A Country Music Conversation: Sirius Top 1000 Country Songs of All Time, #650-#641

A ton of signature hits in this section, most of them certified classics.

 

#650

Big & Rich, “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)”

#11 | 2004

JK: The hip-hop appropriations were problematic then, and they’re problematic now, but this is the only single in their catalogue on which Big & Rich actually treated the idea of cross-genre pollination with the respect it demands and executed it well. It’s more of a rock anthem than anything else– it’s the hardest country hit since the Kentucky Headhunters’ heyday– and the production and construction are flawless. They’d never better this single, and no one else who tried it deserves mention by name. Too Low

KJC:  A modern camp classic that still garners a chuckle sixteen years later.  About Right

 

#649

Kenny Rogers & The First Edition, “Rueben James”

#46 | 1968

KJC:  “Rueben James” is like Tammy Wynette’s “Apartment No. 9,” in that is was not a huge hit upon release, but became a classic through its inclusion on top selling hits packages over the years.  Too High

JK: Another selection that’s baffling not because it doesn’t belong– it does, albeit not ranked here– but because the rest of the list is so over-filled with just awful modern chart detritus that I can’t believe the Sirius XM crew would have known about “Reuben James.” Too High

 

#648

The Judds, “Mama He’s Crazy”

#1 | 1984

JK: What’s miraculous about this record is that The Judds don’t overplay their mother – daughter dynamic in the actual performance, despite the opportunity being right there. It adds exactly the right amount of extra pathos to the single without turning it into a novelty. In fact, I’d argue that it’s one of the best country singles of its era. Too Low

KJC:   The country version of a lady named Madonna getting her hands on a song called “Like a Virgin.”  Knowing it’s a mother and daughter singing this elevates it into classic territory. About Right

 

#647

Billy Currington, “Pretty Good at Drinkin’ Beer”

#1 | 2010

KJC:  I’ve always gotten a kick out of this record.  Currington at his easy breezy best. About Right

JK: As I’ve said with each of his too-many entries thus far: Give me “Love Done Gone.” He’s wildly overrepresented, but I probably wouldn’t cut this one altogether. Too High

 

#646

Toby Keith & Willie Nelson, “Beer For My Horses”

#1 | 2002

JK: I always appreciated how two artists whose voices and styles could not be more diametrically opposed as Keith’s and Nelson’s actually work when combined. Far from my favorite single by either of them, obviously, but I can see why this made the cut. Too High

KJC:  As nice as it was to have Willie Nelson back on the radio in the early 2000s, I’d have opted for the far superior and Grammy-winning “Mendocino County Line” collaboration with Lee Ann Womack. So Wrong (This Song)

 

#645

Steve Wariner, “Holes in the Floor of Heaven”

#2 | 1998

KJC:  It has to be on here, as it’s a CMA Single and Song of the Year and Wariner’s signature hit.  But wow, nothing ages worse than yesterday’s sentimentality. Too High

JK: I mean, does it really have to be on here? Like in an absolute sense, if we’re really talking about the 1000 greatest songs in country music history? Wariner’s a major talent who probably deserved to be talked about more often than he is, but not for this mawkish single. So Wrong (Doesn’t Belong)

 

#644

George Jones, “The Grand Tour”

#1 | 1974

JK: Some fine vocalists have covered this song, but Jones is the only one who really and truly sold it. About Right

KJC:   George Jones really made bombastic, Wall of Sound pop records in his heyday, but you’d never know it because of his stunning and purely country vocal performances.  The theatrics of this one never get old. About Right

 

#643

George Strait, “Troubadour”

#7 | 2008

KJC: An excellent choice, as this is probably the strongest record that Strait had a hit with toward the end of his radio run.  About Right

JK: As one of the cheese-stands-alone people who generally prefers latter-day Strait, I’d say he’s recorded a lot more memorable songs as he’s aged. This is definitely one of the best, and he gives a vocal performance that doesn’t simply coast on his easy charm; he actually sounds connected to it in a way that makes it one of his best. Too Low

 

#642

Gary Stewart, “Drinkin’ Thing”

#10 | 1974

JK: As long as this isn’t Stewart’s only entry and “She’s Actin’ Single” is still ahead, I’m fine with this one being here. About Right

KJC:  Gary Stewart was the one male artist who could go toe to toe with the victim queens of the seventies.  Even Tammy wouldn’t sink so low into self-pity to sing a line like, “She’d probably tell the truth, so I don’t even ask” to the philandering spouse.  Good stuff. Too High

 

#641

Shania Twain, “That Don’t Impress Me Much”

#8 | 1998

KJC:   What Shania Twain did best was sing straight to the ladies while the men ogled her on the sidelines.  The pop culture references haven’t aged well – be thankful she removed a reference to the Batmobile that was in the original lyric – but the message and the hook both hold up.  About Right

JK: I thought the references were awkward and trying-too-hard even at the time, and the spoken-word asides are just brutal. But Shania knows her way around a memorable melody, and the production still sounds crisp some 22 years later. Too High

 

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