Favorite country songs of the 1980s, Part 1

The 1980s were a mixed bag, with the early 1980s producing some of the lamest country music ever recorded, as the Urban Cowboy movie wrecked havoc on the genre. Fortunately, there was still good country music being released. The first flowering of the late 1980s “New Traditionalist” movement arrived in 1981 with the first hits of Ricky Skaggs and George Strait, but they remained outliers until 1986 as far as good new artists were concerned. The latter part of the decade, however, produced some truly excellent country music with the 1986 arrival of Randy Travis and company.

This list is meant neither to be a comprehensive list of great country songs from the 1980s, nor any sort of ranking of records. It’s just a list of some songs that I liked and remember. See if you recall any of these records.

“If You’re Gonna Play In Texas (You Gotta Have A Fiddle In The Band)“ – Alabama
Alabama made excellent music during the 1980s, although the country content of some of it was suspect. Not this song, which is dominated by fiddle. One of the few up-tempo Alabama records that swings rather than rocks.

“I’ve Been Wrong Before” – Deborah Allen
An accomplished songwriter who wrote many hits for others, particularly with Rafe VanHoy, this was one of three top ten tunes for Ms. Allen, reaching #2 in 1984. This is much more country sounding than her other big hit “Baby I Lied”.

“Last of The Silver Screen Cowboys” – Rex Allen Jr.
After some success as a pop-country balladeer, Rex Jr. turned increasing to western-themed material as the 1980s rolled along. This was not a big hit, reaching #43 in 1982, but it featured legendary music/film stars Roy Rogers and Rex Allen Sr. on backing vocals.

“Southern Fried” – Bill Anderson
This was Whispering Bill’s first release for Southern Tracks after spending over twenty years recording for Decca/MCA. Bill was no longer a chart force and this song only reached #42 in 1982, but as the chorus notes: “We like Richard Petty, Conway Twitty and the Charlie Daniels Band”.

Indeed we do.

Favorite country songs of the 1970s: Part 6

For part six of this series, as always, just some songs I liked, one song per artist, not necessarily the biggest hit, (although I feel free to comment on other songs by the artist).

“Forgive and Forget” – Eddie Rabbitt (1975)

Prior to this, Eddie was known, if at all, as a songwriter. This record got to #12, but did better than that in some markets, and gave Rabbitt his first significant hit. The next song “I Should Have Married You” got to #11; after that the next 33 singles would crack the top 10 with 19 of them getting to #1 on either Billboard and/or Cashbox.

“Ladies Love Outlaws” – Jimmy Rabbitt and Renegade (1976)

The title track of a 1972 Waylon Jennings album, for some reason RCA never issued the song as a Jennings single, although it got considerable airplay (it didn’t chart because Billboard did not track non-singles airplay at the time). Jimmy’s version was good (Waylon’s was better) and got to #80, his only chart appearance.

“Ain’t She Something Else” – Eddy Raven (1975)

Eddy’s second chart single reached #46 and became a #1 record for Conway Twitty in 1982. It took Raven eight years and 16 singles to have his first top 10 hit. Can you imagine any artist being given that much slack today

“Whatcha Gonna Do With A Dog Like That” – Susan Raye (1975)

Susan Raye had the Buck Owens organization behind her, was very pretty, and sang well. Despite those advantages, she never really became a big star, probably because her heart wasn’t in it. This song got to #9, one of six solo top tens she was to enjoy. In theory “(I’ve Got A) Happy Heart” was her biggest hit, reaching #3, but she got so much pop radio action on “L.A. International Airport” that it sold a million copies.

Christmas Rewind: Garth Brooks with Kenny Rogers and Trisha Yearwood – ‘The Old Man’s Back In Town’

Week ending 9/10/11: #1 albums this week in country music history

1966: Buck Owens and His Buckaroos – Carnegie Hall Concert (Capitol)

1971: Lynn Anderson – You’re My Man (Columbia)

1976: Waylon Jennings – Are You Ready For The Country? (RCA)

1981: Kenny Rogers – Share Your Love (Liberty)

1986: Hank Williams Jr. – Montana Cafe (Warner Brothers)

1991: Garth Brooks – No Fences (Capitol)

1996: LeAnn Rimes – Blue (Curb)

2001: Various Artists – O Brother, Where Art Thou Soundtrack (Lost Highway)

2006: Trace Adkins – Dangerous Man (Capitol)

2011: Pistol Annies – Hell On Heels (Columbia)

Week ending 8/27/11: #1 singles this week in country music history

1951: Hey, Good Lookin’ — Hank Williams (MGM)

1961: Tender Years — George Jones (Mercury)

1971: I’m Just Me — Charley Pride (RCA)

1981: I Don’t Need You — Kenny Rogers (Liberty)

1991: You Know Me Better Than That — George Strait (MCA)

2001: Austin – Blake Shelton (Giant)

2011: Just A Kiss — Lady Antebellum (Capitol)

Week ending 8/20/11: #1 singles this week in country music history

1951: Hey, Good Lookin’ — Hank Williams (MGM)

1961: I Fall to Pieces — Patsy Cline (Decca)

1971: I’m Just Me — Charley Pride (RCA)

1981: I Don’t Need You — Kenny Rogers (Liberty)

1991: You Know Me Better Than That — George Strait (MCA)

2001: Austin – Blake Shelton (Giant)

2011: Just A Kiss — Lady Antebellum (Capitol)

Album Review – Dolly Parton – ‘Here You Come Again’

By the time Here You Come Again was released October 29, 1977, Dolly Parton had angered her core fan base by embracing the slickly produced sound she played around with on New Harvest…First Gathering. It also proved a viable career move, as the album became her first to go platinum for sales of 1,000,000 copies. But quantity doesn’t always match quality – the majority of fans regard Here You Come Again as a dud.  Of course, Parton isn’t the first, and certainly not the last, country singer to embrace a more “produced” sound. But for all the talk of Parton going pop, “Here You Come Again” proved her automatic add status at country radio – the title track spent five weeks at #1 on the singles chart and the album spent 35 weeks in the top ten and nine of those at number one on the album chart.

The title cut, one of her only big hits she didn’t have a hand in writing, would go on to win Parton the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance in 1978. But it was the crossover appeal of the music that got most upset – the title track would go on to peak at #3 on the pop singles chart.  Following the massive success of “Here You Come Again,” on the pop chart, Parton’s label decided to sell her again to the mainstream audience by re-recording “Two Doors Down,” the album’s second and final single, with a looser arrangement. This new arrangement would replace the original on all subsequent pressings of the album.

The idea was to release “Two Doors Down” to the pop market, and ship “It’s All Wrong But It’s Alright” to country radio. The plan backfired, as “Two Doors Down” only peaked in the top 20 on the pop chart yet topped the country charts. “It’s All Wrong,” never received any pop airplay at all, but was another country #1.

Looking beyond the singles, Here You Come Again is largely forgotten today. If I’d heard “Me and Little Andy” out of context, I’d have a difficult time believing it was Parton. The childish vocal retains none of the charm and innocence she brought to classics like “Coat of Many Colors” or “Jolene.” One the other hand, “The Cowgirl and The Dandy,” preserves more of Parton’s country roots, but would’ve worked a lot more had it been blanked in an acoustic arrangement. The background singers only serve as a distraction from the sentiment of the song. “Lovin’ You” has a bouncy feel to it but you forget it as soon as it ends. “God’s Coloring Book,” a song about taking a walk and noticing all the colors around you, employs a been-there-done-that theme and comes up short in effecting a display of spirituality.

Her cover of Kenny Rogers’ “Sweet Music Man,” which he took to #9 that year, is very good although I’ll always prefer Reba McEntire’s Alison Krauss-produced version from 2002. McEntire had the right arrangement to bring that song to life. But my favorite, and a bright spot among the non-singles is “As Soon As I Touch Him.” It’s the rare exception of a pop power ballad that actually works. It may be a far cry from her country roots, but if she had to go pop, this is how it should’ve been done.

In the end, it’s easy to see why Here You Come Again ranks low in Parton’s discography. The slicker sound casts Parton in a new and unflattering light. The title track will always be a classic, but that remains a shining moment in a ten-song collection marred by poor production choices that fails to fulfill the promise Parton set with her earlier, and much better, solo work.

Grade: C+

Here You Come Again is currently out of print, but can be easily found used on Amazon.com

Week ending 6/18/11: #1 singles this week in country music history

1951: I Want To Be With You Always — Lefty Frizzell (Columbia)

1961: Hello Walls — Faron Young (Capitol)

1971: You’re My Man — Lynn Anderson (Columbia)

1981: What Are We Doin’ In Love — Dottie West with Kenny Rogers (Liberty)

1991: If The Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets) — Joe Diffie (Epic)

2001: Grown Men Don’t Cry — Tim McGraw (Curb)

2011: Without You — Keith Urban (Capitol)

Country Heritage Redux: Johnny Darrell (1940-1997)

The following is an updated version of Paul W. Dennis’ article, which was previously published by The 9513.

One of life’s biggest mysteries (or at least one of country music’s biggest mysteries) is why Johnny Darrell (1940-1997) never became a star. Arguably country music’s first “outlaw,” Darrell recorded for United Artists, a major label, from 1965 to about 1973, but United was only a bit player in country music, and so Darrell’s records didn’t get the major promotional effort they deserved. Moreover, Darrell had the reputation of being difficult and somewhat unreliable because of his drinking.

Darrell had a clear, strong, and masculine voice – somewhere between tenor and baritone, but his true strength was in identifying great songs and great songwriters. Among the songs he was the first to record were (with subsequent cover artist in parenthesis):

• “Green Green Grass of Home” #12 CB (Porter Wagoner, Tom Jones)
• “Ruby Don’t Take Your Love to Town” #7 CB / 9 BB (Kenny Rogers)
• “Son of Hickory Holler’s Tramp” #14 CB / 22 BB (O.C. Smith)
• “With Pen in Hand” #3 BB / 4 CB (Billy Vera, Vikki Carr)

Darrell’s biggest hit was “With Pen In Hand,” which rose to #3 on the country charts. A much inferior cover by Billy Vera was simultaneously a hit on the pop charts, and if United Artists had done a decent job of promoting and distributing Darrell’s version – which was nearly impossible to find for purchase in many parts of the country – it almost surely would have crossed over and taken the place of Vera’s.

Darrell’s most remembered record today is his rocking version of “Why You Been Gone So Long,” written by Mickey Newbury, which rose to #17 BB/20 CB with a smattering of pop airplay as well.

All told, United Artists issued seven albums on Darrell, plus a handful of budget reissues on its Sunset label:

• As Long As The Winds Blow (1966, United Artists)
• Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town (1967, United Artists)
• The Son of Hickory Holler’s Tramp (1968, United Artists)
• With Pen in Hand (1968, United Artists)
• Why You Been Gone So Long (1969, United Artists)
• California Stop-Over (1970, United Artists)
• The Best Of Johnny Darrell (1970, United Artists)

His first five albums followed the usual pattern for country albums: one or two singles, a few covers, and some filler. Where Darrell’s albums differed from the norm, however, was in the fact that the filler wasn’t really filler at all, and that the covers were sometimes of lesser hits. His first album featured an early Kris Kristofferson song, “Don’t Tell My Little Girl,” as well as a Bobby Bare composition, “Passin’ Through,” and his second, Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town, featured a June Carter/Johnny Cash composition, “She’s Mighty Gone.”

The majority of Darrell’s catalogue was recorded in Nashville, but due to his inability to score the big country hit, United Artists tried recording his later work in California. It was there that Johnny uncovered gems by then-largely unknown songwriters such as Mickey Newbury, Lowell George, Jackson Browne and Ronnie Self. Unfortunately, the album California Stop-Over again failed to produce hits, but did eventually become a collector’s item, especially among fans of The Byrds, due to Clarence White’s guitar work on the album.

After the relative commercial failure of California Stop-Over, United Artists and Darrell parted company, largely marking the end of his career, but for only a few more singles and one more album of new material (Water Glass Full of Whiskey, Capricorn, 1975).

After a lengthy hiatus, Johnny Darrell returned to performing and songwriting during the late 1980s but after that he was generally out of sight and out of mind for the last decade of his life. Given how little recognition he got during his peak years, this didn’t represent much of a change for him. Among the few accolades he received were Cashbox Magazine’s “Most Promising Male Artist” for 1966, and selection, after his death, as an Achiever to the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.

Darrell struggled with a deadly combination of alcohol and diabetes, leading to his untimely death at age 57. Unfortunately, very little of the singer’s material is now commercially available – the Australian label Raven issued a CD combining his greatest hits with California Stop-Over in 1999 (Singin’ It Lonesome — The Very Best… 1965-1970), a collection currently available from the Ernest Tubb Record Shop and well worth acquiring. More readily available is The Complete Gusto/Starday Recordings, an album of remakes which find Darrell in typically strong voice, although they lack the sparkle of the original recordings.

For collector of vinyl http://www.musicstack.com/ is a good clearinghouse for hundreds of record dealers. I have purchased records through them in the past with quite satisfactory results.

South of Cincinnati

‘Ahm real glad you could meet me here,” drawled my companion for the night’s Kenny Rogers Christmas show. “Ah had about 10 minutes to get ready, and this is whut ah looked like when ah crawled outta the pile.” He went on to excuse the way he looked and thanked me again for meeting more than halfway at the Ashland Towne Center Mall. But he never made any excuse for his slants on the English language. Once, he told me I ‘talk like the people on T.V.’, but that was about all we ever said about the vast differences in our linguistics. What’s even more interesting is that he and I grew up less than 40 miles apart, myself in Portsmouth, Ohio, and he on the southern side of that imaginary Mason Dixon line that is the Ohio River in these parts, in Judds-country in Ashland, KY. Coincidentally, we were travelling even further into Appalachia that night to see Kenny Rogers and Linda Davis – all the way to Huntington, WV. (The wrong-turn parts of West Virginia make up none of my story here.)

I have an extended family on my mother’s side that live right here in the small state of Ohio – northern Ohioans from the big city of Cleveland, and they too, have a unique speech that separates them from us in the southern part of the state. Their speech is faster, peppered heavily with ‘ums’, and longer O’s. The population of southerners who took to the Rust Belt so long ago has seen their dialect generations removed. That doesn’t mean it isn’t alive and well down where it came from. Accents and their origins are a geek-hobby of mine, and these are what I see up close everyday – there are far more interesting examples outside my tri-state area.

Living right on the border of the Mason Dixon line is really a fascinating thing to watch. Kentucky being a commonwealth state allows for much looser laws regarding almost anything, and that readily breeds a yee-haw attitude, especially for outsiders just down for a visit. And it’s certainly interesting to start hitting seek on your car radio as you go south on U.S. 23 or I-75 from here. Country is still number one in those parts, even as we lose more stations in my market (2 gone in a year now). The geography quickly becomes one of an agricultural area in a hurry southbound as well. And, of course, these are just my immediate surroundings. The south is full of metropolitan places.

All those things are fun to watch, but my biggest thrill when I get to head south is U.S. 23 itself. As soon as I cross the Ohio River, it becomes Country Music Highway, with a designated artist for each stretch until you reach the next hometown junction. First up for me is Billy Ray Cyrus – he’s from Flatwoods, about 20 miles from here. Then we come to The Judds portion through Ashland, on through Ricky Skaggs and Loretta Lynn country. Lynn’s sister Crystal Gayle, Grand Ole Opry star Hylo Brown, Dwight Yoakam, and Patty Loveless round out the highway’s best parts. As you enter into the roughest of the coal-mining counties, Gary Stewart Highway takes you the rest of the way.

Signs along the way will point you to some landmark places in country music, including Van Lear and Butcher Holler. You can even stop by Loretta’s homeplace. Then head on to Pikeville, hometown to Loveless and Yoakam, and the place where Ricky Skaggs and a young Keith Whitley teamed up. Keith Whitley’s omission on the highway’s luminous roster is the one flaw in an excellent tribute to the wealth of talent from the area. If you ever get a chance to drive the 150 mile-stretch, be sure to stop in Paintsville at the Country Music Highway Museum and see Dot. She’s great.

I still want to head down to Montgomery and visit Hank Williams’ gravesite, and there are thousands of things I want to see and do in Texas. But I’m just as proud of the heritage from my own local area, even if those guys in Kentucky do speak a little differently.

Recording new lows

Much has been said lately about plummeting music sales.  Country Universe has you covered with the latest numbers. This is effecting every genre, and country is no exception.  Each week the Billboard 200 album chart posts a new record low for the top-selling album. Everyone is looking for the silver lining. Shutting down massive file-sharing sites is really little victory in the long-term because these music pirates are finding new avenues to infringe copyrights even as I write this. I won’t try to kid myself that low, low record sales are anything but primarily caused by illegal downloading, but I am of the persuasion that there are other fixes than injunctions against the major culprits. Country music has been in the valley before, only to rise to glory time and time again.

Historically, when sales and listenership began to dwindle, the powers on Music Row raised up and began working to solve the problem.  When the rock and roll invasion in the 1950s brought country music sales to a standstill at the end of the decade, and more and more radio stations stopped programming the music, executives and producers opted to polish the sound of the music they created.

Born to compete commercially with rock and roll, the Nashville Sound embodied the lush, string-filled sounds of pop music from a couple decades past.  Artists like Brenda Lee, Glen Campbell and Bobby Bare found as much success on the pop charts as the country charts during this time.  By the 1970s, when the public began to tire of the slicker side of country from the likes of Crystal Gale, Kenny Rogers and others, there came a group of renegades who decided to turn up their amplifiers and sing about gritty, real-life subject matter.  We called them outlaws.  Then came Urban Cowboy, practiced by most of the same artists from the pre- and post-outlaw time, was yet another incarnation of the Nashville Sound.  The antidote for that overstated Urban Cowboy era was of course the New Traditionalist movement of the 80s.  And then you all know the story of Garth Brooks and the 90s, when CDs were still on the shelves, and were flying off daily.  We watched as country music became the popular music of the day.

Today, the biggest-selling artists remain middle-of-the road starlets like Lady Antebellum, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, and Jason Aldean.  These artists have taken an adult contemporary approach, aiming their music squarely for the top 40. Lady Antebellum is the very definition of a MOR act, straddling the line between pop/rock and country, while posting impressive sales numbers.

Like Lady A, Sugarland’s sales remain strong – 4 straight platinum CDs – but they’ve done it with the same ratio of mostly influences not indigenous to Music City.  Sugarland started out a very promising act in the pop-country field.  Their music sparkled with life, their lyrics were smart and original, and Jennifer Nettles brought with her an attention-grabbing vocal.  Their sound has evolved outside the sparkling pop-country of their first releases into the bombastic and shouted antics of The Incredible Machine. Now, like the industry that gave them a foothold, the duo seems to be in a sort of identity crisis, with no decided musical direction these days.  Their lack of focus, aside from the production, is the biggest fault with their most recent album, yet consumers have rewarded their uncertainty with a million purchases.

But that’s not all there is.  Lee Ann Womack has never matched the sales of her crossover mega-hit ‘I Hope You Dance’ with her acclaimed traditional releases in the past couple of years, but continues to crank out quality, country music in the traditionalist sense.   Sure, there are others – Miranda Lambert and Jamey Johnson are making some inroads – but I don’t see that either of them is doing much to change the tide.  Johnson can’t get on the radio with the singles from his latest album, no matter how good they are.  And Lambert is swimming in a sea of pseudo-twangy pop stars.  It’s still a wonder she’s made it as far as she has.  I certainly root, root, root for her continued success, but I wonder if her contributions to traditional country are enough.

After two decades of pop-country at the forefront, aren’t we overdue for a change of the tide once again?  I’d say we’re almost a decade behind the cycle.  I can’t be the only one who’s noticed.

Week ending 2/5/11: #1 albums this week in country music history

1966: Eddy Arnold – My World (RCA Victor)

1971: Ray Price – For The Good Times (Columbia)

1976: C.W. McCall – Black Bear Road (MGM)

1981: Kenny Rogers – Greatest Hits (Liberty)

1986: Kenny Rogers – The Heart Of The Matter (RCA)

1991: Clint Black – Put Yourself In My Shoes (RCA)

1996: Shania Twain – The Woman In Me (Mercury)

2001: Tim McGraw – Greatest Hits (Curb)

2006: Carrie Underwood – Some Hearts (Arista)

2011:Taylor Swift – Speak Now (Big Machine)

Week ending 1/29/11: #1 albums this week in country music history

1966: Eddy Arnold – My World (RCA Victor)

1971: Ray Price – For The Good Times (Columbia)

1976: C.W. McCall – Black Bear Road (MGM)

1981: Kenny Rogers – Greatest Hits (Liberty)

1986: Kenny Rogers – The Heart Of The Matter (RCA)

1991: Clint Black – Put Yourself In My Shoes (RCA)

1996: Shania Twain – The Woman In Me (Mercury)

2001: Tim McGraw – Greatest Hits (Curb)

2006: Carrie Underwood – Some Hearts (Arista)

2011:Taylor Swift – Speak Now (Big Machine)

Week ending 1/15/11: #1 albums this week in country music history

1966: Eddy Arnold – My World (RCA Victor)

1971: Ray Price – For The Good Times (Columbia)

1976: C.W. McCall – Black Bear Road (MGM)

1981: Ronnie Milsap – Greatest Hits (RCA)

1986: Kenny Rogers – The Heart Of The Matter (RCA)

1991: Clint Black – Put Yourself In My Shoes (RCA)

1996: Garth Brooks – Fresh Horses (Capitol)

2001: Tim McGraw – Greatest Hits (Curb)

2006: Carrie Underwood – Some Hearts (Arista)

2011:Taylor Swift – Speak Now (Big Machine)

Week ending 1/8/11: #1 albums this week in country music history

1966: Connie Smith – Cute ‘N Country (RCA Victor)

1971: Ray Price – For The Good Times (Columbia)

1976: C.W. McCall – Black Bear Road (MGM)

1981: Kenny Rogers – Greatest Hits (Liberty)

1986: Kenny Rogers – The Heart Of The Matter (RCA)

1991: Clint Black – Put Yourself In My Shoes (RCA)

1996: Garth Brooks – Fresh Horses (Capitol)

2001: Tim McGraw – Greatest Hits (Curb)

2006: Carrie Underwood – Some Hearts (Arista)

2011:Taylor Swift – Speak Now (Big Machine)

Week ending 1/1/11: #1 albums this week in country music history

1966: Connie Smith – Cute ‘N Country (RCA Victor)

1971: Johnny Cash – The Johnny Cash Show (Columbia)

1976: C.W. McCall – Black Bear Road (MGM)

1981: Kenny Rogers – Greatest Hits (Liberty)

1986: Kenny Rogers – The Heart Of The Matter (RCA)

1991: Clint Black – Put Yourself In My Shoes (RCA)

1996: Garth Brooks – Fresh Horses (Capitol)

2001: Tim McGraw – Greatest Hits (Curb)

2006: Carrie Underwood – Some Hearts (Arista)

2011:Taylor Swift – Speak Now (Big Machine)

Week ending 12/18/10: #1 albums this week in country music history

1965: Eddy Arnold – My World (RCA Victor)

1970: Ray Price – For The Good Times (Columbia)

1975: Freddy Fender – Are You Ready For Freddy? (ABC-Dot)

1980: Kenny Rogers – Greatest Hits (Liberty)

1985: George Strait – Something Special (MCA)

1990: Garth Brooks – No Fences (Capitol)

1995: Garth Brooks – Fresh Horses (Capitol)

2000: Tim McGraw – Greatest Hits (Curb)

2005: Carrie Underwood – Some Hearts (Arista)

2010:Taylor Swift – Speak Now (Big Machine)

Week ending 12/11/10: #1 albums this week in country music history

1965: Eddy Arnold – My World (RCA Victor)

1970: Ray Price – For The Good Times (Columbia)

1975: John Denver – Windsong (RCA)

1980: Kenny Rogers – Greatest Hits (Liberty)

1985: Rosanne Cash – Rhythm and Romance (Columbia)

1990: Garth Brooks – No Fences (Capitol)

1995: Garth Brooks – Fresh Horses (Capitol)

2000: Tim McGraw – Greatest Hits (Curb)

2005: Kenny Chesney – The Road and the Radio (BNA)

2010:Taylor Swift – Speak Now (Big Machine)

Week ending 12/4/10: #1 albums this week in country music history

1965: Eddy Arnold – My World (RCA Victor)

1970: Ray Price – For The Good Times (Columbia)

1975: John Denver – Windsong (RCA)

1980: Kenny Rogers – Greatest Hits (Liberty)

1985: Ronnie Milsap – Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (RCA)

1990: Garth Brooks – No Fences (Capitol)

1995: Alan Jackson – The Greatest Hits Collection (Arista)

2000: Alan Jackson – When Somebody Loves You (Arista)

2005: Carrie Underwood – Some Hearts (Arista)

2010:Rascal Flatts – Nothing Like This (Big Machine)

Week ending 11/27/10: #1 singles this week in country music history

1950: I’m Movin’ On — Hank Snow (RCA)

1960: Wings Of A Dove — Ferlin Husky (Capitol)

1970: Fifteen Years Ago — Conway Twitty (Decca)

1980: Lady — Kenny Rogers (Liberty)

1990: Come Next Monday — K.T. Oslin (RCA)

2000: Just Another Day In Paradise — Phil Vassar (Arista)

2010: As She’s Walking Away — Zac Brown Band feat. Alan Jackson (Southern Ground/Atlantic)