Greatest Country Music Songs of All-Time (?)

Hello.

I was going to bow out and either 1) write nothing or 2) post a picture.

But, thanks to Paul Silverfarb, I've got a topic!

Paul said he was flipping around SiriusXM last week when he stumbled on a countdown of the 1,000 greatest country music songs of all-time. Here's their list:

1 Garth Brooks - Friends In Low Places
2 Patsy Cline - Crazy
3 Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues
4 Dolly Parton - I Will Always Love You
5 Eric Church - Springsteen
6 George Jones - He Stopped Loving Her Today
7 Charlie Daniels Band - The Devil Went Down To Georgia
8 Roger Miller - King Of The Road
9 Jason Aldean - Dirt Road Anthem
10 Marty Robbins - El Paso
11 Patsy Cline - I Fall to Pieces
12 Garth Brooks - The Dance
13 Willie Nelson - On The Road Again
14 Alabama - Mountain Music
15 Kenny Chesney - How Forever Feels
16 Tammy Wynette - Stand By Your Man
17 Alan Jackson - Livin' On Love
18 Johnny Cash - Ring of Fire
19 Tim McGraw - Live Like You Were Dying
20 Hank Williams - Your Cheatin' Heart

OK, now, this is not my strong suit, so any attempt by me will likely be mocked, but for love of Waylon Jennings, "Friends in Low Places" at number one?

No. Hell no. Let's try this again (and contemporary fans, just prepare to be angry).

1) Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues. "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash." This is number one. Full stop. I hear the train a comin.' It's rollin' 'round the bend. And I ain't seen the sunshine since, I don't know when. Even as a rock-loving kid, I can still remember hearing this song and the utter despair in The Man in Black's voice. That original 1955 recording was a gumbo of sounds. The 1968 live version at Folsom Prison, mind you, gives the finger to that despair as it becomes an anthem for the disenfranchised.

2) Patsy Cline - Crazy. If you prefer this at number one, you can certainly do your own list. It's a standard by which so many ballads -- pop, rock, and country -- is based. Willie Nelson is an utter genius.

3) Hank Williams - Your Cheatin' Hearts. Back when people knew of two types of music -- country AND Western -- there was Hank Williams, who recorded this is his last session before he died in the back seat of a car in Oak Hill, WV in Jan 1953. It's got the whine of a guitar and the longing in his voice. It's magnificent.

4) Dolly Parton - Joelene. We've seen the brilliance of Dolly in recent years. Gone are the comments just about her -- never mind -- but about the fact that this woman is not only one of the greatest entertainers ever, but an American treasure and a truly decent person. And here is her masterpiece. You can warble to "I Will Always Love You" until your heart is content, and maybe having Whitney Houston shove it down our throats did more bad than good. But give me this every time over every beautiful thing Dolly has written. For the love of what's good, leave her man alone Jolene!

5) George Jones - He Stopped Loving Her Today. There are some artists I think of when I think of country and George Jones is right up there. Want to simply sob uncontrollably? This line works: He said "I'll love you till I die", she told him "You'll forget in time." That's only the beginning. Yup. We're done here.

6) Tammy Wynette - Stand By Your Man. Misunderstood as a non-feminist song over the years, this tune has stood the test of time, even if Wynette herself didn't like it at first. It was thought that D-I-V-O-R-C-E would be her signature song. That thought, obviously, was wrong.

7) Johnny Cash - Ring of Fire. Dammit. I wasn't going to put Mr. JR Cash in the top 10 twice. But it's my list, so here we are. Johnny's own beloved June Carter Cash co-wrote the song and gave it to her sister, Anita. But Cash had a vision of adding what he called "Mexican horns" and gave Anita a few months to see if her version would be a hit. When it wasn't, Cash recorded it his way and it became like nothing anyone had ever heard. (One other note, I wanted to work in a Carter Family song to honor Mother Maybell Carter, whose guitar work is legendary. I can't justify one so I'm giving them a mention here, along with June)

8) Waylon Jennings and Willie Neslon - Mammas, Don't Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys. Ah, the 70s. Good ol' days of outlaw country, and here were two buddies who were working on perfecting the craft. Extra points for a song that became easy to sing as Mammas, Don't Your Babies Grow Up to Be DALLAS Cowboys.

9) Charlie Daniels Band - The Devil Went Down to Georgia. This is the one thing I thought the SiriusXM list did well: It took something different and slotted it. Again, it's my list, so I'm comfortable with this song that still cranks for me today just as it did in 1979. I argued with myself because of its crossover success, but that was the 70s! Plus it's bluegrass-based, and that always wins points (there's a reason I love the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? and was considering adding "Man of Constant Sorrow" to this list).

10) Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman. I struggled here. I really love this song. Like, adore it. But is it a pop song? An adult contemporary song? A country song? Er...yes? The song topped each chart in 1968 and 1969. Jimmy Webb's story about a lineman working on a poll in Oklahoma was unfinished when Campbell added a bass guitar in the middle eight section.

OK, there are my ten. I could add more...

- Bill Monrow and the Blue Grass Boys - Blue Moon of Kentucky
- Johnny Cash - I Walk the Line (and too many other Cash songs to count)
- Buck Owens - Act Naturally (special citation for being covered by The Beatles)
- Loretta Lynn - Coal Miner's Daughter
- Kenny Rogers - The Gambler
- Stanley Brothers - Man of Constant Sorrow
- Hank Williams - I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
- Roger Miller - King of the Road
- Marty Robbins - El Paso
- Roger Miller - King Of The Road
- The Carter Family - Can the Circle Be Unbroken
- Tennessee Ernie Ford - Sixteen Tons
- Patsy Cline - I Fall to Pieces
- Alabama - Mountain Music
- Hank Williams - Jambalaya
- Conway Twitty - Hello Darlin'

I'm not saying this list won't change. That's the beauty of projects like this. It can change as soon as I publish it. It's supposed to create a conversation.

Now, I realize I haven't touched Alan Jackson, Tim McGraw, Garth Brooks, Randy Travis, Reba, and The Judds  In fact, I left a lot of artists out.

Other than perhaps a Sturgill Simpson or a Chris Stapelton, there's not a lot on the modern scene that impresses me. It all goes to the formula of pickup truck, denim, guitar, alcohol (normally Budweiser), a dog, and a girl.

Nowhere does daddy play bass.

It's the older stuff -- the much older stuff -- that can melt my cold, cold heart.