By Ross Jones. Whether it be songs about drinking, love, heartbreak or even death, country has always possessed an honesty that cuts through right to the heart. While that's undoubtedly still typified in today's contemporary scene, it was no more evident than in the traditional songs of yesteryear. While a classic can certainly be typified by how famous and recognizable it is, we're also looking for the songs that personify the country genre on the whole - making it stand out as our favourite style music of music ahead of the rest.
Here, we're taking it back to the Honky Tonks of the '50s and '60s, through the golden age of countrypolitan in the '70s, right through to the Neo-Traditional class of the '80s, to settle on what is the quintessential classic country song.
Whether it's Tammy Wynette's striking voice or George Jones' familiar croon, there's a whole list of good, old-time country music to wrap your ears around here. So, these are 50 of the Best Classic Old Country Songs and check out the full playlist of songs above.
Crystal Gayle was at the top of her game in a golden age of country in the mid-'70s. The song was the opening track on Gayle's album We Must Believe In Magic , which went on to be the first platinum album recorded by a female artist in country music. The single itself β a jazzy, late night pop-country ballad that made full use of Gayle's extraordinary silky smooth vocals β even reached No. The layered choral introduction acts as a velvet curtain that slowly opens, revealing Charles at center stage with that grab-your-chest voice.
Written by Tom T. The song was a No. Despite this, the song has lost none of its punch, with its plain talking jabs becoming more brutal with every verse. The decision to address the listener directly through the lyrics set against a twangy guitar that sounds like a series of winks and raised eyebrows holds our attention right until the closing notes, giving it a place in our top Although not garnering a great deal of traction upon it's original release in , Dwight Yoakam revamped the Latin-inspired track into a duet with Owens in A smash hit that surged to No.
