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The 500 Best Country Songs Ever
With David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren
Tuesday, May 13, 2003; 1 p.m. ET
In their new book, "Heartaches by the Number: Country Music's 500 Greatest Singles" (Vanderbilt University Press), music critics David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren set out not only to establish the pecking order of country music's great songs, but also to tell about the society and times in which these songs were written. From the earliest recordings in the 1920s until present day, the authors provide a fascinating history and make some surprising choices for their "500 greatest" list.
Rather than give you their top 10, here is a random 10: No. 356, "In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)" by Dolly Parton; No. 241, "Hillbilly Fever" by Little Jimmy Dickens; No. 73, "Knoxville Girl" by the Louvin Brothers; No. 12, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" by Kitty Wells; No. 465, "Blue" by LeAnn Rimes; No. 266, "You Are My Sunshine" by Jimmie Davis; No. 68, "Atlantic City" by Bruce Springsteen; No. 217, "Golden Ring" by George Jones and Tammy Wynette; No. 3 "Crazy" by Patsy Cline and No. 238, "Mystery Train" by Elvis Presley.
Cantwell and Friskics-Warren will be online Tuesday, May 13, at 1 p.m. ET, to discuss their book and the past, present and future of country music.
Submit your questions and comments before or during today's discussion.
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washingtonpost.com:
Sorry folks. We'll get started here in a minute. -- Joe Heim
Long Beach, Ca.:
As far as I can tell, "country music"
is a contrived description adapted when music was codified for segregation. When did "country" music become the tool of social engineers? How many black "country" musicians are talked about or listed in your book? thanks
David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren: I think you're right that what we call country music today is just one of the types of music that emerged, during the commerical era, from what was previously a larger, less differentiated pool of American music. Consequently, so-called white country music wouldn't exist without influences from black sources (and the blues wouldn't exist without white sources). That's why we chose to include quite a few black "country" artists in Heartaches--and I mean besides CHarley Pride: James Carr, Ray Charles, Mississippi Shieks,Slim Harpo, William Bell, Tommy Johnson, and so on.
As for social engineering, well, the demographic breakdowns of different types of music begin to be followed most closely in the 20s, right along with the rise of commerical country generally. that's also, I believe, a time when the clan is on the rise and Jim Crow is in full effect. But what the relationship is between those two developments deserves further research. --dc
Haggardville, USA:
In my humble opinion, Merle Haggard is not only one of the two or three greatest country artists of all time, he is one of the ten greatest musical talents produced in this country in the last half of the 20th Century? How many Haggard songs made your list and how would you rate his influence on the artists that followed him, specifically those on your list? Thanks.
David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren: Bill and I agree about Haggard. That's why has more solo entries in the book--ten, I if rmember correctly--than any other artist (George Jones has the most of all, but it took his duets with Wynette, Melbab Montgomery, Brenda Carter, and patty Loveless to pull it off.)
His influence of course is enormous. And not just as a songwriter but as a vocalist. He's the living link between melisma-fueled singers like Lefty F. and crooners like Tommy Duncan and today's singers like Alan Jackson and Joe Nichols. --dc
washingtonpost.com:
Hello Bill and David and thanks very much for joining us today. Before you take questions from our readers, maybe you could start off by telling us why you decided to put this list together and what you hope readers will get from reading your book.
David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren: Our book isn't so much a list as an argument for a way of hearing or engaging country music that gets at why we listen in the first place--because it speaks to our lives and moves us. Few books about country music have sought to reflect on this question, as well as to enlarge the context in which we hear and understand the music. This meant engaging not just the way great country singles sound or are made, but also examining the social, historical, political and economic contexts from which it emerged. In that sense, Heartaches by the Number isn't just a book about country music, but a socio-cultural history of life in the Southern United States during the last three-quarters of the 20th century. It is, of course, an episodic history, as opposed to an exhaustive one, and it's told primarily through a rural, working-cass lens, but it constitutes just such a history nonetheless. b.f-w.
Severn, MD:
Best Country Song? No contest, the best recorded song in country and/or popular music is Patsy Clines rendition of Nelson's "Crazy". End of discussion!
David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren: Crazy by Patsy Cline is at #3 in Heartaches. You make a good distinction, too, when you talk about not just the song--by Nelson--but the version--by Cline. Our book is not a book of great country songs; rather, it's one about great country singles, records. We wanted to highlight just what you're getting at here--peopple don't just love a song, they tend to love a particular version of it. In the case of Crazy and Cline, that means not just her vocal but the string arrangment of Bill McElhiney, the production of Owen Bradley and the rhythm bed provided by the A-Team. --dc
Southern Maryland:
How much of your 500 list is traditional country or modern "alt-country"? Although I don't consider myself a fan of the genre, I like the traditional-sounding stuff (classic and alternative) because it has honesty and authenticity. Those qualities are sorely lacking in today's Nashville country, which sounds too much like twangy pop music. Faith Hill's "This Kiss" has all the authenticity of a Mountain Dew commercial.
David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren: All of the singles included in the book are rooted in the country tradition in some way or another. Some are less varnished than others, but all exhibit qualities that reflect an awareness or embrace of country tradition--even the most pop-sounding records, such as Faith's "This Kiss."
One of the interesting things about working on this project was being confronted time and again by the fact that pop and other "outside" influences have crept into commercial country music from the beginning--and that records have been crossing over since as long as folks have monitored airplay. --b.f-w.
Kansas City, MO:
Given your broad definition of country, is there any genre that could not have made it into your book? For example, could there, in theory, be a reggae-style country song or reggae roots somewhere in country? Could there be a country-rap song the 90's rap-rock fusion?
David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren: There's two ways to answer this, I guess. First off, in theory? Yeah, in theory there could be a reggae country song--in fact, I'd bet there is if we look at the number of country songs from the past couple of decades that have used from-the-islands rhythms to talk about taking a vacation down to the Gulf Coast. Can't think of a good example off hand, though.
But the other way to answer it is to emphasize that we want to show the fluidity of definitions, rather than be pinned down. The Stones and Bing Crosby, fer instance, are in the book because country music influenced the music of those acts, but also because those acts greatly influenced country music. It's what we call the No Fences effect, where country music is seen, finally, to be open to the rest of the music world instead of cowering in musical and cultural isolation. --dc
East Lansing, MI:
Since finishing the book, have you encountered new or old singles that you think are worthy of inclusion among the 500 greatest, but were not included in the book?
David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren: Of course! I suspect Bill and I will be encountering great country singles that we could've included for the rest of our days. As we note in the intro, our goal wasn't to present the correct answers, end of discussion. But to begin a conversation about just where country's been and how it might be understood. And there are as many ways to answer those questions as there are country music fans.
Some recent singles that MIGHT have made it if only they'd been released in time for us to include them: Dixie CHicks
Travelin' SOldier, Alan JAckson's Drive, and the O Brother version of MAn of Constant Sorrow. --dc
Md. 20615:
Hey I'm all for the Boss and all, but how does "Atlantic City" qualify as a country song?
David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren: Springsteen's "Atlantic City" explores a classic country theme expressed best in the Monroe Brothers' single, "What Would You Give in Exchange (for Your Soul)?" It also employs an arrangement similar to the Monroe's record. Best of all, it engages in a dialog with the Monroes, a process that has defined country music--and great country records--from the beginning. b.f-w.
Washington, DC:
Looking forward to checking out this book.
Bill, I love the profile you wrote several years ago on June Carter Cash for No Depression magazine. Given the fragile state of June's health today, as she in the hospital in critical condition, I wanted to ask if you have a story about her to share. And are there any Johnny and June duets included in your Top 500?
David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren: First of all, thanks for your kinds words about the piece I did on June Carter a few years ago. While interviewing her at the Cashes' home, I asked June about touring with Elvis--and about their relationship generally. Besides talking about how she coach him on his acting, she got really jazzed when she told me she turning him on to motorcycles, at which point pulled out this blown up, laminated photo that ran in one of the Nashville papers circa 1956 depicting her showing Elvis her bike.
--b.f-w.
Vienna, VA:
If "Country" music is really "country" and rural, then WHY is so much of it centered in big-city Nashville, the Grand Ol Opry, and the glamour of stages and big-productions? Seems to me it's not really "country" per se....it is just somebody's opinion of what a so-called rural song should sound like.
David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren: You're right that country music has left much of its rural origins behind. In fact, that's been the case in some respects since its very beginnings--some of the the first country records were cut in the not very country at all locales of Atlanta, GA, New York City, and Camden, NJ.
One thing we hoped to do in Heartaches was to show that the migration of southerners and their music from the south to the north and to the west--and from the country to the city--has been going on all along. In fact, this movement--which by necessity introduced new, pop, urban, electric elements into the mix--is what we today know as the country TRADITION. People stopped living in the country and so the music they liked stopped being strictly rural. And as long as country music is around, it will continue to change to meet the needs of new generations of listeners. --dc
Tyson's Corner, VA:
Which song is the most recent on your list? Which was the most popular, factoring in the differing ways to measure that over the years?
David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren: Lee Ann Womack's I Hope You Dance, which was released in 2000.
Most popular is tough, though, since as you suggest there would be any number of ways to measure popularity. But what comes to mind first are the several early rockabilly hits--Blue Suede Shoes by Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis' Great Balls of Fire, and of course any number of Elvis hits--that were number one hits not just on the country charts but on the pop and R&B charts as well. It'd be hard to beat those ex's for across the board popularity. --dc
Palookaville:
If "It Wasn't God Who Made honky-Tonk Angels" is no. 12, then where are "The Wild Side of Life," "Great Speckled Bird," and "I Am Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes"?
David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren: The Wild Side of Life is #13, Great Speckle Bird #107 but "Blue Eyes" didn't make it. That said, Willie Nelson's version of "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" is #101.
--b.f-w.
Tennessee Hills:
As a result of all your research and listening, do you come to any conclusions about any central figures in country music? Who are the linch pins? the constants that hold through all styles and influences?
David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren: The first thing I was struck by is how many central figures there have been in country music, and not just the singers whose names are on the records, but the producers, arrangers, A&R reps, songwriters, pickers and such. I was also struck by how many folks who are perceived to be outside the country fold helped promote and popularize the music. For example, Bing Crosby in the 1940s, and Elvis in the 50's, 60's and 70's.
b.f-w.
Tyson's Corner, VA:
What is "country music" these days? Did you consider the "alt-country" of Lucinda Williams, Kelly Willis or Buddy and Julie Miller in your selection process?
David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren: Good question. David and I didn't set out to define country music so much as to engage it in all its forms. As for alt-country, it's represented in our book in entries about records by Lucinda Williams, Jason & the Scorchers, Los Lobos, among others, and before that, by country- and Southern-rock acts like the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
--b.f-w.
Washington, DC:
Today's country music seems to be focused on feel good themes like family values, patriotism, and faith. Granted, country music has always had a bit of those elements, but what seems lacking is country music with an edge: drinking, cheating, trucks, prison, etc. What happened? Who is keeping the old school alive aside from the old timers?
David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren: You're right that much of current mainstream country music is foucsed almost exclusively upon songs of what my friend Barry Mazor calls unearned uplift. And that's a problem--it sells the music short (country has long been about both the dark and stormy side of life and the bright and sunny one, as the Carters pointed out) but it also sells short the humanity of the audience, which is by defintion more wide-ranging and complex--less monolithic--than the today's radio would suggest.
On the other hand, one problem that Bill and I hoped to confront was the notion that >real< country music is only about cheating and drinking and dying. That caricature sells the music/audience short too--you'll note that Hank Williams, say, did all those types of songs but he also cut novelty records, good timin' records, songs about falling in love instead of just falling out. Ditto for any major country figure there is.
Where are today's artists who care about BOTH the dark and sunny sides? A couple of fellow Kansas Citians--Mike Ireland and Iris DeMent--do that pretty well, but they ain't on the radio. What is beginning to happen, however, is that non-mainstream acts are beginning to have some pretty dark and complex songs recorded by mainstream acts. For example, Lee Ann Womack's verson of the Millers' Does My Ring Burn Your Finger or The Chicks's reading of Patty Griffin's Truth #2. --dc
Chantilly VA:
Gentlemen: How far does your book venture into the rockabilly realm?
For example, do you include classics like Wanda Jackson's "Let's Have a Party"?
David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren: There's a good bit of rockabilly in the book, including Ms. Jackson's incredible "Let's Have a Party," but also records by Billy Lee Riley, Charlie Feathers, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Charlie Rich, Car Perkins, as well as proto-rockabilly sides by the likes of Moon Mullican, Nathan Abshire and Harmonica Frank.
--b.f-w.
Washington, DC:
Did our Hometown Girl Mary Chapin Carpenter make the list?
David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren: Nope. We went with Lucinda Williams's version Passionate Kisses, which likely would've been MCC's best chance.
I did argue, if only briefly, however, for Mary Chapin's early single, "You Win Again," a really swell and emotionally complex kind of country rock record that soars at the bridge! --dc
Long Beach, Ca.:
Who were the architects of the Bakersfield sound? I've read it was a bass player and a few guitarists that are for the most part unknown. thanks
David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren: Buck and Merle of course are the big names associated with the Bakersfield Sound, and i think it's fair to say that Wynn Stewart was the scene's first star. But you're right, behind the scenes folks like Bill Woods, in whose band Buck and Merle both apprenticed, deserve props, as well as guys like Red Simpson and Tommy Collins and, of course, the Maddox Brothers and Rose, who I'd guess you'd call prototypes of the Bakersfield Sound.
--b.f-w.
Washington, DC:
I was glad to see songs by the likes of Springsteen and the Rolling Stones in your list. Given that the country music industry is sometimes very protective of "authenticity" and yet at the same time the genre is one of the broadest in music, what makes a song country in your opinions?
David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren: I sort of addressed this question in another response, but that response bears underscoring. Yes, certain contingents appoint themselves guardians of "authenticity," but it's interesting to note how often pop and "outside" influences creep into the music. And not just in recent years, but in the music of Jimmie Rodgers and Milton Brown, both of whom embraced the material and sounds of Tin Pan Alley, as well as in records by postwar crooners like Red Foley and Hank Snow, on down to the soul and R&B inflections in countrypolitan. Country music is nothing if not a hybrid form.
--b.f-w.
Washington:
In case I missed it, what's #1?
David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren: Sammi Smith's Help Me Make It Through the Night.
Why, you ask? It helped us start the conversations, the threads, that were going to continue throughout the book. For instance...
It's clearly the product of colloboration between songwriter (Kris Kristofferson), singer, producer (Jim Malloy), players (Chipo YOung on guitar, Jerry Carrigna on drums, etc), and arranger (Bill Walker). Which is to say it's a RECORD and a great one.
And it's a record that crossed over pop.
It's one too that wears its outside influences--specifically soul music--on its musical sleeve.
It's emotionally compelling, yet not about cheating or drinking.
It's unexpected (why pick He Stopped Loving Her Today when everyone knows it's great already!). The best thing about our experiences with the book, or at least one of them, is that when BIll and I go on radio shows they play Sammi Smith.
And that's the best reason of all. It's a marvelously rich and enduring record. And what a soulful, intimate singer Smith is! I encourage everyone to track down her work for Mega Records in the early 70s. In fact, two other examples of that period of Sammi's career made the book. Her self-penned country soul classic Kentucky, and her version of Merle Haggard's Today I Started Loving yOu Again. --dc
Petticoat Jct.:
Billy Jo Shaver said his music was getting airplay on 'americana' radio. How do you find out what stations play this?
David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren: I'd contact the Americana Music Association, which should be easy to find via a Web search.
--b.f-w.
David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren: Thanks, y'all, this was a lot of fun.
All best,
Bill
David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren:
They tell us it's time to go, so I'll sign off now. I've never typed so fast in my life , so forgive all the spelling erros and other typos that I'll know doubt be grimacing over here in a moment.
Thanks for all the smart questions. It's good to know that there are so many people out there who care about country music--its rich past, troubled present, and unpredictable future--as much as Bill and I do. See you at the jukebox, or the MP3 player! --dc
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