~~~ LONG-FORM "[RE]DISCOVER" CAMPAIGN ARTICLE (2020) ~~~

​"Best-Ever Era: '70s Country vs. '80s Country"
(“Best-Ever Era” series created and written by Dean Moore for Amazon Music's "[Re]Discover" playlist collection.
More essays HERE)

The debate’s taken place over many decades and many cold beers: what is country music’s best-ever era?

Is there a decade that, if one were forced to choose, gave us the very best country songs, country songwriters, country singers, and country bands? There are a lot of factors at play here, of course, not the least of which being when exactly the country music fan doing the choosing was born. Folks born in 1990, for example, probably love Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, and other post-2000 country music greats. If you were born in 1950, on the other hand, those wonderful classic country superstars of the ‘60s like Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, and troubled lovebirds George Jones and Tammy Wynette are likely favorites.

And those born around, say, the late ‘60s or early ‘70s? Well, these are the folks who truly lucked out. Because they likely fell in love with country music starting around the 1970s and moving on into the 1980s. And the 1970s and 1980s happen to be, without any doubt—it’s been proven by science and everyone who’s anyone agrees, so don’t even bother arguing—the two best decades ever for country music.

But which decade (of those two and only those two) is the best of the best? The following (again, very scientific) contest aims to find out, using entries from the expertly curated Amazon Music playlists entitled Rediscover the ‘70s: Country and Rediscover the ‘80s: Country.

Each round of the competition will feature one track randomly selected from the ‘70s and another track randomly selected from the ‘80s. Numerical scores from 1 to 100 will be applied to each entry based on just how glorious the glorious country song and glorious country artist featured are. We'll name a winner for each round, and whichever era of these best-ever eras (which—did we mention?—are definitely the two best-ever eras in country music) wins! Shall we?

ROUND ONE:

Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson, “A Good Hearted Woman” (1975)

vs.

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, “Fishin’ in the Dark” (1987)

Woah, what a ‘70s track to start off with! (Sorry ‘80s fans...it’s almost not fair, is it?) Jennings’s career was well underway by the time he wrote “Good Hearted Woman,” but he was still more used to interpreting other folks’ tunes rather than writing his own. He got a little songwriting help from his buddy Nelson on “Woman,” and released it as a single that went to Number 3 on the country charts in 1971. But when he rerecorded it a couple years later and had Nelson take over some of the vocals (and mixed in some fake crowd noise to liven up the party), that version reached the mountaintop of the country charts, went pop Top 25, and unofficially ushered in the “outlaw country” movement.

SCORE: 95

But oh man, “Fishin’” is a classic, too. It’s hard to believe it was released as a single in the later ‘80s. It sounds so timeless! Well, except for perhaps that processed tom-tom hit that precedes the band ripping into that triumphant chorus. But it sounds like it could’ve been written in pretty much any decade. And who doesn’t have a memory or two of sneaking off into the night with someone special, looking up at the constellations, and maybe not fishing in the dark, necessarily, but enjoying laying back in that cool, tall grass? It hits all the right notes, musically and thematically, without sounding trite.

SCORE: 87

“Good Hearted Woman” is just too important, let alone just too darn good, to not have a leg up in this one. NGDB are legends, but Waylon and Willie are Nashville gods! WINNER: The ‘70s.

ROUND TWO:

Charlie Rich, “A Very Special Love Song” (1974)

vs.

Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers, “Islands in the Stream” (1983)

Country music aficionados would argue, but even when compared to George Jones, or the superb Charley Pride, Charlie Rich is a vastly underrated singer and artist overall. His croon had a little Elvis Presley in it, and on “A Very Special Love Song,” he lays on the charm and tenderness real thick. Surely the girl he was asking to listen real close to the radio so she’d hear him sing that song just for her succumbed to his romantic overtures, didn’t she? (It probably didn’t hurt his cause when the song went Number 1 country, almost went Top Ten on the pop charts, and won a Grammy for Best Country Song.)

SCORE: 86

Tammy Wynette and George Jones have to be considered the ultimate country duet tandem, because they were a real couple. All those songs of fleeting happiness and flowing heartbreak—it sounded like they really were personally experiencing it all (because they were)! But in terms of sheer listening joy, could there possibly be a better pairing than Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton? They probably could have released any old song together in 1983 and it would have been a country Number 1. But a Billboard Hot 100 Number 1? That’s where the Bee Gees came in, first writing “Islands” with Diana Ross in mind but ultimately reworking it for Kenny and Dolly, who made it a crossover megahit.

SCORE: 98

There’s no use competing with a song as good as “Islands in the Stream,” sung by two of the most universally beloved singers of all time, in any genre. The song itself is a masterpiece, the singers’ interpretation masterful. WINNER: The ‘80s.

ROUND THREE:

Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn, “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man” (1973)

vs.

George Strait, “All My Ex’s Live in Texas” (1987)

This upbeat Twitty/Lynn number starts off a-rockin’, with a crisp, lively drumbeat and some tasty guitar licks thrown in next to equally spirited fiddle-playing. But then Twitty digs in with a rousing “Heyyyy” and sings “Lou’siana woman,” with Lynn immediately answering with her “Mississippi man,” and we know we have ourselves a country song. A real, down-home country song. The overall vibe of the tune makes the listener feel like they’re down in Cajun country, and the playful lyrics are a delight, with Lynn and Twitty play-fighting over which one wants to see the other more—and they’ll have to outswim the Mississippi River gators to do it!

SCORE: 80

First Conway and Loretta are trying to get at each other from across the Mississippi, and here we have George Strait taking the opposite tack, putting as much ground between him and his past loves as he possibly can! “Ex’s” is such a witty cut, a perfect match for Strait. His signature vocal delivery is understated as usual, but at the same time he’s as sly as ever. He makes it clear how much he loves Texas, and that he wouldn’t leave if he had any choice in the matter. It’s just that darn Rosanna, Eileen, Allison, and the worst of all of ‘em: Dimples! Dimples was probably the last straw to get King George to flee to Tennessee. Can’t blame the guy.

SCORE: 85

It’s a little harder to compare songs that sound so different production-wise, which is mainly because one’s from the early ‘70s and the other’s from the late ‘80s. “King of Country” George Strait gets the slight edge, though, if for no other reason than his keeping things classic country when the country radio dial was starting to shift a little toward the pop side of things (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Plus, “Ex’s” was a Number 1 country hit, an achievement Strait only realized a mere 43 other times (needless to say, he has the most Number 1’s ever). WINNER: The ‘80s.

ROUND FOUR:

Johnny Paycheck, “Take This Job and Shove It” (1977)

vs.

John Anderson, “Swingin’” (1983)

Hard to fathom how one little song about takin’ it to the man could make so many waves. Not only did “Take This Job and Shove It” go to Number 1 on the country charts, but it inspired a full-length feature film and became a countrywide battle cry for blue-collar workers everywhere who were fed up with their unappreciative bosses. Songwriter David Allan Coe is infamous for writing and recording ribald and controversial tunes for himself. But “Take This Job and Shove It” had just the right amount of defiant attitude, without getting raunchy. Johnny Paycheck was quite the outlaw himself, serving time for a few different assaults, so he proved to be the perfect messenger for this ditty, the ultimate country kiss-off.

SCORE: 90

“Swingin’” became something of a phenomenon for John Anderson, as well. It was his second country Number 1 in a row, and proved so universally relatable that it almost cracked the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. The tale of a common country boy somehow managing to get the prettiest girl around just by swinging with her on her front porch was perfectly simple and sweet. Anderson’s distinctive twang was highly likable, too, and would help him land three more Number 1’s along with plenty more country radio hits. “Swingin’,” though, was without question his career-defining track.

SCORE: 84

Hmmm. To go with the mega-relatable summertime swoon of “Swingin’,” or the rallying cry of a Grand Ole Opry member that was heard ‘round the nation? It comes down to the song, here. The appeal of “Swingin’” is Anderson’s voice and charming delivery. Whereas “Shove It” is a great song down to its core. What a thrill it is when Paycheck starts off the festivities with the first line of the chorus, where it’s just him singing the title of the song a capella. It’s dang hard to start a song off with the chorus, let alone with just a voice and no instrumentation behind it. But Paycheck pulls it off with style and swagger. WINNER: The ‘70s.

ROUND FIVE:

George Jones, “The Door” (1974)

vs.

George Jones, “He Stopped Loving Her Today” (1980)

What can be said, the luck of the draw gave us Possum vs. Possum! Many country music fanatics will always stand by Mr. Jones as the Greatest Country Music Singer of All Times, and it only takes hearing the first few lines of “The Door” to see why. At the end of the second line of the song, just soak up the incredible vocal control Jones exhibits when he delicately makes the word “war” into five syllables. Let’s face it, it’s pretty much George Jones and Mariah Carey who can do melisma that well. And when we finally get to the chorus, the melodrama is simply sublime. Jones starts with that country scoop up from down real low: “To hear that sound,” and then BAM, the sound effect of a door slamming turns the listener’s already rapt attention up another five notches. What’s next? We go from door slam, to silence, to the band and Jones ferociously coming back in with “and to KNOW! IT’S! REAL! -LY! Ohhhh-verrrr.” It’s enough to put a lump in the throat of the manliest of men. Then Jones turns the knife, saying not earthquakes, storms, guns, or war hurt him as much as the sound of his one true love closing the door on him forever. Whew! A better representation of true country music would be hard to find...

SCORE: 99

...Except here’s an even better representation of true country music! Just when one might be tempted to think it impossible to improve upon “The Door,” here comes “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” It’s certainly just as good, and there’s no shortage of music historians who think it might just be the best country song ever recorded. Even though it’d only been six years since he scored back-to-back Number 1’s with “The Grand Tour” and “The Door,” the end of the 1970s was not kind to Jones, career-wise or health-wise. So when a new George Jones track appeared on the radio to welcome in the new decade of the 1980s, Possum fans were hugely relieved. And it was Jones in perfect voice, too. In fact, the song starts with just his voice, “He said ‘I’ll love you till I die,’” with the band only coming in on the word “die.” That’s when listeners giddily realized they were in for another emotional roller coaster ride from their Nashville hero.

SCORE: 100

Since it’d be a shame to ruin the narrative for folks who haven’t heard the song before, let it simply be said that the story arc and climax of the story of “He Stopped Loving Her Today” rival that of any Best Picture Oscar-winner. And the song won Jones the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance, which, insanely, was the only time the “Rolls Royce of Country Music” ever won that honor. WINNER: The ‘80s.

ROUND SIX:

Glen Campbell, “Rhinestone Cowboy” (1975)

vs.

Alabama, “Mountain Music” (1982)

Glen Campbell just may have been the ultimate country-to-pop crossover artist, at least before Shania Twain and Garth Brooks made an art of it in the 1990s. No song of Campbell’s (or anybody’s) did it better than “Rhinestone Cowboy.” Singer-songwriter Larry Weiss released the song to little acclaim the year before Campbell’s version became a sensation. All the song needed was a boost from a superstar and master interpreter, though, because it’s a true masterpiece. It sets the scene with the hero of the song paying every due a guy can pay on the mean streets of New York City. Then the pre-chorus builds to a pop-friendly frenzy, until the instrumentation shuts down and allows Campbell to jubilantly claim the persona in the chorus that would happily define him for the rest of his days.

SCORE: 96

“Mountain Music” is a great example of a great many things that are admirable in country music. First, it starts off with the chorus. A song that starts with the chorus and is sung by the greatest country band ever in Alabama is more than likely going to be an all-timer. Second, those harmonies! These days the producer and engineer would have to do some heavy-duty knob-twiddling to get a bunch of singers to sound that good together. And lastly, consider the work that’s being done here by the band: most of the track is a Southern country-rocker, but in the middle of the tune they break it down to a groove that hearkens back to the disco craze of a few years before. And they totally pull it off! But that’s not all. Just when listeners think the song is winding down, they’re treated to an out-of-the-blue bluegrass coda to end their three-and-a-half-minute-long sonic journey. What more could a country fan ask for?

SCORE: 95

This matchup might have been the hardest one to score. Does the listener prefer a masterfully written song with a chorus that provides one of the biggest payoffs in country or even pop music history? Or a harmony-rich, genre-bending barnburner that perfectly captures the essence of hailing from the American South? On any given day it could go either way, but...WINNER: The ‘70s.

ROUND SEVEN:

Charley Pride, “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’” (1971)

vs.

The Judds, “Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Old Days)” (1982)

Charley Pride will likely first be remembered for breaking the color barrier in country music, and it’s a wonderful and important thing to be remembered for. But to only remember him as one of country’s greatest Black artists would be to miss the fact that he was simply one of the greatest country singers of all time, period. After all, 30 Number 1’s don’t lie. “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’” proved to be his signature song, winning him CMA Entertainer of the Year honors and reaching not only Number 1 on the country charts, but Number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop charts (one of eight crossover hits he had in his career). Fun fact: we might have missed out on Pride’s amazing music career if the color barrier in baseball had been broken a bit sooner. He was a two-time Negro League all-star pitcher and only missed taking advantage of Jackie Robinson’s clearing the pathway to the major leagues because of an injury.

SCORE: 88

Does anyone remember just how thoroughly Naomi and Wynonna Judd ruled the country radio airwaves in the 1980s? It even took all the way up until 2021 for the Country Music Hall of Fame to remember this cold hard fact and induct the Judds. Their first single release only made it to Number 17 on the Billboard Hot Country chart, but then fourteen of the next seventeen singles went to Number 1 with a bullet (and the ones that didn’t were either Christmas songs, an Elvis cover, or—the shame!—the song only reached Number 2 status). “Grandpa” is one of many shining examples of the mother-and-daughter team’s appeal, as they tenderly look to their elders for relief from a wicked old world.

SCORE: 89

This is another tossup. Both Charley Pride and the Judds had tough roads to hoe in order to break into the music business. The Judds have the slightest of edges, though, for two reasons: their complete domination of the radio airwaves in such a condensed time period, and how they perfectly represented the best of a decade in the 1980s that often gets a bad rap. WINNER: The ‘80s.

ROUND EIGHT (Final Round):

Dolly Parton, “Here You Come Again” (1977)

vs.

Keith Whitley, “When You Say Nothing at All” (1988)

“Jolene,” another ‘70s Number 1 smash for Parton, has become perhaps the most enduring song from that decade for her. Indie rockers (The White Stripes) and disco-pop divas (Olivia Newton-John) alike have made it the Queen of Nashville’s most covered song. But the crossover success of “Here You Come Again,” which was not written by Parton but by the genius pop songwriting duo of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil (“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’”), signaled that Dolly wouldn’t be satisfied with just being the apple of country music’s eye. She was going to be all of America’s sweetheart. The tune went to Number 3 on the pop charts in addition to parking in the top spot of the country charts for five weeks. It also gave Parton her first of eleven Grammy Awards, three of which, like this first one, were for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.

SCORE: 92

It’s always a shame when a talent like that of Keith Whitley gets taken from us way too soon. But it’s doubly heartbreaking when it happens at the absolute height of an artist’s career. “When You Say Nothing at All” was Whitley’s second single of five in a row to hit Number 1 on the country charts. He didn’t live to enjoy the success of the last two, but he did get to savor the all-encompassing love this achingly romantic late-’80s track received. It was one he lobbied to cut, which makes sense given the songwriters involved: Paul Overstreet (“Forever and Ever, Amen” by Randy Travis, “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” by Kenny Chesney) and Don Schlitz (“The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers, “One Promise Too Late” by Reba McEntire). ‘90s country fans might know this one from Alison Krauss & Union Station’s 1995 version, but with all due respect to Ms. Krauss, Whitley’s take is the best.

SCORE: 88

Another tough choice to make, but the fact that “Here You Come Again” turned “country music’s Dolly Parton” into just plain “Dolly,” and paved the way for the world domination of the song “9 to 5” (not to mention the blockbuster feature film of the same name) a few years later, gives Ms. Parton the nod. WINNER: The ‘70s.

RESULTS:

And now, to determine once and for always which era was the best-ever in country music, the 1970s or the 1980s, let’s tally up how many rounds were won by each.

The ‘70s, represented by Nashville royalty including Loretta Lynn, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and George Jones, won four rounds!

And the ‘80s, coming on strong with country legends like Alabama, the Judds, George Strait, and also George Jones, won...four rounds? We have a tie!

Ah, but this is when those numerical scores come into play: we just need to do the math and we’ll have the definitive answer to the question of which country music era was best. After some quick calculations, the 1970s scored...

726 points!

And the 1980s scored...oh, no.

726 points??

The Music City gods have spoken: There just wasn’t meant to be a best-ever country music era. The ‘70s and ‘80s were both simply too good. Listeners must forevermore spend equal amounts of their valuable earphone time listening to both the Rediscover the ‘70s: Country and the Rediscover the ‘80s: Country playlists in order to be assured adequate levels of pure country enjoyment. (Could be worse, right?)