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by Nathan Kanuch, Zackary Kephart & Julian Spivey When I heard that famed documentarian Ken Burns was putting together a definitive history of country music for an eight-part series on PBS I knew The Word had to compile a list of the 100 Greatest Country Songs of All-Time. I also knew that I wanted to collaborate on such a list with Zackary Kephart of The Musical Divide and Nathan Kanuch of Shore2Shore Country, whom I’ve worked with a few times on other collaborations. Methodology: When coming up with the idea to collaborate on a list of the 100 Greatest Country Songs of All-Time I asked Zackary Kephart of The Musical Divide and Nathan Kanuch of Shore2Shore Country to make up their own personal list of what they considered to be the 100 greatest country music songs of all-time. I had done the same. To get our definitive list I took songs that all three of us included on our lists and averaged those together. If a song was on all three lists, it automatically went to the top. So, if all three of us had a song ranked in the nineties on our list it could theoretically come out higher on the definitive list than a song that appeared very high on two lists but was left completely off the third (this did happen). Zack, Nathan and I were unanimous when it came to 32 songs. This is where the methodology is a bit imperfect, but it’s the closest I could figure to get a definitive list of the greatest country songs of all-time. If a song appeared on two out of the three lists, it would be averaged and slot in behind the 32 songs we all agreed should be in the top 100. There were 41 such songs. The remainder of the list (27 songs) features songs that only appeared on one of the three lists and to get the most accurate ranking for the definitive list it was a “highest remaining song comes first” system.  70. "Behind Closed Doors" by Charlie Rich (1973)Over the last decade or so there has been a lot of debate and ire over the combination of pop and country music, but in 1973 Charlie Rich proved that a pop-flavored country tune could be one of the best and biggest country hits of all-time and an incredible one at that. The piano-driven love ballad, written by Kenny O’Dell, is the frankly out of date tale of a lover who makes her husband proud by not acting promiscuous in public. Rich’s vocals are among the smoothest in country history and helped take the privately sultry “Behind Closed Doors” to the top of the country charts and crossover to the top 20 on the pop chart. It would be crowned Song of the Year at both the CMAs and ACMs. JS 69. "Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight" by Rodney Crowell (1978)There’s little doubt in my mind that Rodney Crowell is both one of the greatest country music singer-songwriters of all-time, as well as one of the genre’s most underrated and underappreciated. You know the hits he’s written: “I Ain’t Living Long Like This” for Waylon Jennings, “Please Remember Me” for Tim McGraw and “Making Memories of Us” for Keith Urban, but my favorite is the story song “Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight,” which tells the tale of a woman running off with a fast-talking man. The Oak Ridge Boys had a No. 1 hit in 1979 with the song, but I much prefer the stripped down version that appeared on Crowell’s own debut the year before. JS 68. "The Chair" by George Strait (1985)One of the most well-written country songs of all-time comes courtesy of an all-night songwriting binge courtesy of Dean Dillon and Hank Cochran, and it just so happens to be the final song that stemmed from that binge on that fateful night. More than that, however, “The Chair” is also known for its smaller, more subtle elements - “Can I drink you a buy?,” not featuring a chorus at all, and, in the hands of George Strait, helping one of country music’s (still then) young performers distance himself from the pack with that smooth delivery behind it all. Trying to pick a favorite Strait song is like trying to pick a favorite child, but surely “The Chair” can be universally considered one of his best. ZK 67. "I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton (1974)Dolly Parton today is remembered more of an icon for her ventures outside of music. Amusement parks, movies, causes; She’s a renaissance woman who has parlayed her legendary music into so much more. And she has earned it all. Yet it’s important to remember those formative years in which Parton was just another up-and-coming artist trying to leave her own unique mark on country music. “I Will Always Love You” revealed a more complex side of her writing as she ended her professional partnership with her mentor Porter Wagoner. Unlike most breakup songs in the country music world at the time, “I Will Always Love You” found the narrator speaking to her loved one from a place of respect. No chaotic troubles ended the relationship; rather, the narrator simply felt it was time to move on by herself. NK 66. "Waitin' Around to Die" by Townes Van Zandt (1968)Townes Van Zandt. One of the three greatest American songwriters of all-time with Bruce Springsteen and Kris Kristofferson. Van Zandt conveyed the emotions found in the deepest and darkest depths of the human heart. “Waitin’ Around to Die,” much like most of his material is poetry set to music. Simple as that. Just phenomenal writing. The subject matter finds Van Zandt singing from the perspective of a man who suffers through several different traumatic and formative experiences - from problems with a mother and father to drug and alcohol issues and later prison. The definitive version can be found in the documentary “Heartworn Highways.” NK 65. "All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down" by Hank Williams Jr. (1981)What Hank Williams Jr. has accomplished, when viewed in the context of his lineage, is one of the most impressive feats in country music history. Everyone, including his own mother, wanted Hank Jr. to make music that sounded like his Dad’s. And he did. Until he fell off Ajax Peak in 1975. The fall nearly killed him. But he walked away, grew a beard and started wearing dark sunglasses to cover the scars. Most importantly, he gained the courage needed to step out from his father’s long shadow and record music that *he* wanted to record. Much of Hank Jr’s best material is the perfect blend of Waylon-esque Outlaw country and Marshall Tucker-esque Southern Rock. “All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)” is a fun, rousing stomp in which Hank Jr. looks around and wonders where all the wild times have gone. NK 64. "Take This Job and Shove It" by Johnny Paycheck (1977)Country music is built on songs like “Take This Job and Shove It.” Sure, I go on and on and on about my favorite songwriters that weave poetic and narrative standards like Kris Kristofferson and Townes Van Zandt. But I also love the working-man songs. The Hag. Paycheck. Buck Owens. Songs that seem so easy to write but are actually incredibly hard. “Take This Job and Shove It,” written by David Allen Coe (before he lost his mind), expresses one of the most common sentiments from men and women across the country sitting down on a barstool after a long day of work. That’s country music. NK 63. "Man of Constant Sorrow" by The Soggy Bottom Boys (2000)Here’s another example of a song where its legacy and impact triumph over its pure quality, which is saying something considering this is still an excellent song. But what “Man Of Constant Sorrow” is remembered most as is the revitalization of the American art form of bluegrass and helping it race straight to the top of the charts. The biggest recording of this song comes courtesy of Dan Tyminski, Harley Allen and Pat Enright as The Soggy Bottom Boys for the Coen Brothers film, “O Brother, Where Art Thou?,” but it also helped light a spark for the likes of other bluegrass greats like Ralph Stanley, Alison Krauss and Union Station and the Whites. While country music was beginning to radically shift as a result of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, it can’t be overstated how much of a travesty it is that a movie soundtrack which sold over eight million copies couldn’t even find support from country radio. Regardless, considering the song won a Single Of The Year award at the CMAs and brought bluegrass into the mainstream, it’s not a bad day’s work for a band that doesn’t technically exist. ZK 62. "I'm Movin' On" by Hank Snow (1950)“That big eight-wheeler, rollin' down the track/Means your true-lovin' daddy ain't comin' back...” The first two lines in “I’m Movin’ On” let the listener know he or she is in for a wild ride down the road with this song. Plenty of fiddle and whining steel guitar drive each verse into the other while Hank Snow’s distinct voice carries the song 100 MPH down the highway. NK 61. "Tulsa Time" by Don Williams (1978)Don Williams had the smoothest voice in the history of country music bar none. His silky bass-baritone could make anyone swoon and fit No. 1 songs like “You’re My Best Friend,” “Some Broken Hearts Never Mend” and “I Believe In You” perfectly. His most recognized song, however, was potentially his most raucous in the Danny Flowers-penned “Tulsa Time,” which he topped the country charts with in 1978. “Tulsa Time” is the tried and true story of a dreamer wanting to make it big in Hollywood before realizing he actually had things good back home in Tulsa. It’s an infectious tune that’s sure to be stuck in your mind the remainder of any day you hear it. JS
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