MERLE HAGGARD, MAMA TRIED
Just now, I was watching a YouTube list of the top 10 country and western songs of all time. I agree with many of them. But not all.
MERLE HAGGARD, MAMA TRIED
Their list started at No. 10 with Friends in Low Places by Garth Brooks, and followed it with Always On My Mind by Willie Nelson. Good start. Two of my favorites, although I probably like Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain as much as Always...
Their No. 8 was Kenny Rogers' The Gambler, a good choice. No. 7? Amarillo By Morning by George Strait. One of my all-time favorites. We're cooking with gas.
Here's where we part ways a bit. They have Hank Williams' Your Cheatin' Heart at No. 6, and they mention Williams' I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry as another tearjerker. Personally, I think I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry should be No. 1, with Your Cheatin' Heart falling out of the top 10. I wouldn't have Williams sing Lonesome, though; I'd go with B.J. Thomas' version.
Their No. 5, Stand by Your Man by Tammy Wynette, a notable song, but I wouldn't put it my top 20.
Next on their list is Mama Tried by Merle Haggard. To me, this one vies with Lonesome for No. 1. They might be 1A and 1B.
Their No. 3 was Crazy, written by Willie and sung by Patsy Cline. I'd go along with that.
Their top two are He Stopped Loving Her Today by George Jones and Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash. I never cared for George Jones, and I'm uncertain which Johnny Cash song should be on the list. I love Ghost Riders in the Sky and I Still Miss Someone.
Instead of Stand By Your Man and He Stopped Loving Her Today, I'd insert El Paso by Marty Robbins. You can't beat a song about the West Texas town of El Paso. I'd sneak one of their honorable mentions, The Devil Went Down to Georgia by Charlie Daniels, into my top 10.
And I'd have to put Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys (Waylon and Willie) and Pancho and Lefty (Willie and Merle) in my top 10.
One other song I'd put in there: Me and Bobby McGee by Kris Kristofferson and Janis Joplin. I don't know if her version is the best, but it's one of the best.
Oops, I forgot another of my all-time favorites: The Highwayman, which includes Willie, Waylon, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson. Can't beat that.
Yes, I'm using Willie and Merle a lot, but they deserve it.
(P.S.: Is there room for Johnny Cash's Sunday Morning Coming Down in there?)
(P.S.: Is there room for Johnny Cash's Sunday Morning Coming Down in there?)
MARTY ROBBINS' EL PASO
MARTY ROBBINS' EL PASO
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