Long Trip Alone”
• Alan Jackson, “A Woman’s Love”
• Tim McGraw, “If You’re Reading This”
• George Strait, “Give it Away”
• Keith Urban, “Stupid Boy”

The often offbeat Grammy voters have been surprisingly mainstream in this category for the past three years, a trend best exemplified by this lineup, which was the first in more than a decade to feature only top ten radio hits. Tim McGraw and Keith Urban were the only two who had won this before, and it was Urban who emerged victorious. ”Stupid Boy” was a highlight of his fourth studio album, and this was the only major award that the impressive collection would win.

2007

• Dierks Bentley, “Every Mile a Memory”
• Vince Gill, “The Reason Why”
• George Strait, “The Seashores of Old Mexico”
• Josh Turner, “Would You Go With Me”
• Keith Urban, “Once in a Lifetime”

Vince Gill returned to win in this category for a ninth time with “The Reason Why.” Not only is he, by far, the most honored artist in this category, his wins here account for nine of the nineteen Grammys currently on his mantle.

2006

• George Jones, “Funny How Time Slips Away”
• Toby Keith, “As Good As I Once Was”
• Delbert McClinton, “Midnight Communion”
• Willie Nelson, “Good Ol’ Boys”
• Brad Paisley, “Alcohol”
• Keith Urban, “You’ll Think of Me”

Urban’s biggest and probably best hit launched his second album to triple platinum and established him as a crossover artist. He gave a killer performance of the song on the show. Toby Keith was a first-time nominee here, and while he publicly groused that the Grammys put too little emphasis on commercial success in picking their nominations, he lost to the only track that was a bigger hit than his own.

2005

• Johnny Cash, “Engine One-Forty-Three”
• Lyle Lovett, “In My Own Mind”
• Tim McGraw, “Live Like You Were Dying”
• Willie Nelson, “You Are My Flower”
• Keith Urban, “You’ll Think of Me”

McGraw’s biggest hit won him his first Grammy in this category. His other wins have been for his collaborations with wife Faith Hill.  To the Grammy voters’ credit, they have been reluctant to shower Johnny Cash with posthumous Grammys, so his predicted win here for a mundane effort didn’t come to pass.

2004

• Ray Benson, “Annabelle”
• Vince Gill, “Next Big Thing”
• Lyle Lovett, “My Baby Don’t Tolerate”
• Tim McGraw, “She’s My Kind of Rain”
• Joe Nichols, “Brokenheartsville”
• Randy Travis, “Three Wooden Crosses”

My vote would’ve gone to Randy Travis, who was nominated with his finest single in years, but Gill remained the voter’s favorite. Travis did; however, win two Grammys in the gospel categories, this and the previous year.

2003

• Johnny Cash, “Give My Love to Rose”
• Pat Green, “Three Days”
• Alan Jackson, “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)”
• Joe Nichols, “The Impossible”
• Brad Paisley, “I’m Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin’ Song)”

I fully expected Jackson to win here, but his understated performance lost out to one of the only gems on Cash’s fourth American project. Voters wisely acknowledged Jackson in the Best Country Song category, making him one of the few artist-songwriters to sweep the industry songwriting awards with one composition.

2002

• Ryan Adams, “Lovesick Blues”
• Johnny Cash, “I Dreamed About Mama Last Night”
• Lyle Lovett, “San Antonio Girl”
• Tim McGraw, “Grown Men Don’t Cry”
• Willie Nelson, “Maria (Shut Up and Kiss Me)”
• Ralph Stanley, “O Death”

This was one of those times where you are just thankful the Grammys exist. Stanley’s “O Death” was the most powerful track on the storied O Brother soundtrack, but without a video, it was only known to those people who listened to the album all the way through. That NARAS had the good taste to both nominate it and vote it the winner, which was a welcome surprise.

2001

• Johnny Cash, “Solitary Man”
• Vince Gill, “Feels Like Love”
• Billy Gilman, “One Voice”
• Tim McGraw, “My Best Friend”
• Dwight Yoakam, “A Thousand Miles From Nowhere” (Acoustic)

Grammy voters listening to this category couldn’t get a more drastic difference in male voices than the withered-with-age Cash and the prepubescent Gilman. “Solitary Man” was one of the most inspired covers Cash ever did with Rick Rubin, and it deserved the gold.

2000

• Vince Gill, “Don’t Come Cryin’ to Me”
• George Jones, “Choices”
• Lyle Lovett, “That’s Right (You’re Not From Texas)”
• Tim McGraw, “Please Remember Me”
• Dwight Yoakam, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”

Jones won his first Grammy in twenty years for his harrowing “Choices,” which became oddly prescient as it was released in the aftermath of his near-death experience in an alcohol-related car crash.

1999

• Clint Black, “Nothin’ But the Taillights”
• Garth Brooks, “To Make You Feel My Love”
• Vince Gill, “If You Ever Have Forever in Mind”
• Steve Wariner, “Holes in the Floor of Heaven”

Gill won a record-setting fifth year in a row, a domination that no country category has seen before or since. After being nominated for three years in a row, Black hasn’t been cited since.

1998

• Clint Black, “Something That We Do”
• Johnny Cash, “Rusty Cage”
• Vince Gill, “Pretty Little Adriana”
• Willie Nelson, “Peach Pickin’ Time Down in Georgia”
• George Strait, “Carrying Your Love With Me”
  

NARAS was so sure that Strait would get his first Grammy that they invited him to perform on the show, and he agreed. Unfortunately, sickness required Vince Gill to fill in for him, and Gill won the award, allowing him to acknowledge the memory of the young girl who inspired the song.

1997

• Clint Black, “Like the Rain”
• Junior Brown, “My Wife Thinks You’re Dead”
• Vince Gill, “Worlds Apart”
• Lyle Lovett, “Private Conversation”
• Dwight Yoakam, “Nothing”

Amid a strong lineup, the Grammy again went to Vince Gill.   This time around, he won for a tender plea for harmony within families and among all races and creeds.   A very inspiring song that was written while eating grilled cheeseburgers with Bob DiPiero at Rotier’s in Nashville.

1996

• John Berry, “Standing on the Edge of Goodbye”
• Vince Gill, “Go Rest High on That Mountain”
• Alan Jackson, “Gone Country”
• John Michael Montgomery, “I Can Love You Like That”
• Dwight Yoakam, “A Thousand Miles From Nowhere (Live)”

Strong entries from Jackson and Berry, plus a well-known song that was a hit for All 4 One after topping the charts for Montgomery, couldn’t stop Grammy powerhourse Gill from winning again. Patty Loveless and Ricky Skaggs provided the soaring harmonies.

1995

• David Ball, “Thinkin’ Problem”
• John Berry, “Your Love Amazes Me”
• Vince Gill, “When Love Finds You”
• John Michael Montgomery, “I Swear”
• Dwight Yoakam, “Pocket of a Clown”

The Grammys were getting dull, with Gill winning his third in this category the same evening that Mary Chapin Carpenter picked up her fourth in the Female category.

1994

• Garth Brooks, “Ain’t Goin’ Down (’Til the Sun Comes Up)”
• Alan Jackson, “Chattahoochee”
• George Jones, “I Don’t Need Your Rockin’ Chair”
• Aaron Neville, “The Grand Tour”
• Dwight Yoakam, “Ain’t That Lonely Yet”

An astonished Yoakam accepted his Grammy on the live telecast, his only victory in this category in ten nominations. It’s also one of the few hits he had that was neither self-written nor a cover of another artist’s hit.

1993

• Garth Brooks, The Chase
• Billy Ray Cyrus, “Achy Breaky Heart”
• Vince Gill, I Still Believe in You
• Randy Travis, “Better Class of Losers”
• Travis Tritt, “Lord Have Mercy on the Working Man”

Gill was the last artist to win this category for a full-length album. The same set won Album of the Year at the CMA’s.

1992

• Garth Brooks, Ropin’ the Wind
• Billy Dean, “Somewhere in My Broken Heart”
• Vince Gill, Pocket Full of Gold
• Alan Jackson, Don’t Rock the Jukebox
• Travis Tritt, “Here’s a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares)”

Despite breaking records, Brooks was left out of the big categories at the 1992 Grammys. He did win for his only nomination that evening, over a field that shows just how excellent commercial country was in the early nineties.

1991

• Garth Brooks, “Friends in Low Places”
• Vince Gill, “When I Call Your Name”
• Doug Stone, “I’d Be Better Off (In a Pine Box)”
• Randy Travis, “Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart”
• Dwight Yoakam, “Turn it On, Turn it Up, Turn Me Loose”

It would eventually become a yearly tradition, but when Vince Gill won his first Grammy, it was after more than a decade in the recording industry.

1990

• Clint Black, Killin’ Time
• Rodney Crowell, “After All This Time”
• Lyle Lovett, Lyle Lovett & His Large Band
• Randy Travis, “It’s Just a Matter of Time”
• Keith Whitley, “I’m No Stranger to the Rain”

Lovett is another frequent nominee in this category who has only actually won once.  The album includes his cheeky cover of the Tammy Wynette classic “Stand By Your Man.”

1989

• Rodney Crowell, Diamonds and Dirt
• Lyle Lovett, Pontiac
• Dan Seals, “Addicted”
• Randy Travis, Old 8×10
• Dwight Yoakam, Buenas Noches From a Lonely Room

Not one of Travis’ better albums, but who doesn’t enjoy “Deeper Than the Holler”?  Seals’s only nomination in this category is for a song written by popular folk star Cheryl Wheeler, who also penned the Suzy Bogguss hit “Aces.”

1988

• Steve Earle, Exit O
• George Strait, “All My Ex’s Live in Texas”
• Randy Travis, Always & Forever
• Hank Williams, Jr., Born to Boogie
• Dwight Yoakam, Hillbilly Deluxe

Grammy partially redeems itself for overlooking Travis, Earle and Yoakam the previous year. Travis’ second album is almost good as his legendary debut.

1987

• Steve Earle, Guitar Town
• Ronnie Milsap, Lost in the Fifties Tonight
• Randy Travis, “Diggin’ Up Bones”
• Hank Williams, Jr., “Ain’t Misbehavin’”
• Dwight Yoakam, Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.

Three of country’s most artistically significant newcomers lose to the album home of the previous year’s winning entry. The most charitable explanation I can come up with is they split the vote.

1986

• Lee Greenwood, “I Don’t Mind the Thorns (If You’re the Rose)”
• Mel McDaniel, “Baby’s Got Her Blue Jeans On”
• Ronnie Milsap, “Lost in the Fifties Tonight”
• Willie Nelson, “Loving You Was Easy”
• Ricky Skaggs, “You Make Me Feel Like a Man”

Milsap, ever the Grammy favorite, hit the sweet spot of nostalgic voters with this swooning throwback to fifties pop that borrowed heavily from “In the Still of the Night.”

1985

• Lee Greenwood, “God Bless the U.S.A.”
• Merle Haggard, “That’s the Way Love Goes”
• Willie Nelson, “City of New Orleans”
• Ricky Skaggs, Country Boy
• Hank Williams, Jr., “All My Rowdy Friends are Coming Over Tonight”

Haggard finally wins in this category, and with one of his very best ballads.   He would later cover the song with Jewel, back when she was first contemplating making the jump to country music.

1984

• Ray Charles, “Born to Love Me”
• Earl Thomas Conley, “Holding Her and Loving You”
• Vern Gosdin, “If You’re Gonna Do Me Wrong (Do it Right)”
• Lee Greenwood, “I.O.U.”
• Ronnie Milsap, “Stranger in My House”
• Kenny Rogers, “All My Life”

Lee Greenwood’s triumph here with “I’m Just a Gigolo” “I.O.U.” came just months after being named Male Vocalist at the CMA awards.   Surprisingly, he was not a winner of the Grammy for Best Album Package.

1983

• Ronnie Milsap, “He Got You”
• Willie Nelson, “Always On My Mind”
• Jerry Reed, “She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)”
• Kenny Rogers, “Love Will Turn You Around”
• Ricky Skaggs, “Heartbroke”

Willie Nelson’s career has been one with many zeniths.   Commercially speaking, “Always on My Mind” was the highest one.   It’s no surprise that it earned him a Grammy.

1982

• John Anderson, “I’m Just an Old Chunk of Coal”
• George Jones, “Still Doin’ Time”
• Ronnie Milsap, “(There’s No) Gettin’ Over Me”
• Willie Nelson, Somewhere Over the Rainbow
• Eddie Rabbitt, “Step by Step”

Milsap again. It was a shame, since they could’ve gone for Jones again or for newcomer John Anderson.

1981

• George Burns, “I Wish I Was Eighteen Again”
• George Jones, “He Stopped Loving Her Today”
• Johnny Lee, “Lookin’ For Love”
• Willie Nelson, “On the Road Again”
• Eddie Rabbitt, “Drivin’ My Life Away”

Well, obviously. It’s not only Jones’s biggest hit ever, it’s arguably the greatest country single of all time.

1980

• Willie Nelson, “Whiskey River”
• Charley Pride, Burgers & Fries
• Eddie Rabbitt, “Every Which Way But Loose”
• Kenny Rogers, “The Gambler”
• Hank Williams, Jr., Family Tradition

Rogers has won for both of his signature songs in this category. This is the one that led to several  made-for-television movies.

1979

• Waylon Jennings, I’ve Always Been Crazy
• Ronnie Milsap, “Let’s Take the Long Way Around the World”
• Willie Nelson, “Georgia On My Mind”
• Elvis Presley, “Softly As I Leave You”
• Johnny Pacycheck, “Take This Job and Shove It”
• Kenny Rogers, Love or Something Like It
  

Nelson’s biggest-selling album Stardust gets its due as the Grammy goes to one of the album’s highlights.

1978

• Larry Gatlin, “I Don’t Wanna Cry”
• Waylon Jennings, “Luckenbach, Texas”
• Ronnie Milsap, “It Was Almost Like a Song”
• Kenny Rogers, “Lucille”
• Jerry Jeff Walker, “Mr. Bojangles”

This is the signature Rogers hit that hasn’t led to made-for-television movies, but it does boast a singalong chorus.   Who knows how many people have told off Lucille in the past thirty years?

1977

• Mac Davis, Forever Lovers
• Larry Gatlin, “Broken Lady”
• Waylon Jennings, Are You Ready For the Country
• Ronnie Milsap, “(I’m a) Stand By My Woman Man”
• Willie Nelson, “I’d Have to Be Crazy”

Less than a decade after Tammy Wynette won a Grammy for “Stand By Your Man”, Milsap’s male spin on the theme earned him a trophy.

1976

• Glen Campbell, “Country Boy (You’ve Got Your Feet in L.A.)”
• John Denver, “Thank God I’m a Country Boy”
• Freddy Fender, “Before the Next Teardrop Falls”
• Waylon Jennings, “Are You Sure Hank Done it This Way”
• Willie Nelson, “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain”
  

Even classics by Fender and Jennings can’t touch the Nelson masterpiece.

1975

• Glen Campbell, “Bonaparte’s Retreat”
• Roy Clark, The Entertainer
• Waylon Jennings, “I’m a Ramblin’ Man”
• Ronnie Milsap, “Please Don’t Tell Me How the Story Ends”
• Charley Pride, Country Feelin’

Covering Kristofferson is a good way to get a Grammy. Just ask Ray Price and Sammi Smith.

1974

• Tom T. Hall, “Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine”
• Kris Kristofferson, “Why Me”
• Charley Pride, “Amazing Love”
• Charlie Rich, “Behind Closed Doors”
• Johnny Russell, “Rednecks, White Socks and Blue Ribbon Beer”

Of course, Kristofferson recording his own work didn’t lead to a Grammy. In another year, it might have, but Rich is the stuff of legend here.

1973

• Merle Haggard, “It’s Not Love (But it’s Not Bad)
• Waylon Jennings, “Good Hearted Woman”
• Jerry Lee Lewis, “Chantilly Lace”
• Charley Pride, Charley Pride Sings Heart Songs
• Charlie Rich, “I Take it On Home”

The album home of “Kiss an Angel Good Morning” gets the Grammy that the single lost the previous year.

1972

• Freddie Hart, “Easy Loving”
• Johnny Paycheck, “She’s All I Got”
• Ray Price, “I Won’t Mention it Again”
• Charley Pride, “Kiss an Angel Good Morning”
• Jerry Reed, “When You’re Hot (You’re Hot)”
  

Reed won against a collection of classic recordings.   This was one of those years where a victory by any of the nominees would be justified.

1971

• Johnny Cash, “Sunday Morning Coming Down”
• Merle Haggard, Okie From Muskogee
• Charley Pride, Charley Pride’s 10th Album
• Ray Price, “For the Good Times”
• Jerry Reed, “Amos Moses”

The other way to lose a Grammy with a Kristofferson song? Be nominated against another Kristofferson song! In another rock-solid set of nominees, Price’s classic rendition of “For the Good Times” takes the gold, even though Cash had won the previous two years.

1970

• Johnny Cash, “A Boy Named Sue”
• Clay Hart, “Spring”
• Bobby Lewis, “From Heaven to Heartache”
• Charley Pride, “All I Have to Offer You is Me”
• Jerry Reed, “Are You From Dixie”
  

Cash became the second artist to win this two years in a row.   That both of his victories were recorded live in prison is pretty remarkable in itself.

1969

• Glen Campbell, “I Wanna Live”
• Henson Cargill, “Skip a Rope”
• Johnny Cash, “Folsom Prison Blues (Live)”
• Roger Miller, “Little Green Apples”
• Porter Wagoner, “The Carroll County Accident”

It was already one of his best songs, but after hearing it performed live for the inmates of Folsom Prison, the original recording sounds almost quaint.

1968

• Jim Ed Brown, “Pop a Top”
• Glen Campbell, “Gentle On My Mind”
• Jack Greene, “All the Time”
• Charley Pride, “Does My Ring Hurt Your Finger”
• Porter Wagoner, “Cold Hard Facts of Life”
  

Glen Campbell’s crossover success would help him win several Grammy awards in 1968 and 1969.  Wagoner’s cited here for his best single.

1967

• Ben Colder, “Almost Persuaded No. 2″
• Jack Greene, “There Goes My Everything”
• David Houston, “Almost Persuaded”
• Charley Pride, “Just Between You and Me”
• Jim Reeves, “Distant Drums”

David Houston emerged victorious with a classic anthem for those who almost cheat.   Perhaps Colder came in second.

1966

• Eddy Arnold, “Make the World Go Away”
• Bobby Bare, “Talk Me Some Sense”
• Carl Belew, “Crystal Chandelier”
• Roger Miller, “King of the Road”
• Jim Reeves, “Is it Really Over?”

Can’t you hear those sweeping strings and Arnold’s soaring vocals as soon as you read the words “Make the World Go Away”?   Anyway,  not only did “King of the Road” win several Grammys in 1966, the parody “Queen of the House” even won the female trophy.

1965

• Bobby Bare, “Four Strong Winds”
• Johnny Cash, “I Walk the Line”
• George Hamilton IV, Fort Worth, Dallas or Houston
• Sonny James, You’re the Only World I Know
• Hank Locklin, Hank Locklin Sings Hank Williams
• Roger Miller, “Dang Me”
• Buck Owens, My Heart Skips a Beat

Miller won the first trophy in this category, one of eleven victories in just two years.

My favorite: “Take This Job and Shove It” by Johnny Paycheck (Please do yourself a favor and check out Paycheck’s catalog. The man is more than one song.)

What’s your favorite song about the daily grind?

2010

• Dierks Bentley
• Brad Paisley
• Blake Shelton
• George Strait
• Keith Urban

Bentley and Shelton have never won, but they’re up against Strait, who has won five times, and Paisley and Urban, who’ve won three times each.  With the balance of commercial and critical success not significantly different across the category, this race could bring the night’s biggest surprise. But whatever happens, kudos to Paisley for earning his tenth nomination, and Strait for earning his twenty-fifth!

2009

• Kenny Chesney
• Brad Paisley
• Darius Rucker
• George Strait
• Keith Urban

Just like in the Entertainer category, 80% of this race for the past three years had been Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, George Strait, and Keith Urban. This year, Darius Rucker took the fifth slot that was occupied by Alan Jackson in 2008 and Josh Turner in 2007.  Brad Paisley went on to win his third Male Vocalist prize.

2008

• Kenny Chesney
• Alan Jackson
• Brad Paisley
• George Strait
• Keith Urban

After so many years on the sidelines, Paisley began to dominate the category, scoring his second consecutive Male Vocalist award. Meanwhile, Kenny Chesney tied Willie Nelson for most nominations without a win, though his seventh loss was accompanied by his fourth win for Entertainer.

2007

• Kenny Chesney
• Brad Paisley
• George Strait
• Josh Turner
• Keith Urban

This was the year that Brad Paisley finally won, with his seventh nomination in eight years. The stars aligned for him, with a very successful tour, a new album that is selling strongly, and a continued hot streakat radio that was nearly unmatched. He still hasn’t had a single miss the top ten since “Me Neither” in 2000, a claim that even radio favorites like George Strait, Toby Keith, Brooks & Dunn, Tim McGraw and Rascal Flatts can’t call their own.

2006

• Dierks Bentley
• Kenny Chesney
• Alan Jackson
• Brad Paisley
• Keith Urban

Urban became the first artist to win Male Vocalist three years in a row since George Strait did it in 1996-1998, right after Vince Gill’s 1991-1995 run. His acceptance letter, read by Ronnie Dunn, was the emotional highlight of the evening’s show.

2005

• Kenny Chesney
• Alan Jackson
• Brad Paisley
• George Strait
  
• Keith Urban
  

No surprises here, as another multi-platinum year full of radio hits and a high-profile appearance at Live 8 kept Urban fresh on voter’s minds. The big shock was him walking away with Entertainer of the Year later that night.

2004

• Kenny Chesney
• Alan Jackson
• Toby Keith
• George Strait
• Keith Urban
  

Urban hadn’t even been nominated for any CMA Awards in 2002 and 2003, after winning Horizon in 2001, but he came back with a bang, taking home Male Vocalist of the Year over the four other superstars in the category. He joined Chesney as the only other man in the running who had never won before; Chesney got the wonderful consolation prizes of Entertainer and Album of the Year the same night.

2003

• Kenny Chesney
• Alan Jackson
• Toby Keith
• Tim McGraw
• Brad Paisley
• George Strait

Things were getting tight in this category in 2003, with so many worthy contenders that ties resulted in six nominees, instead of the usual five. Still, voters chose to stick with last year’s winner, Alan Jackson, a sure indicator of his enduring popularity among CMA voters.

2002

• Kenny Chesney
• Alan Jackson
• Toby Keith
• Brad Paisley
• George Strait

The other four men were merely placeholders, there to create a list around the obvious winner, Alan Jackson. As he swept the awards on the strength of his post-9/11 “Where Were You” and autobiographical “Drive”, the only real shock was that he was winning Male Vocalist for the first time, a result of the ridiculously slow turnover in this category during the 1990′s.

2001

• Alan Jackson
• Toby Keith
• Tim McGraw
• Brad Paisley
• George Strait

Toby Keith has been a vocal critic of the CMA because he feels they’ve overlooked him, but he’s been up against some tough competition, with his popularity peaking at the same time that Alan Jackson, Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban were making a huge impact on the charts and at the CMA’s. Thankfully, he’s at least won in this category, so he won’t go down in history with Willie Nelson and Conway Twitty as one of the best male singers to never win it.

2000

• Vince Gill
  
• Alan Jackson
• Tim McGraw
• Brad Paisley
• George Strait

On the same evening that his wife was crowned Female Vocalist, McGraw walked away with his second consecutive Male Vocalist award.

1999

• Vince Gill
• Alan Jackson
• Tim McGraw
• George Strait
• Steve Wariner

Early on in his career, when McGraw was selling tons of records but being excluded from this category, he humbly said that he didn’t think he was a good enough singer to be nominated. His talents grew over the years, and he finally won in 1999.

1998

• Garth Brooks
• Vince Gill
• Tim McGraw
• Collin Raye
• George Strait
  

Strait matched Vince Gill’s record of five wins in this category, defeating Gill and three other nominees who had yet to win in the category.

1997

• Vince Gill
• Alan Jackson
• Collin Raye
• George Strait
• Bryan White

With no turnover in the category from the previous year, Strait won for the fourth time, again defeating his fellow mega-winner Gill, and three other stars who had never won before.

1996

• Vince Gill
• Alan Jackson
• Collin Raye
• George Strait
  
• Bryan White

Jackson was already long overdue, and Collin Raye and Bryan White broke into the category for the first time. Nobody expected Gill to win for the sixth year in a row, but many were surprised to see former two-time winner George Strait collect a Male Vocalist award for the first time in ten years.

1995

• John Berry
• Vince Gill
  
• Alan Jackson
• John Michael Montgomery
• George Strait

Even Gill was expecting to lose, so when his name was called out for the fifth year in a row, he was gamely applauding backstage for the winner, before suddenly realizing it was him and rushing out to the stage.

1994

• John Anderson
• Vince Gill
  
• Alan Jackson
• George Strait
• Dwight Yoakam

Vince won for the fourth year in a row, even though fellow nominees John Anderson, Alan Jackson and Dwight Yoakam were seen as likely spoilers.

1993

• John Anderson
• Garth Brooks
• Vince Gill
• Alan Jackson
• George Strait

Vince not only won his third Male Vocalist award this year, he also took home four other awards: Entertainer, Album, Song and Vocal Event.

1992

• Garth Brooks
• Joe Diffie
• Vince Gill
• Alan Jackson
• Travis Tritt

A bunch of hot young stars dominated the ballot this year, with Gill emerging triumphant for the second time. Though they would continue to score hits for many years, Joe Diffie and Travis Tritt received their only nominations to date in this category.

1991

• Clint Black
• Garth Brooks
• Vince Gill
• Alan Jackson
• George Strait

After Garth swept the ACM’s earlier that year, he was expected to do the same at the CMA’s, and he came close, winning Entertainer, Single and Album. But industry favorite Vince Gill took home Male Vocalist, an award that Garth Brooks would never receive, though he would win Entertainer a record four times.

1990

• Clint Black
  
• Garth Brooks
• Rodney Crowell
• Ricky Van Shelton
• George Strait

For the second year in a row, the previous year’s Horizon winner took home Male Vocalist. Clint Black won easily over very distinguished competition.

1989

• Rodney Crowell
• Ricky Van Shelton
• George Strait
• Randy Travis
• Keith Whitley

After winning Horizon in 1988, platinum-selling Ricky Van Shelton graduated into a Male Vocalist winner only one year later. Keith Whitley received a posthumous nomination; he won Single of the Year that same evening.

1988

• Vern Gosdin
• Ricky Van Shelton
• George Strait
• Randy Travis
• Hank Williams, Jr.

It’s hard not to wince at the knowledge that the peerless Vern Gosdin only received one nomination in this category, but there was no stopping Travis from collecting his second win.

1987

• George Jones
• Ricky Skaggs
• George Strait
• Randy Travis
  
• Hank Williams, Jr.

In a lineup that was a traditionalist’s dream, new star Randy Travis took home the trophy.  At the time, he was breaking sales records, enjoying a quadruple-platinum studio album in Always & Forever.

1986

• George Jones
• Gary Morris
• George Strait
• Randy Travis
  
• Hank Williams, Jr.

Strait won his second consecutive Male Vocalist award on the strength of another huge year at radio and retail.

1985

• Lee Greenwood
• Gary Morris
• Ricky Skaggs
• George Strait
• Hank Williams, Jr.

George Strait won the first of a record-matching five Male Vocalist awards, also taking home Album of the Year that same evening.

1984

• Lee Greenwood
• Merle Haggard
• Gary Morris
• Ricky Skaggs
• George Strait

Greenwood’s Vegas vocals won him the award for the second time.

1983

• John Anderson
• Lee Greenwood
• Merle Haggard
• Willie Nelson
• Ricky Skaggs

Greenwood looks pretty shabby against these other four nominees, taking home Male Vocalist in the same year Janie Fricke won for Female Vocalist. Is there a year in the history of the CMA’s where the winners of those two categories were collectively less impressive?

1982

• Merle Haggard
• George Jones
• Ronnie Milsap
• Willie Nelson
• Ricky Skaggs

Pulling off the astonishing feat of winning both Male Vocalist and Horizon award, Emmylou Harris’ former bandmate was hugely rewarded for bringing bluegrass to the masses.

1981

• George Jones
  
• Ronnie Milsap
• Willie Nelson
• Kenny Rogers
• Don Williams

It’s taken for granted that Jones is the greatest living male vocalist in country music; few would dare to argue otherwise. No surprise, then, that he won for the second year in a row.

1980

• John Conlee
• George Jones
  
• Willie Nelson
• Kenny Rogers
• Don Williams

Nominated for the first time in his career, George Jones walked away with Male Vocalist of the Year, along with Single of the Year for “He Stopped Loving Her Today”.

1979

• John Conlee
• Larry Gatlin
  
• Willie Nelson
• Kenny Rogers
• Don Williams

It’s hard to believe that the legendary showman never won Entertainer of the Year, but he did take home a much-deserved Male Vocalist award, at least.  Unfortunately, fellow nominee John Conlee would never be recognized at all, losing his first of two shots at this award.

1978

• Larry Gatlin
• Ronnie Milsap
• Willie Nelson
• Kenny Rogers
• Don Williams

One of the most underrated artists in country music history got a well-deserved pat on the back, winning over four larger personalities in 1978.

1977

• Larry Gatlin
• Waylon Jennings
• Ronnie Milsap
• Kenny Rogers
• Don Williams

Milsap set a record when he won for the third time in this category, which would stand until 1994, when Vince Gill won his fourth trophy.

1976

• Waylon Jennings
• Ronnie Milsap
• Willie Nelson
• Conway Twitty
• Don Williams

After losing to Jennings the previous year, Milsap returned to collect his second Male Vocalist trophy in 1976. Conway Twitty lost again in his final appearance in the category.

1975

• John Denver
• Freddy Fender
• Waylon Jennings
  
• Ronnie Milsap
• Conway Twitty

There was no love lost between Waylon Jennings and the CMA – he loathed the organization so much, he didn’t even show up at his Hall of Fame induction. This was the first of several CMA wins for Jennings, though the only one in this category that he would receive.

1974

• Merle Haggard
• Waylon Jennings
• Ronnie Milsap
  
• Charlie Rich
• Cal Smith

Blind singer-songwriter and pianist Ronnie Milsap won for the first time; with Olivia Newton-John winning Female Vocalist the same night, pop was the flavor of the evening.

1973

• Merle Haggard
• Tom T. Hall
• Charlie Rich
  
• Johnny Rodriguez
• Conway Twitty

The Silver Fox won on the strength of a great year at radio. He’s still considered one of the era’s finest and most under-appreciated vocalists.

1972

• Merle Haggard
• Freddie Hart
• Johnny Paycheck
• Charley Pride
• Jerry Wallace
  

Charley Pride became the first artist to repeat in the category, winning for the second year in a row.

1971

• Merle Haggard
• Ray Price
• Charley Pride
• Jerry Reed
• Conway Twitty

The CMA had a wealth of great male vocalists to choose from in the early years of the awards, and they finally got around to acknowledging Pride, who had been nominated four times already.

1970

• Johnny Cash
• Merle Haggard
  
• Charley Pride
• Marty Robbins
• Conway Twitty

Merle Haggard dominated the show in 1970, winning Entertainer, Male Vocalist, Single and Album of the Year.

1969

• Glen Campbell
• Johnny Cash
  
• Merle Haggard
• Sonny James
• Charley Pride

Cash was a huge winner in 1969, taking home five awards: Entertainer, Male Vocalist, Single, Album and Vocal Group (with wife June Carter Cash). He wouldn’t win again until after his death in 2003, when he took home another three awards.

1968

• Eddy Arnold
• Glen Campbell
• Johnny Cash
  
• Merle Haggard
• Charley Pride

Crossover star Glen Campbell won in a year that is so impressive, all five nominees are now in the Hall of Fame. He also took home Male Vocalist the same evening.

1967

• Eddy Arnold
• Jack Greene
  
• Merle Haggard
• Sonny James
• Buck Owens

Few casual country fans would recognize him today, but Jack Greene will forever go down in history as the first Male Vocalist winner at the CMA’s. He won on the strength of his signature hit “There Goes My Everything”, which also won Single of the Year and was the title track of his Album of the Year winner that same night.

Facts & Feats

Multiple Wins:

• (5) – Vince Gill, George Strait
• (3) – Ronnie Milsap, Keith Urban
• (2) – Lee Greenwood, Alan Jackson, George Jones, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Charley Pride, Randy Travis

Most Consecutive Wins:

• (5) – Vince Gill (1991-1995)
• (3) – George Strait (1996-1998), Keith Urban (2004-2006)

Most Nominations:

• (25) – George Strait
• (16) – Alan Jackson
• (11) – Merle Haggard
• (10) – Vince Gill
• (10) – Brad Paisley
• (8) – Kenny Chesney
• (7) – Ronnie Milsap, Willie Nelson, Keith Urban
• (6) – Don Williams
• (5) – Garth Brooks, George Jones, Charley Pride, Kenny Rogers, Ricky Skaggs, Conway Twitty

Most Nominations Without a Win:

• (8) – Kenny Chesney
• (7) – Willie Nelson
• (5) – Garth Brooks, Conway Twitty
• (4) – Hank Williams, Jr.
• (3) – John Anderson, Larry Gatlin, Gary Morris, Collin Raye
• (2) – Eddy Arnold, Dierks Bentley, John Conlee, Rodney Crowell, Sonny James, Bryan White

Winners in First Year of Nomination:
Clint Black (1990), Glen Campbell (1968), Vince Gill (1991), Lee Greenwood (1983), George Jones (1980), Toby Keith (2001), Ronnie Milsap (1974), Charlie Rich (1973), Ricky Skaggs (1982), Randy Travis (1987), Keith Urban (2004)

CMA Male Vocalists of the Year Who Have Never Won the ACM Award:
Johnny Cash, Jack Greene, Waylon Jennings, Charley Pride, Ricky Van Shelton, Ricky Skaggs, Randy Travis, Don Williams

ACM Male Vocalists of the Year Who Have Never Won the CMA Award:
Garth Brooks (1990 & 1991), Kenny Chesney (2003), Larry Gatlin (1980), Mickey Gilley (1977), Freddie Hart (1972)

CMA Male Vocalists Who Have Also Won the Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male:
Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, Vince Gill, Lee Greenwood, George Jones, Tim McGraw, Ronnie Milsap, Brad Paisley, Charley Pride, Charlie Rich, Kenny Rogers, Randy Travis, Keith Urban

Winners of the Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male Who Have Never Won the CMA Male Vocalist Award:
Garth Brooks, David Houston, Lyle Lovett, Roger Miller, Willie Nelson, Ray Price, Jerry Reed, Ralph Stanley, Dwight Yoakam

Written by David Allan Coe

David Allan Coe’s “Take this Job and Shove It” owns a comical hook and, since its release in the 1970s, has become a familiar refrain among the working class. But “Take this Job and Shove It” was much more than an anthem for the overworked and underpaid. It was a tale of a man who’s lost the love of his life, thereby losing “the reason that (he) was workin’ for.” In reality, the narrator never utters the famous phrase to his demanding boss, but lives for the day that he can gather the courage to take his stand.

The song’s most famous delivery came with Johnny Paycheck’s release back in 1977, and the tune reached No. 1 in January 1978. Paycheck’s distinctive growl gave the song great attitude and told of the frustrations felt by those who worked for minimum wage under maximum stress. Coupled with the loss of his lady love, who has left in an apparent attempt to show him where attention must be (and should have been) paid, the job’s troubles have left him at the brink of frustration.

At that time in the late 1970s, the economy was struggling, leaving many blue-collar workers to work tirelessly for little credit or compensation. This anthem was a glimmer of humor in an almost-hopeless fight against those who held both money and power, as a heartbroken man threatens to “blow his top” and head for the door. It speaks to the poor man’s anger at the rich man’s success.

“Take This Job and Shove It” has maintained popularity due to its use at radio stations across the country, becoming a popular tune on Friday afternoons for those about to end the work week. The song even spawned a 1981 film starring Robert Hays, Barbara Hershey and Art Carney and takes place in a Texas brewery. Although both Coe and Paycheck would court controversy in the years to come (Coe would later release a handful of X-rated albums; Paycheck spent time in prison and in bankruptcy court), they will be forever remembered for pairing a working man’s swagger and struggle in a brilliant ode to the hard times in life and love.

“”Take This Job and Shove It” is the latest in a series of articles showcasing Classic Country Singles. You can read previous entries at the Classic Country Singles page.