Seems as good a topic as any for the day of the week known as Throwback Thursday.
While listening to a Pam Tillis hits playlist, “It’s Lonely Out There” came up early, just after some of her biggest hits and before a few other big hits.
“It’s Lonely Out There” wasn’t much of a hit, though. Hit #14, and didn’t have a music video, so mostly confined to the dustbins of history. I can’t even find a video of her singing it anywhere. I’m fairly certain I saw her in concert when it was her current single, and it wasn’t even on the set list.
Thing is, I love the song. One of my all-time favorites. And that’s true for a lot of my favorite songs from my favorite artist. They were kinda hits, but more likely to pop up as the padding of a budget hits collection than on any top line release.
Here are my top five kinda hits:
- Patty Loveless, “The Last Thing on My Mind”
- Terri Clark, “Every Time I Cry”
- Dwight Yoakam, “Things Change”
- Aaron Tippin, “Whole Lotta Love on the Line”
- Shania Twain, “I’m Holdin’ on to Love (to Save My Life)”
1. Zac Brown Band, “The Wind”
2. Kathy Mattea, “Standing Knee Deep In A River (Dying of Thirst)”
3. Lorrie Morgan, “Guess You Had To Be There”
4. Diamond Rio, “It’s All In Your Head”
5. Shania Twain, “You’ve Got A Way”
1. Randy Travis, “Promises”
2. Alabama, “It Works”
3. Lee Ann Womack, “He Ought to Know That By Now”
4. Diamond Rio, “Finish What We Started”
5. Kenny Chesney, “Grandpa Told Me So”
Two more:
Trisha Yearwood, “You Can Sleep While I Drive”
Martina McBride, “Cry On The Shoulder of the Road”
Tons of my favorites didn’t crack the top ten!
Gail Davies- Jagged Edge of a Broken Heart
Emmylou Harris- Heaven Only Knows
Patty Loveless- A Thousand Times A Day
Patty Loveless- The Trouble With The Truth
Lorrie Morgan- One of Those Nights Tonight
My five:
1. WALK ON–Linda Ronstadt
2. HEARTBREAK HILL–Emmylou Harris
3. WHEN GOD-FEARIN’ WOMEN GET THE BLUES–Martina McBride
4. JEZEBEL–Chely Wright
5. THEY CALL IT FALLING FOR A REASON–Trisha Yearwood
Ooh, this is a good topic.
Terri Clark- “Three Mississippi”
George Strait- “Desperately” (This one did crack the top ten, but it seems to have been forgotten since then. I think it’s one of his best singles of the ’00s.)
Faith Hill- “You’re Still Here” and “When the Lights Go Down” (Two great ballads that got screwed by the album’s bad reputation.)
Trisha Yearwood- “I Don’t Paint Myself into Corners”
Alan Jackson- “Work in Progress” (Again, made the top five, but it got overshadowed by the monster hits tha preceeded it.)
I Always Liked That Best- Cyndi Thomson
Forgive- Rebecca Lynn Howard
Teenage Daughters- Martina Mcbride
Getcha Some – Toby Keith
Blowin Smoke- Kacey Musgraves
John Conlee – “Dog House”
Jeff Bates – “Long Slow Kisses”
Johnny Duncan – “Fools”
We were told we could get fired if we played the “Midnight Choir” – Larry Gatlin, so it became an underground hit (played by the angry evening guy a lot).
Others:
Rascal Flatts song about Alzheimers disease – “Ellsworth” deserved more than it got.
Kenny Chesney’s ballad “To Get to You (55th and 3rd) was too soft for radio,
which may explain them passing on his duet with Randy Travis – “Baptism.”
Kip Moore’s – “Faith When I Fall,” just didn’t party enough for the short attention crowd.
Likely, Darius Rucker’s introspective “So I Sing” wont get much attention either.
1. Ty Herndon – Heart Half Empty (duet with Stephanie Bentley)
2. Mary Chapin Carpenter – Not Too Much to Ask (duet with Joe Diffie)
3. Suzy Bogguss – Heartache
4. Chris Young – Neon
5. Trace Adkins – Help Me Understand
1. Carry Me Back – Statler Brothers #26
2. There’s No Limit – Deana Carter #14 (great video)
3. Only Love Can Save Me Now – Crystal Gayle #11
4. Silent Treatment – Earl Thomas Conley #7
5. We Don’t Have To Hold Out – Anne Murray #16
I just read that Paul Simon has been added to the list of performers for the October 6, 2015 All For the Hall Country Music Hall of Fame benefit guitar pull in NYC, and the previously announced performers are Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley. In honor of this fairly impressive lineup:
1. Emmylou Harris- “The Boxer”
2. Vince Gill- “Go Rest High on That Mountain”
3. Carrie Underwood- “Home Sweet Home”
4. Brad Paisley- “I Wish You’d Stay”
5. Vince Gill w/Emmylou Harris in background vocals: “Oh Carolina”
Just to explain, even though “Go Rest on That Mountain” was a CMA song of the year, and I think it won a Grammy, Vince Gill’s single peaked at 14 on the country music singles chart so I think this all-time CLASSIC should qualify for this list….
Martina’s McBride’s screeching “Independence Day” fits in the same category as Vince’s Gill’s song. It screeched to a halt at #12. The song was nominated for a Grammy and won a couple of video awards from the CMA and TNN/MCN. Frankly, it made a much better video than it did a radio single
Cheap Seats–Alabama
Say I–Alabama
Help Me Understand–Trace Adkins
Bobbie Ann Mason–Rick Trevino
Used to the Pain–Mark Nesler
Honorable Mention:
Travelin’ Soldier–Dixie Chicks. yes this song hit #1 but for only one week. Were it not for petty politics, this song could’ve done so much better, and won them several awards (ACM, CMA, etc)
Here are a few from the past 15 years that should’ve been bigger hits in my humble opinion:
Joe Nichols – “She Only Smokes When She Drinks”
Travis Tritt – “Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde”
Gary Allan – “A Feelin’ Like That”
Brooks & Dunn – “Indian Summer”
Big & Rich – “Holy Water”