Early hits from Miranda Lambert, Dolly Parton, and Charley Pride are among the highlights of this section.
#730
Sugarland, “Stuck Like Glue”
#2 | 2010
JK: I’ll always resent this tacky, shticky single– I’ll stop there with the puns– for taking out the chart run of “Life in a Northern Town” at the knees. So Wrong (Doesn’t Belong)
KJC: This single was the first indication that Sugarland’s grip on reality had grown tenuous. But before it completely slipped away, there was a lot of fun to be had. I adore this record. About Right
#729
Charley Pride, “Does My Ring Hurt You Finger”
#4 | 1967
KJC: Somehow, there are only four Charley Pride songs on this entire list. This is a classic and deserves its placement, but he is still woefully underrepresented. About Right
JK: Love it. Thrilled it’s included. Reminded that Lee Ann Womack’s cover of Buddy & Julie Miller’s “Does My Ring Burn Your Finger” should also be here. About Right
#728
George Strait, “Baby Blue”
#1 | 1988
JK: This was never one of my favorite Strait singles; his performance and the production are both too mellow. He’s represented enough on the list, so I’d cut this one to make room for artists who weren’t included. So Wrong (Doesn’t Belong)
KJC: Although he never confirmed it publicly, it has long been rumored that Strait’s aching delivery was heavily influenced by the tragic loss of his daughter in an automobile accident. There’s a depth to his performance here, an early indication that he was more than just a contemporary hitmaker. Too Low
#727
Miranda Lambert, “White Liar”
#2 | 2009
KJC: I’ll never fully understand how this became her first big radio hit, but hey, at least it put her on the map. So Wrong (This Song)
JK: One of her weakest singles in terms of lyrics and performance, but it does have a memorable, singalong melody. But no way should this be here in lieu of “Vice,” “Me and Charlie Talking,” or Pistol Annies’ “Hell On Heels.” So Wrong (This Song)
#726
Bob Luman, “Lonely Women Make Good Lovers”
#4 | 1972
JK: I first recall hearing this in my early teens and, even then, recognized that it’s sleazy as fuck and illustrates exactly how good Conway Twitty, alone, was at doing what Conway Twitty did. So Wrong (Doesn’t Belong)
KJC: Well, if you have to choose between the leering nastiness of Bob Luman’s original recording or Steve Wariner’s antiseptic cover, which do you pick? I’d prefer silence over either one of them. I’d swap this out for Luman’s very funny “Let’s Think About Living” from twelve years earlier. So Wrong (This Song)
#725
Billy Currington, “Let Me Down Easy”
#1 | 2010
KJC: There are ten Billy Currington songs on this list. This is among the first that should go. So Wrong (Doesn’t Belong)
JK: The one and only Currington song I’d go to bat for– and I’d rank it in the top half of my list, for what it’s worth– is “Love Done Gone.” I’ve had no use for him otherwise. So Wrong (This Song)
#724
Collin Raye, “I Can Still Feel You”
#1 | 1998
JK: Raye has a beautiful voice that he used to sing songs I have rarely cared about. This one is fine. Too High
KJC: It was a big enough hit to warrant consideration, but if there are only three slots available for Collin Raye, I’d quickly swap this one out for “In This Life” or “Someone You Used to Know.” So Wrong (This Song)
#723
Dolly Parton, “Joshua”
#1 | 1970
KJC: To have only seven solo hits from Parton on this list is a travesty. From her pre-crossover years alone, there should be at least ten entries. That being said, I wouldn’t choose “Joshua” as one of them. It’s one of her slighter story songs, and is only historically significant because it was her first chart topper. Replace it with any – no, all – of the following: “Just Because I’m a Woman,” “In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad),” “My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy,” “Touch Your Woman,” “My Tennessee Mountain Home,” “Love is Like a Butterfly,” “The Bargain Store,” and “The Seeker.” So Wrong (This Song)
JK: Seven hundred and twenty three. It’s not Parton’s best or most impactful song. But seven hundred and twenty three. I could scream. Too Low
#722
Chris Young, “Lonely Eyes”
#4 | 2014
JK: I have no recollection of this song at all. He derailed fast and made it clear he had no interest in getting back on track, and that remains a real shame. So Wrong (Doesn’t Belong)
KJC: He’s got a great voice. But the recency bias on this list is sadly exemplified by him having ten entries, much like Currington does. That’s almost as much as Dolly Parton and Charley Pride combined. It’s ridiculous. Pick three of his hits and be done with it. So Wrong (Doesn’t Belong)
#721
Randy Houser, “Goodnight Kiss”
#9 | 2013
KJC: This song is terrible. He has five songs on this list. One more than Charley Pride. So Wrong (Doesn’t Belong)
JK: Until 2019’s Magnolia, Houser struggled to put it all together in ways that played to his considerable strengths as a vocalist. This single honestly never moved me, but I’m on board with Houser now, at least. So Wrong (Doesn’t Belong)
I’m just wondering how Charley Pride only gets four songs and Billy Currington gets 10? Talk about currency bias! (and lets hope race had nothing to do with this!)
“Baby Blue” is far and away the best of these 10! One of many George Strait classics. For the record, i’m not sure if I believe it was about his daughter or not. I think there’s good evidence either way.
Re. “Joshua”: To be honest, even at this early stage of her career, Dolly had become a force that Nashville would have to reckon with from that point forward. She had bigger and better things to come, yes, but this was the one that really started it all for her (IMHO).
Re. “White Liar”: I know that this was arguably the song that put Miranda on the map; and I suppose people will put her up as an example of the power of women in country music at a time when the genre really needs them. But even so, on the basis of this song and subsequent hits of hers, I have to say that I find her voice to be rather abrasive and “wiry”, one that I don’t think I could put up with for too long. This isn’t a put-down of either her or her fans. I’m just not all that wild about her.
“Baby Blue” is by far my favorite on this list, as well, and it’s one of my favorite Strait songs of all time. I’ve always loved the mellowness of this song (Frank Sinatra is one of his influences, after all), and his emotional performance, but after hearing that he may have been thinking of his late daughter while recording it only made me like it even more. Now I can rarely listen to it without getting teary eyed.
“I Can Still Feel You” is my second favorite here. I’ll admit that my nostalgia for the late 90’s comes to play, as well. This song is my kind of contemporary country, and I’m reminded how much of a better balance there was on radio then between the contemporary and traditional styles. You had songs like this and other pop-country hits from Shania, Faith, McGraw, etc. mixed with traditional leaning songs from Strait, Jackson, Lee Ann Womack, Dixie Chicks, Tracy Byrd, Gary Allan, etc. Also, I second Kevin’s mention of “Someone You Used To Know.” Another one of my favorites from Collin.
Besides “Want To,” “Stuck Like Glue” is another one of the very few Sugarland songs I’d go to bat for. Agree with Kevin that it’s still a very fun listen.
Ten songs from Chris Young is way too much from an artist who hasn’t put out anything that memorable in quite some time now. That said, “Lonely Eyes” is one of the only songs from him I’ve liked since he started trend chasing. He had such a great neo-traditional sound going with the Neon album era, and it’s such a shame that he felt he needed to chase the bro/metro bro-country trend.
Ten is also way too much for Billy Currington. Actually, most his songs I like were never released as singles: “Hangin’ Around,” “Next Time,” “That Changes Everything,” “Every Reason Not To Go,” etc. I especially never got the love for “Let Me Down Easy” and always found it to be a snoozefest. And don’t get me started on his singles ever since he also went bro.
Randy Houser having more songs on this list than Charley Pride (and five more than many more deserving artists not represented here) is a joke. That said, “Goodnight Kiss” is one of the few songs from the bro era that I don’t mind much at all. It’s got quite a catchy melody, and it’s good for playing with the windows down.
There are several Bob Luman songs worthy of being on this list. Personally I’d pick “I Like Trains” (not a big hit) and “Come On Home And Sing The Blues To Daddy” or “I Ain’t Got Time To Be Unhappy” (both top 15 hits)
As for Charley Pride, there are at least ten songs that belong on this list and I could make a good case for fifteen songs
Agree w KJC writing “I’d swap this (Lonely Women Make Good Lovers) out for Luman’s very funny “Let’s Think About Living” from twelve years earlier.” I remembered the song from my early teens and bought it on i-tunes about a year ago. Didn’t know when it first came out that it was written by Boudleaux Bryant. BB was probably best known for writing songs for the Everly Brothers with his wife Felice. (back then i never paid any attention to who wrote the songs.) but he didn’t write Cathy’s Clown. Don & Phil Everly were the writers. nevertheless, my favorite verse from “Let’s Think About Living” is:
And Cath’s Clown has Don and Phil
Where they feel like a-they could die
If we keep on a-losin’ our singers like that
I’ll be the only one you can buy’
Also agree w KJC that “Someone You Used to Know” is a better choice for this list than “I Can Still Feel You”. Love CR’s singing (saw him a year ago at the Nashville City Winery) but he’s never been known as a song writer. A few other favorite CR songs: Hugh Prestwood’s “On the Verge”, Gary Burr’s “The Time Machine”, Skip Ewing & Max Barnes “Love, Me”, ‘Karen Taylor Good & Joie Scott’s “Not That Different”, Lee Roy Parnell & Tony Haselden’s “That’s My Story”, Tom Douglas’s Little Rock” and Radney Foster’s “Anyone Else”.