Merle Haggard’s B-sides continue to outshine most of the A-sides on this list.
#350
Montgomery Gentry, “Where I Come From”
#8 | 2011
JK: Baffling that this is ranked ahead of “My Town,” which is obviously the superior cut in every way. With so many artists not represented on this list at all, there’s no way this copy-of-a-copy-of-a-copy single should’ve been here. So Wrong (Doesn’t Belong)
ZK: It’s too bad this was their last top 10 hit, a poor retread of their numerous other songs in this vein. So Wrong (Doesn’t Belong)
KJC: The formula was wearing thin well before this was released. As Jonathan and Zack note, there are earlier and better tracks to represent them. So Wrong (Doesn’t Belong)
#349
Dwight Yoakam, “Guitars, Cadillacs”
#4 | 1986
ZK: One of the defining records of its time, especially as country music shifted away from some of the more boring traits of the Urban Cowboy era. 1986 was an important year for the genre, and it’s a single like this that shot some life into it. Far, far Too Low.
KJC: As perfect a country record as exists. If I had to distill the entire genre down to a single CD, this would be on it. Too Low
JK: When we did our Best Singles of the 1980s lists for Slant some years ago, I knew I’d be the only vote for anything country, so I culled the country singles from my ballot, except for the ones that I’d ranked in my top 10. This is one of those singles I kept. It’s a stone classic, and this ranking is entirely Too Low.
#348
Jake Owen, “Barefoot Blue Jean Night”
#1 | 2011
KJC: A pleasant enough record that shouldn’t be able to view the top four hundred in the distance from its proper location. Too High
JK: The only one of Owen’s uptempos I’ve ever liked was “Yee Haw,” of all things, but I can at least understand why this one would be included on this list… like 600 entries back and certainly not ahead of “Guitars, Cadillacs.” Too High
ZK: A bit too early for its time to be called “bro,” and what can I say? There are very few modern mainstream artists who can pull off lightweight, breezy material effectively, and I’d say Jake Owen is one of them. Certainly not a cut I’d place right here, but I can’t quibble with it actually being here at all, though maybe more in the lower 900s than anywhere else. Too High
#347
Merle Haggard and the Strangers, “Silver Wings”
B-Side | 1969
JK: The one thing that I’ve actually learned from this list is that there are some classic Haggard tracks that I honestly had just assumed were massive chart hits but were actually B-sides. In terms of stature, this one would be like if “Tennessee Mountain Home” had been a B-side or “The Grand Tour” had been an album track. I legit did a double-take when I read that. Too Low
ZK: Look, they did a surprisingly decent job with the Haggard selections overall, but this stands next to “Sing Me Back Home” in the what-the-fuck-were-y’all-thinking-with-this-placement department. Too Low
KJC: I first heard this song on the Mama’s Hungry Eyes tribute album, which was a last minute addition because they realized, “Nobody’s done ‘Silver Wings!’” Pam Tillis did the honors, which is why I bought that album in the first place. So my shock that it wasn’t a proper A-side dates back 26 years. Too Low
#346
Dierks Bentley, “Sideways”
#1 | 2009
ZK: I’m looking at the fine folks over at Sirius a bit sideways for putting this just ahead of “Silver Wings.” And “Jolene.” And “Seven Year Ache.” And … So Wrong (Doesn’t Belong)
KJC: I’d be totally fine if the only thing on this list that resembled bro country was Dierks Bentley’s indulgences in it. But I’d get them out of the way early on like a veteran act dropping new songs into their set list. Too High
JK: I like Dierks Bentley quite a lot, but come the entire way on with this inclusion and ranking. Swap it for “Bourbon in Kentucky” or “Say You Do” or “Up on the Ridge” and drop it 300 places back. So Wrong (This Song)
#345
Shania Twain, “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under”
#11 | 1995
KJC: Shania Twain’s big three albums worked because of two critical elements: Twain’s clever and distinctively female point of view as a songwriter, and “Mutt” Lange’s decision to structure her songs like pop records recorded with country instruments. It’s a testament to the high bar set by The Woman in Me that this was only the third or fourth most impactful release from that landmark record. Out of all of the album’s eight singles, though, this one was not just the first. It was also the best. About Right
JK: I’d swap the ranking of this one with “No One Needs to Know,” which we covered ages ago, to represent what are easily Shania’s two finest singles. The production on this has aged remarkably well, and it says so much about country radio that this missed the top 10. Too High
ZK: Her most conventionally country song to date, the one that started a commercial hot streak rivaled only by Garth Brooks … and yet one that feels forgotten in the larger conversations surrounding Twain’s discography. I might not have it quite *this* high, but I’d definitely have it in the upper half. I’m glad it was included. Too High
#344
Bobby Bare, “500 Miles Away From Home”
#5 | 1963
JK: I mean, yes, this is one of his bigger chart hits, but it’s almost like they just looked at Bare’s singles discography entry on Wikipedia to make and rank their picks for him. I’d have this in the first quarter of the list somewhere and would have cut a lot of nonsense in between to make room for some of his less conventional work. Too High
ZK: They really didn’t try that hard with the Bobby Bare selections, and while it’s a good song and his version is the most commercially successful and likely the best, his 2nd highest song here? For real? Too High
KJC: It’s impossible not to measure this against “Detroit City,” which has a similar theme but far more lyrical specificity. I’m glad they included it, even if it’s just a bit Too High.
#343
Brantley Gilbert, “Country Must Be Country Wide’
#1 | 2011
ZK: I don’t disagree with the sentiment, honestly; I just don’t need the Motley Crue backdrop to go with it. So Wrong (Doesn’t Belong)
KJC: Ah, the “from his wranglers to his boots” song that irritates me when just a five-second clip of it surfaces during a round of SongPop. Flat out terrible. Words cannot fully capture my disdain for songs that fiercely cling to country as a “mine and not yours” identity without bothering to respect the roots of the music itself. So Wrong (Doesn’t Belong)
JK: We ended up with Brantley Gilbert as a B-list country star, presumably, because VH-1 stopped producing shows like Tool Academy and Daisy of Love after a contestant on Megan Wants to Marry a Millionaire murdered his real-life girlfriend. There’s a subset of country fans who insist that Gilbert is secretly a brilliant songwriter, but just-awful hits like this have not inspired me to dig very deep into his catalogue to find out if that’s true, when he seems better-suited for a reboot of the Flavorverse. So Wrong (Doesn’t Belong)
#342
Zac Brown Band, “Whatever It Is”
#2 | 2009
KJC: I confused this with David Nail’s “Whatever She’s Got” and was poised to…still be baffled by its placement. So Wrong (Doesn’t Belong)
JK: I have absolutely no recollection of this song, and this is from the era when I still liked Zac Brown Band. How on earth is this ranked so high? Or at all? So Wrong (Doesn’t Belong)
ZK: Pleasant filler for this band, but as far as its placement here, “whatever,” indeed. So Wrong (Doesn’t Belong)
#341
Trace Adkins, “Every Light in the House”
#3 | 1996
JK: A well-written song that Adkins dials up to 11 like he’s trying to be the male version of Reba… And it kind of works? I still wish he had a better sense of pitch, but this is one of Adkins’ best. Still, in the grand scheme of things, this ranking is far Too High.
ZK: A bit oversold, as certain ’90s singles tended to be. But there’s a part of me that enjoys a healthy dose of earnest melodrama, too, and there’s a darker subtext here that’s always elevated its wistful lonesomeness. Really, Adkins could have made several modern classics if he’d just used his talent for good. Too High
KJC: A deserved breakthrough hit from his early days, when he still carried the air of a gentleman. From his entire catalog, I’d only put “I’m Tryin’” this high. Too High
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