Since cover songs are so much fun to talk about, I thought I’d weigh in on a few well-known cover songs from the past few years – the good ones, as well as a few that we would rather forget.  My criteria is simple:  A good cover song should bring something new to the table, and the song should be treated in a way that is well-suited to the artist as well as the genre.  This list focuses specifically on country covers of non-country songs.

Click the original artists’ names in parentheses to hear the original versions.

Rosanne Cash, “I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party” (The Beatles)
1989 | #1

Where it goes right:  Rosanne’s last career hit was a cover from a Beatles tribute album, and it didn’t sound quite like one might expect.  Though rarely one to use overt country instrumentation throughout most of her career, she delivers a brisk, upbeat take that’s layered in fiddling.  I’ll take it!

Grade:  B+

Mark Chesnutt, “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” (Aerosmith)
1998 | #1

Where it goes wrong:  It’s hard to imagine a worse pairing between song and performer.  Mark Chesnutt, the revered neotraditionalist behind “Too Cold at Home” and “Going Through the Big D” covering a rock power ballad?  It’s true – complete with apologetic steel guitar fills and a vocal smothered in autotune.  The end result is so cheesy that you might as well slap it between two crackers.  The fact that this is the top Mark Chesnutt iTunes download is very very sad.

Grade:  D

Dixie Chicks, “Landslide” (Fleetwood Mac)
2002 | #2

Where it goes right:  The Chicks give a well-known Fleetwood Mac favorite a stripped-down bluegrass treatment, which is a great fit for the nature-related imagery in the song’s lyrics.  The Chicks elevate the song further with their gorgeous harmonies.  As much as I love Fleetwood Mac, I have to say that this version tops the original.  It’s one of the best cover songs I’ve ever heard, and one of the Dixie Chicks’ personal best moments, of which there have been many.

Grade:  A

Sara Evans, “I Could Not Ask for More” (Edwin McCain)
2001 | #2

Where it goes right:  Evans delivers a stunning and powerful vocal performance that holds nothing back whatsoever.

Where it goes wrong:  The arrangement is a bit syrupy, and it’s essentially a pop cover of a pop song.  Is a little fiddle or steel too much to ask for?

Grade:  B

Faith Hill, “Piece of My Heart” (Erma Franklin, Janis Joplin)
1994 | #1

(Watch the video)

Where it goes right:  The fact that Hill was unfamiliar with the Franklin and Joplin versions is telling.  You can easily tell that she is making no attempt to emulate the style of another artist, instead giving a performance totally her own, while the songs’s melody fits well with the countrified arrangement.

Where it goes wrong:  Again, the fact that Hill was unfamiliar with the previous versions is telling.  Her performance lacks the fire and fury of Joplin’s version, which makes it easy to see why one might consider Hill’s performance to be a bit too sugary.

Grade:  B-

Alison Krauss, “Baby, Now That I’ve Found You” (The Foundations)
1995 | #49

Where it goes right:  Krauss takes a forgettable Motown tune, and delivers a slowed-down mid-tempo version that much more deeply accentuates the emotions conveyed in the lyrics.  In contrast, the original sounded like one big party, which is an ill-fitting treatment of a song about trying to stop one’s lover from leaving.  The track is made all the more sweeter by Kruass’ angelic vocals, and by the expert instrumental backup of Union Station.  The song went on to win Krauss a well-deserved Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.

Grade:  A

Reba McEntire, “Cathy’s Clown” (Everly Brothers)
1989 | #1

Where it goes right:  It’s extremely effective as a reinterpretation, as McEntire slows the song down to an emotional ballad, and tweaks the lyrics to fit her feminine perspective.  Did I mention that she also gives a mighty fine vocal performance?

Where it goes wrong:  The production is a bit watered-down, which was not unusual for Reba’s late eighties and early nineties output.

Grade:  B+

Pam Tillis, “When You Walk In the Room” (Jackie DeShannon)
1994 | #2

Where it goes right:  Tillis could hardly have chosen a better song to countrify, as the lyric about a nervous encounter with an old flame fits right in with classic country music.  She even tweaked the instrumental opening so as to be better suited for the steel guitar, which demonstrates her strong commitment to the country genre.

Grade:  A

Travis Tritt, “Take It Easy” (The Eagles)
1994 | #21

Where it goes right:  The Eagles were about the countriest rock band you’d ever meet, and did a great deal to influence the evolution of country sounds and styles, so they were a fitting candidate for an all-country tribute album.  The centerpiece of the collection was honky-tonker Travis Tritt’s version of “Take It Easy” – an energetic performance that had even more body than the original, but that still felt reverent toward the legendary group’s classic version.

Grade:  A

Conway Twitty, “The Rose” (Bette Midler)
1983 | #1

Where it goes right:  Nowhere.

Where it goes wrong:  Everywhere. (Can you say bad karaoke?)

Grade:  D

Jimmy Wayne, “Sara Smile” (Hall and Oates)
2009 | #31

Where it goes wrong:  To put it simply… reinterpreting a song does not mean simply ”adding a banjo line.”  The fact that Hall and Oates even sing background vocals on this track only adds to the overall feeling of pointlessness.

Grade:  D+

Mark Wills, “Back at One” (Brian McKnight)
1999 | #2

Where it goes wrong:  If it made for an awfully cheesy pop song in the hands of Brian McKnight, it made a flat-out terrible country song when Mark Wills covered it a mere two months after the release of the McKnight version.  It’s a record characterized by superfluous genre-pandering steel guitar fills, and a lead vocal that sounds more occupied with grooving to the beat than making any sort of emotional connection.  The song peaked at #2, and then Wills tackled a Brandy song immediately afterwards.  Seriously, dude?

Grade:  C-

Dwight Yoakam, “Suspicious Minds” (Elvis Presley)
1992 | #35

Where it goes right:  Covering an Elvis song is a tall order, to say the least.  The fact that Yoakam’s version rivals the original, with its contemporized arrangement and knockout lead vocal, is hardly a small feat.

Grade:  A

What’s your take on these tunes?  What are your favorite cover songs?  What are your least favorite cover songs?

The song is beautiful. Really, really beautiful. Like so many great country ballads, someone who’s been left alone because a relationship failed can relate to it just as well as someone who has been left alone because they’re a widow.  On the verses, Corbin sounds so good that he could’ve sent this to radio in 1992 and stood tall among the Mark Chesnutts and Collin Rayes of that time.

But there’s a big flaw, and that’s his over-singing in the choruses.  Remember how John Michael Montgomery strained his voice when he wanted to show intense emotion?  He’s doing that, with less impressive results.  It’s not enough to sink the record, of course. There are so many strong elements that even a weak delivery in some parts can’t stop it from being a good record.  But it does keep it from being truly great.

Written by Carson Chamberlain, Clinton Daniels, and Jeff Hyde

Grade: B

Listen: I Can’t Love You Back

Google “Gary Harrison songwriter” and you won’t find a website or MySpace. There’s not even a Wikipedia article. Don’t know where he’s from, how he got into songwriting or what he likes to eat for dinner.

As far as I know, he has never made an album. When he co-writes a song, does he write the music or the lyrics or a little of both? Don’t know. He’s a Grammy nominated songwriter as co-writer of “Strawberry Wine”, the 1997 CMA Song of the Year, and has penned many BMI Award-Winning Songs. It appears that his first big hit was “Lying in Love with You”, written with Dean Dillon for Jim Ed Brown and Helen Cornelius. The duet went to #2 in 1979.

Since there is so little data to draw from, a chronological treatment of his illustrious career would be difficult. I’ve decided instead to begin with the collaboration Gary is best known for, his work with Matraca Berg, and then continue with his other significant songwriting collaborations.

In his excellent Favorite Songs by Favorite Songwriters article on Matraca Berg, Kevin gave us his favorite 25 songs written by Berg. Gary Harrison has frequently collaborated with Matraca. On Kevin’s list the following 9 songs are written by Berg/Harrison:

• #25 Wild Angels – Martina McBride
• #22 Give Me Some Wheels – Suzy Bogguss
• #20 Demolition Angel – Pam Tillis
• #19 Everybody Knows – Trisha Yearwood
• #10 Strawberry Wine – Deana Carter
• #7 Wrong Side of Memphis – Trisha Yearwood
• #5 Diamonds and Tears – Suzy Bogguss
• #4 Dreaming Fields – Trisha Yearwood
• #3 My Heart Will Never Break This Way Again – Patty Loveless

Give a read to Kevin’s write-up for all 25. Kevin asked for comments from his readers on their favorite Matraca Berg songs. In the 29 comments received, three more collaborations with Gary were mentioned that didn’t make Kevin’s cut, including “Hey Cinderella” and “Eat at Joe’s” by Suzy Bogguss and Pinmonkey’s “That Train Don’t Run”.

“Hey Cinderella” is from Suzy’s 1993 CD, Something Up My Sleeve. Fantasy turns into “dreams that lost their way” by the end of the first long verse. In the second verse, reality sets in. In “Eat at Joe’s”, from her 1992 CD, Voices in the Wind, Suzy’s sounds like a sultry waitress in an all night diner – “here’s a hot top on your coffee, honey you’re a mess, I ain’t your wife I ain’t your momma, but I’ll do I guess”. The bridge is a wistful but not really hopeful call out to prince charming.

My favorite Pinmonkey song is still “Barbed Wire and Roses”, but “That Train Don’t Run”, from their 2006 Big Shiny Cars CD, isn’t far behind. It’s up-tempo like Barbed Wire. It was also a single for Matraca Berg from her 1997 “Sunday Morning to Saturday Night” cd. The singer recalls a former lover who may have been a bit on the wild side. It must be “your memory rattlin’ the shutters, that train don’t run by here no more”. The next line is “I lie and listen to the last boxcar, sweet dreams baby wherever you are”. Love that last phrase. Sounds like something Bogie might have said.

A bit of trivia: I wonder how many times that last phrase, “sweet dreams baby, wherever you are”, has been used in a song. In addition to the Pinmonkey song, I found it in “Goodnight”, written by Charlie Black and Dana Hunt, from Suzy Bogguss’ self-titled 1999 CD. The last line of the chorus is “I’m signing off, sweet dreams baby, wherever you are”. A song by Jedd Hughes, “Time to Say Goodnight” has “sweet dreams baby, sweet dreams baby wherever you are tonight”. It was written by Hughes, Tommy Lee James and Terry McBride and can be found on Hughes’ 2004 CD, Transcontinental. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone else finds another instance.

I found another Berg/Harrison collaboration but this time with Jeff Hanna on a Chely Wright song, “Emma Jean’s Guitar”. It’s an album track from Chely’s 1997 Let Me In CD, which featured “Shut Up and Drive”. The story tells of a guitar with Emma Jean’s name etched in the finish found in a pawnshop. The singer wonders about Emma Jean’s hopes and dreams and feels that she’s the guardian of her guitar.

Gary has written quite a few great songs without Matraca. Another frequent co-writer for Gary has been Tim Mensy. My favorite Mensy-Harrison collaboration is Trisha Yearwood’s “Nearest Distant Shore”, an album track from her 1992 Hearts in Armor CD. It’s a song about getting out of a bad relationship: “You did your best but “the one you swore to love is pulling you down, you’re in over your head, chilled to the bone by the waters you’ve tread, chart a course to land before you drown”.

“That Wasn’t Me” was an excellent album track for Martina McBride on her 1993 CD, The Way That I Am. She knows that the guy is still hurting from the memory of an old girlfriend. She tells him “that wasn’t me”. It’s time to move on because she “can no longer pay the price” of his not letting go.

For fans of Mark Chesnutt, there’s “I Just Wanted You to Know”, a #1 song in ’94 from the CD Almost Goodbye and a #6 the same year, “She Dreams”, from What a Way to Live. Other Mensy Harrison collaborations include Doug Stone’s “I Thought It Was You”, a #4 in 1991, “A Singer in the Band”, an album track on Joe Nichol’s Revelation CD in 2004, and a Mark Wills song “Any Fool Can say Goodbye”.

With J.D. Martin, Gary Harrison wrote “Rollin’ Lonely”, a Johnny Lee song from his “Workin’ for a Livin’ ” album, which reached #9 on the charts in 1985, “Domestic Life”, a John Conlee #4 hit from his “American Faces” album in 1987, “Two Car Garage”, a #3 hit in 1983 from the B.J. Thomas album “The Great American Dream” and “Broken Toys”, a song about child abuse from BJ’s 1985 album “Throwin’ Rocks at the Moon”. The last song was written with Gloria Thomas as well as J.D.

Gary co-wrote 3 songs with Tammy Cochran from her “Thirty Something and Single” album released in June of 2009, the title track, “It’s All Over But the Leaving” and “He Really Thinks He’s Got It”.

With Karen Staley, he wrote “Face in the Crowd” which peaked at #4, a duet with Michael Martin Murphey and Holly Dunn from the former’s 1987 “Americana” album and “Now and Then” which Michelle Wright took to #9 in Canada.

Some other Gary Harrison songs are:

- “I Hate Everything” written with Keith Stegall, a #1 for George Strait in 2005. Check out the wake-up call at the end.

- “Alone Some” with Billy Yates, an album track for Billy from his 2005 album “Harmony Man”.

- “Crazy Me” and “I Do It for Your Love” with Richard Marx, from the Kenny Rogers 2000 CD There You Go Again.

Impressive list and I’ve probably missed some songs. If you search BMI.com, you’ll find 918 work titles for Gary Harrison. He’s been so busy, he probably hasn’t had time to set up a website or MySpace.

400 Greatest Singles of the Nineties: #75-#51

#75
When You Say Nothing at All
Alison Krauss & Union Station
1995 | Peak: #3

Listen

This Keith Whitley classic was recorded as part of a tribute album to the late country star. It became a hit all over again, perhaps because Krauss performed it in a near-whisper. The quiet arrangement matches the sentiment beautifully. – Kevin Coyne

#74
Alibis
Tracy Lawrence
1993 | Peak: #1

Listen

Lawrence dishes on his ex’s cheating ways to her new potential lover. How did she get that way? He reveals that he’s the one who taught her everything she knows from the cheater’s playbook. Moreover, he seems regretful of her corruption. – Leeann Ward

#73
Cowboy Take Me Away
Dixie Chicks
1999 | Peak: #1

Listen

In a modern world where life can so easily feel cold and mechanical, love remains earthy and exciting and mysterious. It’s a window into a different world, one where we’re not defined by the predictables of our routine – the same stresses, the same cars and buildings – but by our core nature as people, our place in the greater fabric of Earth and, perhaps, heaven. On the surface, “Cowboy Take Me Away” sounds like just a sugar-sweet love song – I’ve even heard it called “pre-feminist”  – but there’s something else going on here: a plea for life to have meaning again. – Dan Milliken

#72
A Thousand Miles From Nowhere
Dwight Yoakam
1993 | Peak: #2

Listen

With it’s hypnotizing melody, one can’t help but feel for Yoakam as he reels from “the cruel, cruel words” that were said to him, which cause him to feel as though he’s far removed from reality at “a thousand miles from nowhere.” – LW

#71
I’m Holding My Own
Lee Roy Parnell
1994 | Peak: #3

Listen

When an ex-girlfriend asks Parnell how he’s been getting by since their break-up, he responds with a fabulous, subtle mix of thoughtfulness and indignation. It takes a skilled artist to pull of the haughty emphasis on “holdin’” without compromising the maturity of the song. – Tara Seetharam

#70
You Don’t Seem to Miss Me
Patty Loveless with George Jones
1997 | Peak: #14

Listen

This is one of those great records that could only work as a country song. The fiddle is her undying love, and the steel guitar is her painful worry that it’s no longer reciprocated. Just the instrumental track could tell most of the story. Throw in two of the finest vocalists in country music history, and you’ve got yourself a classic. – KC

#69
A Bad Goodbye
Clint Black with Wynonna
1993 | Peak: #2

Listen

Should he stay or should he go? He knows that he should go, but guilt and, maybe, even some sort of co-dependency won’t let him make a clean break. He wants to avoid a bad goodbye, but unfortunately for him, such a thing rarely exists. – LW

#68
Past the Point of Rescue
Hal Ketchum
1992 | Peak: #2

Listen

This level of self-awareness is dangerous when your heart is on the verge of being broken. – KC

#67
Shut Up and Drive
Chely Wright
1997 | Peak: #14

Listen

A remarkably rational inner monologue by a woman finally driving away from her always-failing relationship. She knows she’s still susceptible to her own loneliness, but reminds herself, “you’ll only miss the man that you wanted him to be.” – DM

#66
Thanks to You
Emmylou Harris
1994 | Peak: #65

Listen

Songs of salvation are a lot more interesting when the protagonist has a long way to go before they get there. – KC

#65
Things Change
Dwight Yoakam
1998 | Peak: #17

Listen

Yoakam’s always getting left, so most of this record is just a very good version of what he normally gives us. But in that final verse, where he gets to turn the knife himself, he settles the score for one brief moment. – KC

#64
If You Ever Have Forever in Mind
Vince Gill
1998 | Peak: #5

Listen

A slow-burning, jazzy, luscious record that Gill knocks out of the park. – TS

#63
Almost Goodbye
Mark Chesnutt
1993 | Peak: #1

Listen

“Sometimes the most important words are the ones left unspoken”, Chesnutt observes. In this case, it’s a premature “goodbye.” It is a power ballad wrought with melodrama of epic proportions, but it’s just so good anyway. – LW

#62
Wide Open Spaces
Dixie Chicks
1998 | Peak: #1

Listen

A beloved, inescapable coming-of-age smash. – DM

#61
Aces
Suzy Bogguss
1992 | Peak: #9

Listen

A woman who’d rather be right than wrong finally realizes that way of thinking is about to leave her alone and lonely. – KC

#60
Never Again, Again
Lee Ann Womack
1997 | Peak: #23

Listen

Right out of the gate, Womack aces her traditional country exam: clever, frank, self-deprecating, sad, gorgeously sung. – DM

#59
In My Next Life
Merle Haggard
1994 | Peak: #58

Listen

He’s spent his whole life trying to be her hero, and he’s set the bar so high in his mind, he doesn’t even realize that he cleared it by a long shot. – KC

#58
You’d Think He’d Know Me Better
Bobbie Cryner
1996 | Peak: #56

Listen

It’s very difficult to be a thoroughly unlikable narrator and still garner sympathy, but Cryner pulls it off here. – KC

#57
That’s Why I’m Here
Kenny Chesney
1998 | Peak: #2

Listen

Chesney paints a sympathetic portrait of a man who has owned the consequences of his alcoholism. – LW

#56
Love Travels
Kathy Mattea
1997 | Peak: #39

Listen

Five and half minutes of Celtic-flavored bliss, and not a wasted second among them. – KC

#55
All These Years
Sawyer Brown
1992 | Peak: #3

Listen

A husband catches his wife in bed with another man, and they finally share the candid, open conversation that could potentially save their marriage. – DM

#54
I’m Alright
Jo Dee Messina
1998 | Peak: #1

Listen

With a lunch date between two old friends as its backdrop, “I’m Alright” dances around the details of a struggling artist’s life. It’s brilliant in its blend of realism and optimism, but above all, it’s insanely infectious. – TS

#53
Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)
Radney Foster
1999 | Peak: #74

Listen

A lullaby of timeless beauty from a father unable to stay near his child. Deep love and deep sadness sound from every note. – DM

#52
Here I Am
Patty Loveless
1994 | Peak: #4

Listen

The truth is revealed so slowly here that even after a thousand listens, it still comes as a surprise. Credit a brilliant lyric from Tony Arata and a masterclass vocal from Loveless for that. – KC

#51
Worlds Apart
Vince Gill
1996 | Peak: #5

Listen

Gill quietly displays a sweet social conscience: “There’s nothing quite as ugly as two people full of hate/We’ll end up as equals when we stand at heaven’s gate/Love is still the answer/It’s the only place to start/Why do you and me have to be worlds apart?” Tragically, Gill’s question never stops being relevant. – LW

400 Greatest Singles of the Nineties: #100-#76

#100
The Battle Hymn of Love
Kathy Mattea & Tim O’Brien
1990 | Peak: #9

Listen

Wedding songs are typically made of the same fiber, but this one is a little different: it’s energized by burning conviction and fierce pledges. – Tara Seetharam

#99
Blue
LeAnn Rimes
1996 | Peak: #10

Listen

Sure, the novelty of thirteen year-old Rimes’ prodigious Patsy imitation helped things along. But that unshakable yodeled hook would have made “Blue” a classic in any era of country music. – Dan Milliken

#98
The River and the Highway
Pam Tillis
1996 | Peak: #8

Listen

Just an unbelievably haunting and gorgeous song. – Leeann Ward

#97
Standing Knee Deep in a River (Dying of Thirst)
Kathy Mattea
1993 | Peak: #19

Listen

A moving reflection on our tendency to miss the true blessings and enriching opportunities around us. It would be a great song if it just stuck to lost friendship and love; that it twists in the third verse to consider our relationship to the less fortunate puts it on a completely different level. The way things are, we’re all left “parched and empty” in some sense – the poor who struggle in a culture of incredible wealth, and the financially secure who march on in self-absorbed, self-contained existences, wondering why they never feel quite whole. – DM

#96
Yard Sale
Sammy Kershaw
1992 | Peak: #17

Listen

As if the dissolution of his marriage wasn’t bad enough, now he gets to sit around acting friendly for a bunch of strangers “sortin’ through what’s left of you and me” and paying him chump change for it. A Jones-worthy lament. – DM

#95
Where Are You Now
Clint Black
1991 | Peak: #1

Listen

What happens when you take for granted the person you always assume will be there for you, then realize that this time, they’ve finally stopped waiting around for you? You ask the question that Clint Black is asking here. – Kevin Coyne

#94
Back When We Were Beautiful
Matraca Berg
1997 | Peak: Did Not Chart

Listen

So beautifully raw that it makes almost every other depiction of the elderly in modern country music feel like a hollow, oversimplified contrivance. – DM

#93
I Guess You Had to Be There
Lorrie Morgan
1993 | Peak: #14

Listen

Imagine loving someone so much that you’re willing to accept their tryst with sad resignation, realizing that there’s no happiness left for them at home.  Love hurts. – KC

#92
Deep Down
Pam Tillis
1995 | Peak: #6

Listen

Excellent lyric aside, what makes this record truly unique is the way that Tillis has a conversation with the band. She sings a line in the first verse, the guitar responds to it. In the second verse, she’s answered by the fiddle. By the time the song builds to a crescendo, they’re singing in harmony. It’s cool. – KC

#91
Heads Carolina, Tails California
Jo Dee Messina
1996 | Peak: #2

Listen

Right out of the gate, Messina demands positive proactivity, charms world. – DM

#90
Baby, Now That I’ve Found You
Alison Krauss
1995 | Peak: #49

Listen

Krauss turns forgettable Motown fodder into a sad, hushed plea to a lover who already has a foot out the door and probably isn’t coming back. – DM

#89
Ships That Don’t Come In
Joe Diffie
1992 | Peak: #5

Listen

This single presents Joe Diffie at his very finest. Humanity permeates each and every note. – LW

#88
Something in Red
Lorrie Morgan
1992 | Peak: #14

Listen

An ingeniously poetic story song, told through parallel-structured stanzas that chronicle a woman’s life by her clothing choices at given points. You could write a good paper on the themes presented here, so richly drawn is the woman’s character. – DM

#87
Should’ve Been a Cowboy
Toby Keith
1993 | Peak: #1

Listen

This is the song that started it all for Toby Keith. It’s the voice of a more youthful, less egotistical man with a fine song on his hands to kick start his national career. – LW

#86
I’ll Think of Something
Mark Chesnutt
1992 | Peak: #1

Listen

In this cover of an old Hank Jr. single, Chesnutt is fully submerged in post-breakup despair. You’re not sure he actually even wants to think of something to help him along. – DM

#85
Come On Back
Carlene Carter
1990 | Peak: #3

Listen

There’s such a sprightly, inviting sound going on here that you might not even notice that Carter’s actually proposing something pretty serious: that her man stops running around on her in random dive bars. However deep your understanding of the single, though, it’s a definite toe-tapper. – DM

#84
Ain’t That Lonely Yet
Dwight Yoakam
1993 | Peak: #3

Listen

Bitterness and melancholy aren’t supposed to go down this smoothly. – KC

#83
You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone
Brooks & Dunn
1995 | Peak: #1

Listen

Kix Brooks takes the lead here, and turns in a better single than the vast majority of Dunn-led hits. – KC

#82
The Fear of Being Alone
Reba McEntire
1996 | Peak: #2

Listen

For all of her theatrics and melodramatic flair, the best Reba McEntire singles are the ones that are deeply grounded in the realities of everyday people. Here, she gets in touch with her inner Oslin, with a candid conversation between two older adults resisting the urge to mistake loneliness for love. – KC

#81
You Don’t Even Know Who I Am
Patty Loveless
1995 | Peak: #5

Listen

As is typically the case when relationships dissolve, there are two sides to the story, two perspectives. Often times, neither side is completely wrong. The Gretchen Peters penned, “You Don’t Even Know Who I Am”, vividly explores both sides of the story. She feels emotionally abandoned; he feels unappreciated. The one thing they can agree on is that it’s over. The punch of “What do I care if you go” is the brilliant conclusion that none of us see coming. – LW

#80
I Saw the Light
Wynonna
1992 | Peak: #1

Listen

Wynonna’s inspired performance elevates what could have been a familiar done-me-wrong song to a smart, unforgettable hit. – TS

#79
No Place That Far
Sara Evans
1998 | Peak: #1

Listen

Rarely has Evans sounded as good as she does on this treasure of a love song, fueled by the raw emotion in her performance. As always, Vince Gill’s back-up vocals add another layer of soul to the stirring ballad. – TS

#78
A Little Past Little Rock
Lee Ann Womack
1998 | Peak: #2

Listen

It’s lonely out there on the road after finally leaving for good, nothing but a little self-mocking wordplay to comfort you. – DM

#77
Who’s That Man
Toby Keith
1994 | Peak: #1

Listen

Country music reaches some of its highest highs and lowest lows when its conceits are at their most potentially ridiculous. “Who’s That Man” is a serious song inspired that exaggerative joke about what happens when you play a country song backwards – getting your house back, your woman back, your dog back – so you might expect it to be one of those “lowest lows.” In Keith’s hands, though, the losses feel relevant and real. Go figure. – DM

#76
I’d Be Better Off (In a Pine Box)
Doug Stone
1990 | Peak: #4

Listen

Stone would rather lay out in a coffin, do time in jail, or go to Hell and confront the devil than see his lady happy with someone else. Rumor has it that Rascal Flatts, Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum are planning a collaborative cover of this one soon. – DM

400 Greatest Singles of the Nineties: #200-#176

#200
Carrying Your Love With Me
George Strait
1997 | Peak: #1

Listen

A traveler gets through his lonely nights on the sheer strength of love. It’s perhaps a little too saccharine for some, but the sweet melody and Strait’s understated vocals make the record work. – Tara Seetharam

#199
Nothing’s News
Clint Black
1990 | Peak: #3

Listen

A man sits around in a bar “talking ’bout the good old times, bragging on how it used to be.” Standard premise, but Black’s melancholy performance lifts the record to Haggardly heights. – Dan Milliken

#198
Rockin’ Years
Dolly Parton with Ricky Van Shelton
1991 | Peak: #1

Listen

The lyric is unabashedly cutesy, but Dolly’s and Ricky’s way of leaning into the song with no shame makes it all okay and even endearing. – Leeann Ward

#197
We Can’t Love Like This Anymore
Alabama
1994 | Peak: #6

Listen

A beautiful requiem for a dying love. The man just needs to know it’s over for sure so he can begin to make peace with it coming to an end. – Kevin Coyne

#196
Daddy Won’t Sell the Farm
Montgomery Gentry
1999 | Peak: #17

Listen

The emotional and family roots are planted so deep that there’s no way that the family farm will be sold if father and son have anything to say about it. We’ve heard the sentiment before, but Montgomery Gentry’s take on the theme is a worthy addition. – LW

#195
Trouble is a Woman
Julie Reeves
1999 | Peak: #39

Listen

A firecracker of a song that pays tribute to the tenacity and steadfast determination of a woman who’s been done wrong. Reeves’ performance is as blazing as the woman she’s singing about. – TS

#194
What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am
Lee Roy Parnell
1992 | Peak: #2

Listen

What’s that saying again?: “Fool me once, shame on you; Fool me twice, shame on me.” It seems that Parnell understands that concept rather well, as he plainly says, “You hurt me one time, I finally learned.” – LW

#193
Too Cold at Home
Mark Chesnutt
1990 | Peak: #3

Listen

A melancholy record about a man who finds himself stuck at a bar because it’s too hot outside and too cold at home. Sounding both dejected and wistful, Chesnutt does a superb job conveying his pain, and his vocal emphasis on “cold” is just gorgeous. – TS

#192
I’m On Your Side
Kathy Mattea
1997 | Peak: Did Not Chart

Listen

Jim Lauderdale sure knows how to write some catchy melodies and Kathy Mattea knows how to bring them to life. What’s more, this is actually a heartwarming, albeit fun, pledge of fierce loyalty. – LW

#191
Let Go
Brother Phelps
1993 | Peak: #6

Listen

Finally breaking free from anything that’s held you back is liberating, but comes with the bittersweet realization that you were free to go all along. – KC

#190
Livin’ On Love
Alan Jackson
1994 | Peak: #1

Listen

Jackson gave us so many strong neotrad ditties in the nineties that they can tend to run together and feel same-y, even when any one of them could have been a career highlight for a lesser artist. Like “Little Bitty” or “Gone Country” or “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow,” “Livin’ On Love” more or less tells you in the title what you’re getting, and also like those songs, it delivers with charm and catchy hooks to spare. – DM

#189
When You Walk in the Room
Pam Tillis
1994 | Peak: #2

Listen

It was a quintessential crush song for the Searchers in the mid-sixties. Tillis adds a steel guitar to the classic guitar hook, but what sends the song to the stratosphere is her vocal. While the original had the lead singer matching the quiet tension of the backing music, Tillis lets loose toward the end, giving the song an added punch worthy of its lyric of unrequited love. – KC

#188
Tonight the Heartache’s On Me
Dixie Chicks
1999 | Peak: #6

Listen

The first of four Chicks singles that made our countdown, this one isn’t quite as lightweight as it appears on the surface. It’s satisfyingly self-pitying, but it’s also astute – from the clever spin on words in the hook, to the apt bite in Natalie Maine’s performance, to the sly line in the second verse: “I wonder if he told her she’s the best he’s ever known/The way he told me every night when we were all alone.” – TS

#187
We Shall Be Free
Garth Brooks
1992 | Peak: #12

Listen

Garth Brooks lost some airplay with this gospel-tinged piece of social commentary that was inspired by the Rodney King beating and the riots that followed. It, however, remains one of his most overtly substantive songs. – LW

#186
Two of a Kind, Workin’ on a Full House
Garth Brooks
1991 | Peak: #1

Listen

How many clichéd metaphors can you fit in one song? I counted over ten, and Brooks makes every one of them work in this raucous, hilarious tribute to his better half. – TS

#185
Time Marches On
Tracy Lawrence
1996 | Peak: #1

Listen

The passage of time seems like a broad, simple theme, but as the series of family vignettes in this song show, its impacts are specific and complicated. In an instance of brilliant songcraft, “Time Marches On” maintains a totally detached, matter-of-fact voice in touching on its characters’ developments, underscoring the point that time doesn’t make judgments or linger on particular moments the way we’re used to doing; it just keeps moving along, changing us without pause or permission. – DM

#184
I’m Over You
Keith Whitley
1990 | Peak: #3

Listen

There’s nothing like righteous indignation (Why they makin’ those stories up”?) fueled by denial (“I’m over you”). Whitley naturally emotes these common, conflicting responses with his signature tear-stained voice, which makes for an irresistible slice of hard core country music. – LW

#183
Every Light in the House
Trace Adkins
1996 | Peak: #3

Listen

Staunch conviction meets tender grief. Only Adkins could have made this as powerful a record as it is. – TS

#182
You’re Still the One
Shania Twain
1998 | Peak: #1

Listen

It’s hard to believe that the woman who filled a million wedding hall dance floors never had a true ballad hit until this instant standard was released. Finally, an anniversary song for those who didn’t have the support of their family and friends when they got married! – KC

#181
Lipstick Promises
George Ducas
1994 | Peak: #9

Listen

The Roy Orbison single you didn’t even know you were missing. Ducas won’t be falling for you and your deceitful cosmetics anymore, treacherous woman. – DM

#180
A Broken Wing
Martina McBride
1997 | Peak: #1

Listen

A rousing story of a woman who rose above the physical and emotional constraints of her spirit-crushing husband. Like the best inspirational hits in McBride’s catalogue, “A Broken Wing” also doubles as a powerful tribute to women everywhere who’ve been told that “only angels know how to fly.” – TS

#179
Walking Away a Winner
Kathy Mattea
1994 | Peak: #3

Listen

In 1994, Kathy Mattea made a calculated attempt at an explicitly commercial country record. It worked, thanks in large part to the album’s powerful title track. With surprisingly aggressive production behind her, she gives a performance that’s empowering to listen to even when you aren’t walking away from a bad situation. – KC

#178
I Fell in Love
Carlene Carter
1990 | Peak: #3

Listen

Carter falls in love and throws a freaking musical party for herself. The song begs to be hula hooped or limboed to. – DM

#177
Girls With Guitars
Wynonna
1994 | Peak: #10

Listen

Mary Chapin Carpenter might have written it, but it might as well be autobiography with the fiery authenticity that Wynonna rips into it. Bonus points for Lyle Lovett, who gives distinctive background vocals that nearly drown out fellow backup singer Naomi Judd. – KC

#176
On the Road
Lee Roy Parnell
1993 | Peak: #6

Listen

Sometimes you hit the road knowing that there’s probably nothing better on the other end of it. But getting gone is still better than sticking around where you’re no longer valued, as Parnell demonstrates through the desperation of a lonely housewife, a teenage kid dodging college, and an unhappily retired couple. – KC

400 Greatest Singles of the Nineties: #250-#226

#250
I Meant Every Word He Said
Ricky Van Shelton
1990 | Peak: #2

Listen

At least the third song on this list about a guy mulling over romantic gestures he wishes he’d made to his former love, and the most traditional among those songs. You could easily imagine this one being a minor classic by a 60′s or 70′s legend, so close is its replication of that style. – Dan Milliken

#249
I’m So Happy I Can’t Stop Crying
Toby Keith with Sting
1997 | Peak: #2

Listen

My hard-and-fast rule for Toby Keith: The sadder he is, the happier the listening experience tends to be. He’s all kinds of sad in this snapshot of post-divorce melancholia, reflecting on everything from unfair custody protocol to the greater motions of the universe. Even a gratuitous Sting cameo can’t detract from the single’s gloomy grandeur. – DM

#248
You Ain’t Much Fun
Toby Keith
1995 | Peak: #2

Listen

Toby Keith is also funny, though. What’s a man to do? Sobering up ain’t all that it’s cracked up to be from is perspective. Ever since he’s done so, his wife has been taking advantage of his increased functionality by giving him honey-do lists that he wasn’t ably tackling pre-sobriety. It’s enough to drive a man to drink. – Leeann Ward

#247
Tender Moment
Lee Roy Parnell
1993 | Peak: #2

Listen

Actions speak louder than words. – KC

#246
Go Rest High On That Mountain
Vince Gill
1995 | Peak: #14

Listen

Every once and awhile an artist delivers a song so powerful that it seems to shatter all divides in its genre. A tribute to both the late Keith Whitley and Gill’s late brother, “Go Rest High On That Mountain” pairs deeply spiritual lyrics with a tender, emotion-soaked performance. The combination is magic. – TS

#245
Nothing
Dwight Yoakam
1995 | Peak: #20

Listen

Living up to its title, the Yoakam’s barren heart and soul are replicated in the arrangement of the song.  If emptiness has a sound, this is it. – Kevin Coyne

#244
(Who Says) You Can’t Have it All
Alan Jackson
1994 | Peak: #4

Listen

Jackson more than earns his neo-traditional street cred thanks to this song. Just soak up that lonesome steel guitar! – LW

#243
It’s Your Love
Tim McGraw with Faith Hill
1997 | Peak: #1

Listen

A good power ballad shot to greatness by its artists’ striking chemistry – palpable, fiery and so very genuine. More than just a hit single, “It’s Your Love” represents the moment in country music history at which we were introduced to one of its definitive couples. – TS

#242
Grandpa Told Me So
Kenny Chesney
1995 | Peak: #23

Listen

Amidst a collection of country life lessons passed down from two generations back is one to live by: “There’ll be times that you want to hold on but you’ve got to let go.” – KC

#241
Thank God For You
Sawyer Brown
1993 | Peak: #1

Listen

This man has a lot to thank God for, including stereotypical parental figures, but he’s most thankful for his girl. – LW

#240
I Never Knew Love
Doug Stone
1993 | Peak: #2

Listen

An earnest, soulful confession of love. It’s hard to ignore the fact that it leans more in the adult-contemporary direction than that of anything else, but when a song is this moving, it’s also hard to care. – TS

#239
What She’s Doing Now
Garth Brooks
1992 | Peak: #1

Listen

In an unusual tact for Mr. Brooks, he forgoes melodrama in order to allow the natural drama of pining for a lost love to speak for itself. The dialed down performance works in the service of the song, as the sadness appropriately penetrates through. – LW

#238
Find My Way Back to My Heart
Alison Krauss & Union Station
1997 | Peak: #73

Listen

Some of the best songs from AKUS play on the home life that’s sacrificed by following the musical dream. Krauss remembers how she used to laugh at songs about the lonely traveling life, but she’s not laughing now. – KC

#237
I Know
Kim Richey
1997 | Peak: #72

Listen

It takes more than self-awareness to mend a broken heart. – KC

#236
Leave Him Out of This
Steve Wariner
1991 | Peak: #6

Listen

A man makes a soaring yet understated plea for his lover to let go of her past love. The song is made sadder by the touch of resignation in Wariner’s performance, which suggests the man knows he’s making his plea in vain. – TS

#235
Just My Luck
Kim Richey
1995 | Peak: #47

Listen

Roba Stanley once sang about the joys of the single life and its simplicities.  Richey is about to leave it behind, and wonders just how lucky that makes her. – KC

#234
What if I Do
Mindy McCready
1997 | Peak: #26

Listen

A whole song about deciding whether or not to go all the way with one’s movie date. McCready gives a fantastically entertaining performance, speak-singing her lines with a a bold campiness that most other gals wouldn’t dare. – DM

#233
Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow
Alan Jackson
1990 | Peak: #2

Listen

Stories of would-be stars trying to make it big in Nashville are nothing too novel, but Jackson’s plucky earnestness gives this one an accessibility many of the others lack. – DM

#232
Now That’s All Right With Me
Mandy Barnett
1996 | Peak: #43

Listen

The other great Barnett single of the era, fusing Patsy Cline-style vocal class, Pam Tillis-style production and Gloriana-style youthful exuberance. – DM

#231
With You
Lila McCann
1999 | Peak: #9

Listen

Ten years before “You Belong With Me” made its splash, McCann set her sights on the same demographic with a song just as relatable, vibrant and passionate. That the song lacks Taylor Swift’s sharp perspective is perhaps what makes it such a great record: there’s something so pure about McCann’s fully unapologetic, headfirst fall into love. – TS

#230
My Maria
Brooks & Dunn
1996 | Peak: #1

Listen

The rare country cover of a pop song that improves on the original. No offense, B.W. Stephenson. – DM

#229
Boom! It Was Over
Robert Ellis Orrall
1992 | Peak: #19

Listen

How far can an amazing song title carry you? All the way to #229, that’s how far! – DM

#228
Somewhere in My Broken Heart
Billy Dean
1991 | Peak: #3

Listen

So simple and plain in its heartbreak, and so understated and quiet in its delivery.  – KC

#227
I Just Wanted You to Know
Mark Chesnutt
1993 | Peak: #1

Listen

Chesnutt makes a phone call to an old love that could be construed as creepy, pathetic or terribly sad – take your pick. I’m going with a mixture of all three, with a pinch of selfishness thrown in. Either way, “I Just Wanted You to Know” is a memorable slice of the-one-that-got-away reality.- TS

#226
I’m Gonna Be Somebody
Travis Tritt
1990 | Peak: #2

Listen

In the twenty years that passed since the release of this song, the path to success in the music industry has morphed into something that looks very different than it used to. Unlike that of Bobby in the song, these days an artist’s journey can come in all shapes and forms, sometimes abrupt and sometimes completely unprecedented.

Think what you want about this paradigm shift, but here’s what I believe: regardless of how you shoot to the top, the only way you’ll achieve longevity and, most importantly, respect in country music is if you share the fire in Bobby’s eyes. This soul-stirring hunger and unshakable passion is the heart of “I’m Gonna Be Somebody” and the reason it remains a timeless classic. Here’s to hoping – and I’m optimistic – our modern artists are made of the same stuff. – TS

#375
How Do I Get There
Deana Carter
1997 |  Peak: #1

It’s always a gamble when friends decide to take their relationship to the next level. “How Do I Get There” explores the struggle of following one’s heart, even though it’s taking a big emotional risk to do so. – Leeann Ward

#374
If I Could Make a Living
Clay Walker
1994  |  Peak: #1

This song is either ridiculously cheesy or irresistibly cheesy depending on your taste, but there’s no denying Walker sells the heck out of it with charm and enthusiasm. – Tara Seetharam

#373
It Sure is Monday
Mark Chesnutt
1993  |  Peak: #1

Mark Chesnutt is one of the best male vocalists of the nineties, but there were many times when he did not always rise to the challenge of conveying the energy to elevate a decent song to a good one. Case in point: “Friends in Low Places”, which was eventually properly energized by Garth Brooks. “It Sure Is Monday”, however, is a positive example of Chesnutt actually making a song his own by demonstrating the ability to breathe life into a decent song and make it really good. – LW

#372
Take Me as I Am
Faith Hill
1994  |  Peak: #2

What do you think – will you take Faith Hill as she is? I mean, I know she’s kinda ugly and stuff, but…she does tell, like, the best Drunken-Martina stories at parties. And her quiche is just beyond.

Joking aside, it’s really something how this hit manages to make a mature, realistic perspective on love sound so bubbly and optimistic. That Hill can sing lines like “Baby, don’t turn out the light / I want to see you look at me” and sound so effervescent doing it suggests that we don’t have to forfeit our Taylor-Swiftish enthusiasm for romance just because our outlook on it grows up. – Dan Milliken

#371
What Mattered Most
Ty Herndon
1995  |  Peak: #1

Many nineties stars had their biggest hit right out of the box. Herndon’s debut single remains his finest moment, but don’t take that as a minimization of his talent. A carefully cataloged collection of little things noticed while missing the big picture, this single would be the finest moment of plenty a career. – Kevin Coyne

#370
My Heart Has a History
Paul Brandt
1996  |  Peak: #5

Brandt’s debut album was a big hit stateside, thanks in large part to his stunning debut single. A finely crafted lyric, a production that makes room for a church organ, and the best baritone voice to surface in the mid-nineties.  His native Canada’s been smart enough to hold on to him. He still regularly reaches the top ten of the country charts  north of the border. – KC

#369
We Really Shouldn’t Be Doing This
George Strait
1998  |  Peak: #4

The kind of song that can’t get over how great its own title is, but in this case it totally works. The nervy melody nails the rush of flirting with trouble. – DM

#368
Don’t Laugh at Me
Mark Wills
1998  |  Peak: #2

Wills builds this socially conscious song around a deceivingly elementary message, but it’s the anecdotes that drive it home, simple and real. The most stinging line for me is the cripple’s “don’t think I don’t notice that our eyes never meet,” because it materializes the imaginary, unnecessary divide society creates between people that Wills is begging us to tear down. – TS

#367
Then What?
Clay Walker
1997  |  Peak: #2

Friends don’t let friends throw their good lives away.Clay Walker’s catchiest song to date, “Then What?” is a straightforward attempt to caution his friend regarding the consequences of committing adultery. – LW

#366
(Without You) What Do I Do With Me
Tanya Tucker
1991  |  Peak: #2

One of those beautiful heartbreak songs that works as well for a widow as it does for the recently divorced. – KC

#365
It’s a Little Too Late
Mark Chesnutt
1996  |  Peak: #1

A catchy little tale of an oblivious man, a fed-up woman and a whole lot of things that he should’ve-would’ve-could’ve done to keep her. – TS

#364
She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful
Sammy Kershaw
1993  |  Peak: #1

It’s refreshing that this song has had so much staying power on country radio, because nowadays it isn’t often the spotlight falls on women like this one – modest, grounded, and beautiful inside and out – or on the men who are special enough to recognize them. – TS

#363
Walk On Faith
Mike Reid
1990  |  Peak: #1

Reid urges us to use faith as our compass as we travel through life, a theme that’s no stranger to country music but that’s rarely expressed so joyfully and hopefully. – TS

#362
I Just Might Be
Lorrie Morgan
1996  |  Peak: #45

The awkward removal of a minor swear word ruined the rhythm of the chorus, which is as good a theory as any for why this excellent record didn’t fare too well at radio. She so casually dismisses the man who dismissed her that it’s easy to walk away thinking it was the wrongdoer, not the wronged, who got the shaft. – KC

#361
Bye Bye
Jo Dee Messina
1998  |  Peak: #1

One of country music’s greatest break-up anthems, “Bye Bye” is an exhilarating rush of pride and newfound freedom. – TS

#360
Can’t Break it to My Heart
Tracy Lawrence
1993  |  Peak: #1

With one of the best tear-soaked male voices of the nineties, Tracy Lawrence was adept at ringing out the emotions of the songs that he sang, no matter the tempo. While “Can’t Break It to My Heart” is set to a bouncy melody, Lawrence laments that he knows his relationship is over with palpable emotion. As a result, he can get it through his head, but he just can’t break it his heart. – LW

#359
Maybe
Mandy Barnett
1996  |  Peak: #65

Sometimes a singer sounds so great singing something that the song itself feels irrelevant. Mandy Barnett faces this problem a good deal of the time. – DM

#358
Fallin’ Out of Love
Reba McEntire
1991  |  Peak: #2

One of her smartest and most emotionally resonant singles finds McEntire using the second person voice, perhaps as the inner monologue of the woman who slowly discovers that “nothing feels as good as letting go.” – KC

#357
I Love the Way You Love Me
John Michael Montgomery
1993  |  Peak: #1

Montgomery delivers a love song that aptly balances sweet, telling details with the sweeping profession in its title. – TS

#356
I Cross My Heart
George Strait
1992  |  Peak: #1

A passionate, straightforward vow of love – no bells or whistles needed. – TS

#355
Every Once in a While
BlackHawk
1994  |  Peak: #2

Well before Toby Keith got in touch with his inner swagger, BlackHawk released this stunningly arrogant record which assumes that the woman he left behind still revels in his memory, so lucky she was to have been with him for at least one moment in time. Stunningly arrogant, indeed, but somehow pretty darn charming, too. – KC

#354
Now I Know
Lari White
1994  |  Peak: #5

It wasn’t written as an answer song to the BlackHawk record above, but it certainly would make an interesting rebuttal. White’s biggest hit was also her best.- KC

#353
The Thunder Rolls
Garth Brooks
1991  |  Peak: #1

One of country music’s truly epic singles, masterful in how it captures the surreal mist of emotions that hangs over lives being played at their highest stakes. – DM

#352
A Little Bit of You
Lee Roy Parnell
1995  |  Peak: #2

This is simply an honest-to-goodness declaration of infatuation. Who wouldn’t want to hear “There ain’t nothin’ that a little bit of you can’t cure”?
- LW

#351
I’ll Think of a Reason Later
Lee Ann Womack
1998  |  Peak: #2

A delightful slice of catharsis for jealous ex-girlfriends everywhere, made extra amusing by the contrast of Womack’s sweet soprano against the vindictive lyrics. – TS

For many of us, it was the nineties when we discovered and fell in love with country music, and it’s the music and artists from that decade that represent the pinnacle of the genre. It may be debatable whether the nineties were the most artistically significant decade in the history of country music, but there’s no debating that country music never had more commercial success or cultural impact than it did in that decade.

It was a time that when the C-list artists could sell gold or platinum on the strength of one or two hits, and that 24-hour video outlets could give wide exposure to songs and artists that radio playlists could not.  When the four writers of this feature got together and combined our favorite singles from the decade, it was clear that this retrospective had to run far deeper than the one we recently completed for the first decade of the 21st century. There were simply far more good singles to choose from.

That being said, this list is a reflection of our personal tastes.  While they often overlapped with what was commercially popular, with nineteen top ten hits and eleven #1 hits among the first 25 entries alone, we didn’t consider radio or retail success in our picks.  So while you’ll see all of the big nineties stars represented on this list, it won’t always be with their biggest hits.  There’s more than a few stars that never quite came to be as well, saved from the dustbins of history and easier to find now than they were back then, thanks to the twin marvels of YouTube and Amazon.

As always, share your thoughts in the comments!

400 Greatest Singles of the Nineties: #400-#376

#400
Little Good-Byes
SHeDaisy
1999  |  Peak: #3

Passive aggression finally got its due representation in modern country with SHeDAISY’s debut single, in which a mistreated protagonist exacts revenge on her ex by ever-so-slightly screwing up his house. Sort of like “Before He Cheats” for sane women. On the other hand – taking all the Beatles records and leaving only Billy Joel? Pretty cold, Osborn sisters. – Dan Milliken

#399
It Wouldn’t Hurt to Have Wings
Mark Chesnutt
1995  |  Peak: #7

Chesnutt is getting over you – promise – but he sure wouldn’t mind being lifted above the memories of your “mind-wrecking” love in this delightfully charming sing-along. – Tara Seetharam

#398
Fool, I’m a Woman
Sara Evans
1999  |  Peak: #32

The age-old stereotype that women can’t make up their minds is cleverly subverted into a threat toward an unkind man. A good combo of Loretta Lynn sass and Diana Ross sha-la-las. – DM

#397
One More Last Chance
Vince Gill
1993  |  Peak: #1

“One More Last Chance” may seem like a song about a man who is begging for just one more last chance to get things right. But under the surface, it’s about a man who is hopelessly addicted to alcohol and partying. Even when his wife takes away his obvious means of transportation by hiding the keys to the car, he resorts to riding his John Deere tractor to the bar instead. It’s a fun song, but one that is inspired by an incident associated with George Jones, who, incidentally, is infamous for his destructive alcohol addiction. – Leeann Ward

#396
The Cheap Seats
Alabama
1994  |  Peak: #13

“The Cheap Seats” aptly captures the spirit of America’s favorite pastime. – LW

#395
Lonely Too Long
Patty Loveless
1996  |  Peak: #1

A tender plea for the morning after to be the beginning of something more, with Loveless delivering both angst and cautious optimism through her vocal. – Kevin Coyne

#394
(If You’re Not in it For Love) I’m Outta Here!
Shania Twain
1995  |  Peak: #1

Look, guys, some of you are so transparent, it’s laughable. And to you I offer Twain’s deliciously audacious, merciless warning: if you’re not in it for love, we’re outta here. – TS

#393
Jenny Come Back
Helen Darling
1995  |  Peak: #69

Darling recalls watching a high school friend sacrifice her intelligence and ambition to please the boy she loves, who outgrows her in the end because she has nothing of her own to offer him. She ends up a high school dropout working at a movie theater. In short, how those fantasy Taylor Swift videos would end in the real world. – KC

#392
Dreaming With My Eyes Open
Clay Walker
1994  |  Peak: #1

Walker puts a clever twist on a fact of life that’s all too hard to grasp – the only thing we can control is the present. His infectious pledge to live in the moment is as effective as country’s finest inspirational ballads because it’s firmly grounded in reality: “I learned that one step forward will take you further on than a thousand back or a million that ain’t your own.” – TS

#391
There Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong With the Radio
Aaron Tippin
1992  |  Peak: #1

With an addicting guitar riff, Tippin celebrates the radio. It doesn’t matter that the car is falling apart, but at least there’s nothing wrong with the most important part of the vehicle, the souped up radio. – LW

#390
Write This Down
George Strait
1999  |  Peak: #1

One of the dittiest of all George Strait ditties? Sure. But there’s a subtle, maybe accidental wisdom to it, too. So much art is created in moments of unusual passion, when sensations like pain or love feel intense and everlasting. But most life isn’t lived in such moments, and any feeling is subject to fade away without some regular renewal. “Tell yourself ‘I love you and I don’t want you to go’” sounds light and cutesy on the surface, but it’s those little notes – and not grandiose gestures of unusual passion – that keep a relationship chugging along for the long haul.  – DM

#389
Still in Love With You
Travis Tritt
1997  |  Peak: #23

With conspicuous steel guitar work, this minor hit for Tritt is a straight up country romper by today’s standards. – LW

#388
Walking Shoes
Tanya Tucker
1990  |  Peak: #3

She seems a little sad about it, but she’s had enough of being taken for granted and is gearing up to walk right on out of her underappreciating lover’s life. – LW

#387
Big Deal
LeAnn Rimes
1999  |  Peak: #6

A sassy little number that finds a regretful Rimes lashing out at the girl who nabbed her old boyfriend. Brash, spunky and so much fun. – TS

#386
That’s My Story
Collin Raye
1993  |  Peak: #6

What do you think – the grooviest song about a guy trying to craft an alibi out of a backyard hammock ever? – DM

#385
I Like It, I Love It
Tim McGraw
1995  |  Peak: #1

A melody destined for inclusion in Applebee’s commercials. A lyric about a horny guy and his teddy bear-loving girlfriend. I thought about trying to mount a good argument for it, but whatever. I know you sang along the first eight times you heard it. – DM

#384
You Can’t Make a Heart Love Somebody
George Strait
1994  |  Peak: #1

A simply sung, heartbreaking story of a woman who desperately wishes the heart could take orders – and a man who bears the brunt of the reality that it can’t. – TS

#383
Count Me In
Deana Carter
1997  |  Peak: #5

Easily the most understated of the five hit singles from her debut album, “Count Me In” is beautiful because of its innocent vulnerability. – KC

#382
Where Do I Fit in the Picture
Clay Walker
1994  |  Peak: #11

Sure, Walker milks this forlorn ballad for all it’s worth, but his ability to dramatically emote is the success of his trademark tear-soaked voice. – LW

#381
Some Girls Do
Sawyer Brown
1992  |  Peak: #1

Set to a hooky melody: Boy meets girl. Girl acts unimpressed. Boy knows better. Girl hooks up with boy. The end. – LW

#380
I Want to Be Your Girlfriend
Mary Chapin Carpenter
1997  |  Peak: #35

Even in the nineties, Carpenter was mostly known for her introspective lyrics. That’s the best part of her songwriting, but hearing the lighter side of MCC from time to time is fun, too. – LW

#379
Little Bitty
Alan Jackson
1996  |  Peak: #1

Alan Jackson has a knack for dressing up inriguing social themes as fluffy radio bait. Here, he counters the societal fixation on the “big” draws of money and prestige, expressing a peaceful acceptance of the rather small role most of us will ultimately play in the universe. We can’t all be famous or widely influential, but if we can love well and carry our chosen mantles with pride, things aren’t so bad. – DM

#378
Not a Moment Too Soon
Tim McGraw
1994  |  Peak: #1

Some people find the whole “you saved my life” concept melodramatic, but I think if there’s anything in life that calls for melodrama, it’s love. McGraw’s testimony is sweet and believable, and the weighty lyrics are cushioned by a simple yet moving arrangement. – TS

#377
Here in the Real World
Alan Jackson
1990  |  Peak: #3

Jackson’s breakthrough hit lamented that what we see in the movies – cowboy heroes, good winning out in the end, the boy getting the girl – doesn’t always work out that way in the real world. How fitting that he’d end up a real world cowboy hero, one of the good guys making great music for twenty years and counting. – KC

#376
Everybody Knows
Trisha Yearwood
1996  |  Peak: #3

Most of your friends probably found you kind of boring when you were paired off and content. Now you’ve been dumped, and everyone’s got an opinion about what the relationship meant and what you should do next. Trisha is having none of it – just chocolate, a good mag and some much-needed alone time for her. – DM

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Jump Around

#400 – #376
#375 – #351
#350 – #326
#325 – #301
#300 – #276
#275 – #251
#250 – #226
#225 – #201
#200 – #176
#175 – #151
#150 – #126
#125 – #101
#100 – #76
#75 – #51
#50 – #26
#25 – #1

There were some variants of this approach.  A popular one found a veteran star teaming up with one or more of the boom artists to increase their chances of radio airplay.  George Jones was big on this approach, with the most high profile attempt being “I Don’t Need Your Rockin’ Chair.”   Seventeen years later, it’s amazing to see how young everyone looks – even Jones himself!

Jones shared the CMA Vocal Event of the Year trophy for that collaboration with Clint Black, Garth Brooks, T. Graham Brown, Mark Chesnutt, Joe Diffie, Vince Gill,  Alan Jackson, Patty Loveless, Pam Tillis, and Travis Tritt.   He’d continue with this approach by teaming up with his vocal chameleon Sammy Kershaw on “Never Bit a Bullet Like This”, and he recorded an entire album of his own songs as duets with mostly younger stars. The Bradley Barn Sessions was represented at radio with “A Good Year For the Roses”, which found him singing one of his best hits with Alan Jackson:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzQrAPoTI58

Among the legends, the only other one to be successful with this approach was Dolly Parton, who used collaborations with young stars to score consecutive platinum albums for the first and only time in her career.  Her 1991 set Eagle When She Flies was powered by the #1 single “Rockin’ Years”, co-written by her brother and sung with Ricky Van Shelton:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqN7N9-AHXs

That album also included a duet with Lorrie Morgan on “Best Woman Wins.”  She upped the bandwagon ante on Slow Dancing With the Moon, bringing a whole caravan of young stars on board with her line dance cash-in “Romeo.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afF3XHW7mZ4

That’s Mary Chapin Carpenter, Billy Ray Cyrus, Kathy Mattea, and Tanya Tucker in the video. Pam Tillis isn’t in the clip, but she sings on the record with them.  Parton also duets with Billy Dean on that album on “(You Got Me Over a) Heartache Tonight.”

Her next collaboration was with fellow legends Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette, but they couldn’t resist the temptation to squeeze in several younger stars in the video for “Silver Threads and Golden Needles.”  Alongside veterans like Chet Atkins,  Bill Anderson, and Little Jimmy Dickens, you’ll catch cameos from Mark Collie, Confederate Railroad, Rodney Crowell, Diamond Rio, Sammy Kershaw, Doug Stone, and Marty Stuart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbFpsKwywWU

Parton scored a CMA award when she resurrected “I Will Always Love You” as a duet with Vince Gill:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XafBLDVtF7Y

And while it didn’t burn up the charts, her version of “Just When I Needed You Most” with Alison Krauss and Dan Tyminski:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeeMDGq1FMI

Tammy Wynette made an attempt to connect with the new country audience with her own album of duets, Without Walls.  Her pairing with Wynonna on “Girl Thang” earned some unsolicited airplay:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjzFuWhOeG4

Perhaps the most endearing project in this vein came from Roy Rogers.  How cool is it to hear him singing with Clint Black?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq5FdZgS08g

The new stars liked pairing up with each other, too.  A popular trend was to have other stars pop up in music videos.  There’s the classic “Women of Country” version of “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her”, for starters. Mary Chapin Carpenter sounds pretty darn good with Suzy Bogguss, Emmylou Harris, Patty Loveless, Kathy Mattea, Pam Tillis, and Trisha Yearwood on backup:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qxU82mNaI8

That’s a live collaboration, so at least you hear the voices of the other stars. But Vince Gill put together an all-star band for his “Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away” video without getting them to actually play.  That’s Little Jimmy Dickens, Kentucky Headhunters, Patty Loveless, Lee Roy Parnell, Carl Perkins, Pam Tillis, and Kelly Willis behind him, with Reba McEntire reprising her waitress role from her own “Is There Life Out There” clip.

My personal favorite was Tracy Lawrence’s slightly less A-list spin on the above, with “My Second Home” featuring the future superstars Toby Keith, Tim McGraw, and Shania Twain, along with John Anderson, Holly Dunn, Hank Flamingo, Johnny Rodriguez, Tanya Tucker, Clay Walker, and a few people that I just can’t identify.

Tracy Lawrence – My Second Home

For pure star wattage, it took the bright lights of Hollywood to get a truly amazing group together. The Maverick Choir assembled to cover “Amazing Grace”, and it doesn’t get much better than country gospel delivered in a barn by John Anderson, Clint Black, Suzy Bogguss, Billy Dean, Radney Foster, Amy Grant, Faith Hill, Waylon Jennings, Tracy Lawrence, Kathy Mattea, Reba McEntire, John Michael Montgomery, Restless Heart, Ricky Van Shelton, Joy Lynn White, and Tammy Wynette.

What’s your favorite of the bunch? Any good ones I missed?