The 1980s were arguably one of the best periods in country music. The era saw the emergence of some country music artists, who are still legends today, along with some veterans making some of the best music of their careers. These four country songs from the 1980s defined the entire decade.
“Amarillo By Morning” by George Strait
By the time George Strait released “Amarillo By Morning” in 1983, he had already had his first No. 1 single, with “Fool Hearted Memory”. But it’s “Amarillo By Morning” that most people remember, becoming his first multi-platinum single. It might just be one of the most famous country songs of the 1980s.
Written by Terry Stafford and Paul Fraser, the song had already become a moderate hit for Stafford, who released it first in 1973. But it’s Strait’s version, released ten years later, that most people remember, the beginnings of a historic career, although he didn’t know it at the time.
The song might be more than 40 years old, but Strait still performs it during his live shows.
“Whoever’s In New England” by Reba McEntire
“Whoever’s In New England” is the title track of Reba McEntire’s tenth studio album. Released in 1986, the song shows McEntire’s abilities as a singer and storyteller. But it also became an early inkling at what kind of career McEntire would have.
“Whoever’s In New England” is the first video McEntire ever shot. At the time, no one could have predicted how much video content would soar in popularity in the years since, but it changed McEntire’s life and career. The Oklahoma native discovered her love of acting by appearing in the video for “Whoever’s In New England.” The song unintentionally kicked off a new career for her in the process.
“9 To 5” by Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton was having plenty of success by the time “9 To 5” came out. Written solely by Parton and released in 1980, the song is part of the soundtrack for the movie of the same name, which also stars Parton.
What makes “9 To 5” so important is the message. The song was released at a time when women were typically relegated to support roles. “9 To 5” says in part, “They let you dream just to watch ’em shatter / You’re just a step on the bossman’s ladder / But you’ve got dreams he’ll never take away / In the same boat with a lot of your friends / Waitin’ for the day your ship’ll come in / And the tide’s gonna turn an’ it’s all gonna roll your way.”
“God Bless The USA” by Lee Greenwood
Lee Greenwood likely could have never imagined that “God Bless The USA“, a song he first released in 1984, would still be considered one of the best patriotic anthems of all time, over 40 years later. Sung both in times of tragedy and hope, Greenwood wrote the song simply as a love letter to the United States of America.
“I wanted to write it my whole life,” Greenwood tells The Boot. “When I got to that point, we were doing 300 days a year on the road, and we were on our fourth or fifth album on MCA. I called my producer, and I said, ‘I have a need to do this.’ I’ve always wanted to write a song about America, and I said, ‘We just need to be more united.’”
