The Best Country Songs of the 60s

What are the best country songs from the 60s?

There were two major influences in country music during the 1960s. The first was the "Nashville Sound," which began in the mid 50s but reached its peak during the 1960s. Nashville Sound replaced tbe Honky Tonk sound which was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s. It features a prominent and "smooth" vocal, the use of "smooth" strings and background vocal chorus, and a crooning style of lead vocal typified by Jim Reeves and Eddy Arnold. Most of these were borrowed from 1950s pop stylings. Instrumental soloing was de-emphasized in favor of trademark "licks" while the "slip note" piano style of session musician Floyd Cramer was an important component of this style.

The "Nashville Sound" turned country music into a multimillion-dollar industry centered on Nashville, Tennessee. Under the direction of producers such as Chet Atkins, Owen Bradley, and later Billy Sherrill, the "Nashville sound" brought country music to a diverse audience and helped revive country as it emerged from a commercially fallow period. Leading artists in this genre included Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves, and later Tammy Wynette and Charlie Rich.

The second major influence in 60s country music was known as the Bakersfield Sound. This sound grew out of hardcore honky tonk with elements of Western swing, and was influenced by one time West Coast residents Bob Wills and Lefty Frizzell. The Bakersfield Sound relied on electric instruments and amplification, in particular the Telecaster electric guitar, more than other subgenres of country of the era, and can be described as having a sharp, hard, driving, no-frills, edgy flavor. Leading practitioners of this style were Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Tommy Collins, and Wynn Stewart, each of whom had his own style.

Located below you will find a list of some of the best country songs of the 1960s. For your convenience, we have included links to the sheet music on Sheetmusicplus.com as well as the CD on Amazon.com whenever available. If you are looking to purchase the mp3 or would like to listen to a sample, then click on either the Amazon, Rhapsody, or iTunes links.

Rhapsody provides both music subscriptions as well as individual mp3s for sale in WMA format and iTunes only provides MPEG-4 audio files for sale. However, Amazon does offer mp3s that are compatible with both Windows Media Player and iTunes. For more information about where to purchase music online, we provide it on our Music Downloads page or our Music Subscriptions page.

These singles are considered among the best country songs to hit the charts in the 1960s.

1. "A Boy Named Sue" performed by Johnny Cash
    Find it on:        Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
2. "Abilene" performed by George Hamilton IV
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3. "Act Naturally" performed by Buck Owens
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4. "Big Bad John" performed by Jimmy Dean
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5. "Crazy" performed by Patsy Cline
    Find it on:        Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
6. "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" performed by Tammy Wynette
    Find it on:        Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
7. "Don't Worry" performed by Marty Robbins
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8. "Folsom Prison Blues" performed by Johnny Cash
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9. "For Loving You" performed by Bill Anderson & Jan Howard
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10. "For The Good Times" performed by Ray Price
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11. "Girl On The Billboard" performed by Del Reeves
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12. "Green, Green Grass Of Home" performed by Porter Wagoner
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13. "He'll Have To Go" performed by Jim Reeves
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14. "Hello Walls" performed by Faron Young
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15. "I Fall To Pieces" performed by Patsy Cline
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16. "(I'm so) Afraid of Losing You Again" performed by Charley Pride
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17. "It's Such A Pretty World Today" performed by Wynn Stewart
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18. "I've Got A Tiger By The Tail" performed by Buck Owens
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19. "Kaw-Liga" performed by Charley Pride
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20. "King of the Road" performed by Roger Miller
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21. "Make The World Go Away" performed by Eddy Arnold
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22. "Mama Tried" performed by Merle Haggard
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23. "Ninety Miles An Hour (Down A Dead End Street)" performed by Hank Snow
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24. "Okie From Muskogee" performed by Merle Haggard
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25. "Once a Day" performed by Connie Smith
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26. "Please Help Me, I'm Falling (In Love With You)" performed by Hank Locklin
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27. "Pop a Top" performed by Jim Ed Brown
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28. "Ring Of Fire" performed by Johnny Cash
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29. "Rings of Gold" performed by Dottie West And Don Gibson
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30. "Saginaw, Michigan" performed by Lefty Frizzell
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31. "She Thinks I Still Care" performed by George Jones
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32. "Stand By Your Man" performed by Tammy Wynette
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33. "Tender Years" performed by George Jones
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34. "The Party's Over" performed by Willie Nelson
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35. "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" performed by Eddy Arnold
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36. "Walk on By" performed by Leroy Van Dyke
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37. "Wichita Lineman" performed by Glen Campbell
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38. "Wings of a Dove" performed by Ferlin Husky
     Find it on:        Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus

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