Daily Top Five: First Favorite Songs by Your Favorite Artist

Vince Gill I Still Believe in YouToday, let’s list our first favorite songs by our favorite artist. Vince Gill is my favorite artist and the first song that I had heard of his is “Trying to Get Over You”, which started the beginning of my love for his voice and music. However, the songs that cemented my love for Vince were “Don’t Let Our Love Start Slipping Away” and “I Still Believe in You.”

This list isn’t necessarily my  top five favorite Vince Gill songs now, but rather, they’re the first five songs that turned me into a serious Vince Gill fan:

  1. “Trying to Get Over You”
  2. “I Still Believe in You”
  3. “Don’t Let Our Love Start Slipping Away”
  4. “When I Call Your Name”
  5. “The Heart Won’t Lie” (with Reba McEntire)

What are your top five songs that made you a fan of your favorite artist?

35 Comments

  1. Ok my favorite artists
    1. Dixie Chicks Not Ready To Make Nice (brilliant in every sense of the word)
    2. Carrie Underwood So Small (so underrated)
    3. Taylor Swift Our Song (pure pop country fluff once you hear it you can’t unheard it)
    4. Dierks Bentley What Was I Thinking (fun song that doesn’t take itself seriously and sounds like a lot of fun.
    5. Gloriana Wild At Heart (this is always my summer jam I love the pop-country-even hints of bluegrass in the sound that makes me love this group and ever since they’ve for me at least basically have failed to disappoint me and I’m looking forward to seeing how Trouble does overall)
    Overall I do tend to lean in pop country but there’s a lot of acts that I do like.

  2. Crap I read it wrong by bad since I had Dixie Chicks t the top I will redo this
    1. Not Ready To Make Nice
    2. Landslide
    3. Goodbye Earl
    4. Traveling Soldier
    5. Ready To Run
    Sorry for reading the directions wrong I’m having an off day I guess.

  3. This one’s a bit tricky, Leeann! I don’t know that I could name a favorite artist, and if I did, they wouldn’t be a country artist.

    But when I go back to first getting into country music in the early nineties, the artist that stands out the most is Pam Tillis. Her first Arista album was the first country CD that I bought, and her second was the first album of any genre that I bought on release date.

    The five songs that made her my favorite back in the day were on those two albums:

    1. Maybe it Was Memphis
    2. Melancholy Child
    3. Shake the Sugar Tree
    4. Rough and Tumble Heart
    5. Homeward Looking Angel

  4. I’m not sure he’s my favorite artist, but I have been playing the hell out of the new Stoney Larue album since it came out late last year.

    1. Aviator
    2. First One To Know
    3. Look At Me Fly
    4. Million Dollar Blues
    5. Travelin’ Kind

    I know those songs are all from his last two albums, while I enjoy Stoney’s early stuff as well, I think he has really hit an awesome creative groove with his last two albums or so. Same for Jason Eady, who was always a great songwriter, but has really hit a new creative level with AM Country and Daylight and Dark.

  5. Mary Chapin Carpenter.
    1. “Down at the Twist and Shout”. The first one from her I ever heard and I loved the energy of it immediately.
    2. “Downtown Train”. One of my favorite covers of one of my favorite songs.
    3. “I Take My Chances”.
    4. “A Lot Like Me”.
    5. “This Shirt”. Every time I argue that modern (post-beatniks) poetry is just meaningless drivel and for real poetry, one must look towards song lyrics, I submit this song as Exhibit A.
    Bonus track:
    “Jubilee”.

  6. Favorite artist would be Garth Brooks so…

    1. The Cowboy Song
    2. The Change
    3. Friend In Low Places
    4. Fit For A King
    5. Pushing Up Daisies

  7. George Strait.

    1. “Let’s Fall to Pieces Together”
    2. “Milk Cow Blues”
    3. “Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind”
    4. “Shame On Me”
    5. “Chill of an Early Fall”

    The last two depend on the day. Tomorrow they might be different.

  8. I just want to reiterate that the Vince songs that I listed for this post aren’t my favorite Vince Gill songs now, just the first ones that made him my favorite artist. I still like those songs, but they wouldn’t all make my top five Gill faves today. As the Pistolero said, my current favorites changes depending on the day.

  9. Patty Loveless:
    1-Here I Am
    2-How Can I Help You Say Goodbye
    3-The Night’s Too Long
    4-Nothing But the Wheel
    5-Hurt Me Bad in a Real Good Way
    Honorable Mention-On Down the Line

  10. 1. Red Haired Stranger
    2. Crazy
    3. Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground
    4. Midnight Rider
    5. Uncloudy Day
    ….you can fill in the rest of the form for me.

  11. Today i’ll say Hal Ketchum’s my favorite:
    1. Daddy’s Oldsmobile (Hal Ketchum & David Mallett)
    2. In Front of the Alamo (Gary Burr)
    3. I Miss My Mary (Hal Ketchum)
    4. Softer Than a Whisper (Austin Cunningham & Pat Alger)
    5. She’s Still in Dallas (Hal Ketchum)
    Tomorrow it might be John Denver or Suzy Bogguss or …

  12. If I am allowed, I have co-favorite country music artists. For the longest time, George Strait was my favorite country music act, given his presence on my stereo as a kid growing up in the 1990’s. Strait was at the peak of his musical success and I was an influential young boy, staring into the blue clear sky and dreaming. As I grew older, my musical influences and tastes transformed. My love for the simple, pure themes and country sounds found in Strait’s music did not change; it in-fact grew strong.

    As I have aged and matured (that part is up for debate) though, I have looked to find a greater sense of meaning, feeling and belonging in the music I listen to. Having read and followed this site over the years, I became exposed to EmmyLou Harris. Harris’ music reflects with almost near perfection, a sense of meaning, feeling and belonging through the stories that her songs so often tell. Harris has never been one throughout her career to put a piece of music out in public that didn’t have a purpose for being there. She’s never pandered to the big-wig, cor[orate executives and never released single’s material and albums sole on the basis of profit. She has seemingly always put heart, soul and emotion into all the stories she tells and songs she sings. Her music and her talent (for finding or writing great music) has an ageless quality that will hold the test of time, even if her voice cannot. She is admirable in so many more ways than just being someone who puts words to melodies and releases a song. For those qualities listed above, among many other reasons, she is my co-favorite artist along with George Strait.

    My first five favorite George Strait songs were influenced by my having liked him as a kid of the 90’s. My tastes in Strait’s music haven’t changed much since then to be honest.

    1. Blue Clear Sky
    2. Carrying Your Love with Me
    3. The Best Day
    4. Check Yes or No
    5. Love With Out End, Amen

    My tastes for EmmyLou Harris tracks are constantly evolving. Thanks to Spotify and Google Music, I have been able to dig further and further into an amazing catalog of music by a truly inspiring artist and human being. These were probably my first five favorite Harris tracks when I really started following her music circa-2008.

    1. The Boxer
    2. To Know Him is To Love Him with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt
    3. C’est La Vie (You Never Can Tell)
    4. Easy From Now On
    5. Wheels of Love

  13. Well okay, please nobody hurt me, but my favorite country artist is Keith Urban.

    Favorite songs:
    1. Faster Car
    2. I Told You So
    3. Used To The Pain
    4. Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me
    5. Days Go By

  14. From a Gary Allan perspective, the first five that I remember liking were

    1. Bourbon Borderline
    2. A Showman’s Life
    3. Smoke Rings in the Dark
    4. Songs About Rain
    5. See If I Care

  15. Josh Turner is my favorite singer.

    1. “Long Black Train” (Classic religious song)
    2. “Whatcha Reckon” (A truck, love song done right, should have been a big hit for Josh)
    3. “Find Me a Baby” (Great family song on real romance. It is a crime it died outside the top 40)
    4. “Everything is Fine.” (Just a fine piece of music on happiness in life.)
    5. “Loretta Lynn’s Lincoln” (Plain funny song. Attention critics: Country music is allowed to have those.)

    Honorable mention: “All Over Me”, “Pallbearer”, “The Longer the Waiting”, “Good Problem” and “One Woman Man”.

    It is a fluid top 5 outside of “Long Black Train.” Josh Turner, despite many folks’ thoughts, has a deep catalog.

  16. Eric Church is my other favorite singer.

    1. “Sinners Like Me” (Perhaps, my favorite song, Simple brilliant. Eric is at his best when he shows his vulnerable side.)
    2. “Drink In My Hand” (Great party song. It was the song that introduced me to his albums)
    3. “My Heart’s Got A Memory” (Great song with a rocking sound.)
    4. “Cold One” (Hilarious and heartbreaking story of a man who covers his pain by pretending he missed one beer over the girl.)
    5. “Devil, Devil” (Abstract mixed with concrete. Banging tune)

    Honorable mention. “Dark Side” (Some parts could be autographical for me), “Longer Gone”, “These Boots” (should be in the top 5), “What I Almost Was (another top 5 song), “Two Pink Lines” (another top 5 song, heck every song except “How Bout You” from his first album is top 5 for me. Greatest country music album in my opinion.), “I’m Getting Stoned” (A tough tale of sorrow.)

  17. My favorite country artist is Carrie Underwood. First five favorite songs that make me like her music are:
    1. So Small
    2. Flat on The Floor
    3. Starts With Goodbye
    4. Home Sweet Home
    5. Lessons Learned
    I like her more pop-leaning songs at first (except maybe FOTF), because I’m not a country music fan before I know her music :) so, thanks Carrie.

  18. It’s always interesting to go back and see how someone became your favourite artist. Brad Paisley is mine:

    1. Online
    2. Letter to Me
    3. Wrapped Around
    4. Celebrity
    5.You Need a Man Around Here

    It may sound silly, but novelty songs were what originally drew me to country music and Brad Paisley started that for me. Great idea for an article!

  19. Dixie Chicks
    1. Top of the World
    2. Traveling Soldier
    3. A Home
    4. Long Time Gone
    T-5. Lil Jack Slade
    T-5. Truth No. 2

  20. I Gotta go with Travis Tritt as my favorite

    1. Foolish Pride
    2. Tell Me I Was Dreaming
    3. Best of Intentions
    4. More Than You’ll Ever Know
    5. is a tie between his covers of Sometimes She Forgets (Love the Steve Earle version, but Travis kills it) and Tougher Than the Rest (first heard it by Chris LeDoux, but Springsteen’s is amazing as well just a great song in general)

    The trilogy video set he did for Anymore, Tell Me I Was Dreaming, and If I Lost You is what made me love his music so much.

  21. Crystal Gayle

    1. I Don’t Wanna Lose Your Love
    2. Talking In Your Sleep
    3. You Never Miss A Real Good Thing
    4. Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue
    5. Our Love Is On The Faultline

  22. George Strait and Sawyer Brown were the first country artists that I considered my favorites. Strait may still be my favorite, but I lean more towards not actually having a favorite artist in the country genre. The songs that I heard first from each artist that made me a big fan are as follows in no particular order:

    George Strait:
    1. All My Ex’s
    2. Baby Blue
    3. The Fireman
    4. The Chair
    5. It Ain’t Cool To be Crazy About You

    Sawyer Brown:
    1. Betty’s Bein’ Bad
    2. Heart Don’t Fall Now
    3. The Race Is On
    4. Step That Step
    5. The Walk

    Just for fun, since Vince Gill was the writers favorite, I will list my Vince Gill songs.
    1. When I Call Your Name
    2. Pocket Full Of Gold
    3. Never Knew Lonely
    4. Whenever You Come Around
    5. I Still Believe In You

  23. Upon recent reflection, I realized Trisha Yearwood is my favorite country singer based on her incredible song sense and ageless voice. I’ve been revisiting her catalog a lot lately. First favorites? Here you go:

    1. She’s In Love With The Boy
    2. Believe Me Baby (I Lied)
    3. Xs and Os (An American Girl)
    4. The Song Remembers When
    5. It Wasn’t His Child

    While I still love those particular songs, my favorite Yearwood tracks today are:

    1. Lying To The Moon
    2. Hello, I’m Gone
    3. Woman Walk The Line
    4. On A Bus To St. Cloud
    5. PrizeFighter (Featuring Kelly Clarkson)
    BONUS: There’s A New Kid In Town (I finally bought The Sweetest Gift last fall)

  24. I can remember the first time hearing Jason Boland & the Stragglers and assuming it was some band from long ago playing solid country music. I still remember the first 5 songs I listened to and realizing the Stragglers are still around and more popular than ever in Texas even after 16 years.

    1. Proud Souls (Opening line, “Got drunk by myself last night” got my attention)
    2. Somewhere Down in Texas (I’m not sure if I liked the lyrics or the fiddle better)
    3. Comal County Blue (simple slow tempo country song done right)
    4. Telephone Romeo (lots of pedal steel)
    5. False Accuser’s Lament (you always remember story songs, especially one that could be a back story to “Long Black Veil”)

  25. George Strait is my favorite, and has been for most of my life.

    Baby’s Gotten Good at Goodbye
    Baby Blue
    Check Yes or No
    Love Without End, Amen
    Ocean Front Property

    These aren’t my absolute favorites by him anymore, although I still love them. My favorite now has to be Amarillo by Morning.

  26. Terri Clark is my favorite artist, there’s just something about her that really connects with me. It may be that she reminds me a lot of my mother? I never figured out if that has anything to do with it but she’s my favorite.

    I got into following music closely around 2003/2004 so basically her entire hitmaking career in the U.S.

    These 5 aren’t my favorites but they’re the ones that made me go listen to all her music.

    01. Three Mississippi
    02. Now That I Found You
    03. A Little Gasoline
    04. When Boy Meets Girl
    05. Every Time I Cry

    My favorite song from her doesn’t rank in their because I only discovered it after I was already hooked on her music.

    Here’s my top 10 songs from her
    01. No Fear
    02. She Didn’t Have Time
    03. Three Mississippi
    04. Sometimes Goodbye
    05. I Wish He’d Been Drinkin’ Whiskey
    06. A Little Gasoline
    07. Every Time I Cry
    08. Not Enough Tequila
    09. I Just Wanna Be Mad
    10. The World Needs A Drink

  27. Webb Pierce was my early favorite

    Slowly
    There Stands The Glass
    In The Jailhouse Now
    I Ain’t Never
    Tupelo County Jail

  28. Later I added Haggard

    I Can’t Be Myself
    Sing Me Back Home
    Sidewalks of Chicago
    Mama Tried
    Emptiest Arms In The World

  29. SRM, don’t be a shame to like Keith Urban…he’s great in my book.
    1. Somebody Like You…first song I heard of his and been listening ever since.
    2. You’ll Think of Me
    3. Nobody Drinks Alone
    4. Til Summer Comes Around
    5. Tonight I Wanna Cry
    I love your 5 too SRM.

  30. Since it was Linda Ronstadt that I “discovered” for myself back in 1978, here are the first five of hers that got me hooked:

    1. OOH BABY BABY (a reworking of a 1965 Motown hit by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles that was on her 1978 album Living In The USA)
    2. YOU’RE NO GOOD
    3. BLUE BAYOU
    4. THE TRACKS OF MY TEARS (reworking of another 1965 Smokey Robinson and the Miracles 1965 hit that got a sizeable amount of airplay on country radio in the winter of 1976)
    5. POOR, POOR, PITIFUL ME (blackly comic Warren Zevon-penned ode to sadomasochistic behavior in Hollywood that Linda did in her own characteristically spunky fashion in 1977)

  31. I’ve gotta go with John Denver. His stuff is so sincere, heartfelt and inspirational.

    1. Rocky Mountain High
    2. Thank God I’m a Country Boy
    3. Back Home Again
    4. Annie’s Song
    5. Calypso

  32. Mary Chapin Carpenter was probably my first big favorite country singer.

    1. Down at the Twist and Shout
    2. The Hard Way
    3. Why Walk When You Can Fly?
    4. Jubilee
    5. House of Cards

  33. @Erik North – I “discovered” Linda before you but I’m sure it’s only because I’m a lot older. I bought her two Stone Poneys albums in 1967. You are probably the expert on all things Linda and her #1 fan.

    I do like this new CU feature. So many good comments.

  34. @bob:

    I do think we’d have a lot to talk about re. Linda because of the length and breadth of her career. Thanks.

    @Jaret:

    Thanks for your list of John Denver. In my opinion, he was a great artist who was not really fully appreciated in his life. But I think your five display how influential he really was, and how his songs both transcend and embrace different genres.

  35. from Alabama

    Roll on Eighteen Wheeler
    Forty hour Week For a Livin
    Close Enough to Perfect
    lady Down on Love
    Down home.

    I could list 10 more and still leave out some great songs

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