Features

#10     Deana Carter, “Strawberry Wine” Debut: August 17, 1996/Peak: #1 Carter’s sandpaper voice was a perfect complement to the bittersweet nostalgia of this classic hit .   The song made Carter an instant star,

The Fifty Best Debut Singles of All-Time Part 4: #20-#11 #20     Freddy Fender, “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” Debut: January 11, 1975/Peak: #1 Fender was poised to break through as a Latino rocker, until

The Fifty Best Debut Singles of All-Time Part 3: #30-#21 #30     Toby Keith, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” Debut: March 6, 1993/Peak: #1 Take your pick: it’s the introduction of one of the best male

The Fifty Best Debut Singles of All-Time Part 2: #40-#31 #40     John Michael Montgomery, “Life’s a Dance” Debut: October 3, 1992/Peak: #4 Quite possibly the perfect early nineties country song, with an arrangement and

Although it became a somewhat more frequent occurrence over the past two decades, it’s always been exceptionally rare for a country artist to hit with their very first single. But sometimes, lightning strikes, and a

Five albums. Seven women. Fourteen million copies sold. The latest list comes to an end as I said it would in the beginning, dominated by the female artists who have been such a potent creative

#10 Tough All Over Gary Allan 2005 An explosion of anger, regret and grief, Allan made the strongest album of his career in the aftermath of his wife’s suicide. “Best I Ever Had” may have