It’s hard to believe 1985 was 40 years ago. In 1985, some of the best songs in country music came out, including these four songs, which will always be country music classics.
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“Love Is Alive” by The Judds
The Judds had a No. 1 hit with “Love Is Alive”. Written by Kent Robbins, the song is from the duo’s debut Why Not Me album.
In “Love Is Alive”, Wynonna Judd and Naomi Judd sing, “Love is alive /And at our breakfast table / Everyday of the week / Love is alive / And it grows every day and night / Even in our sleep / Love is alive. And it’s made a happy woman out of me / Oh, love is alive / And here by me.“
Although The Judds were still fairly new, Robbins says he wrote “Love Is Alive” with them in mind.
“The Chair” by George Strait
“The Chair” remains a George Strait classic, four decades after it first came out. Written by Dean Dillon and Hank Cochran, the song is on Strait’s Something Special album, which was also released in 1985.
It might be a favorite song of Strait, and his fans, but neither Dillon nor Cochran had any idea when they wrote it that the song would become such a big hit for Strait.
“It was four in the morning, and I don’t know what happened,” Dillon recalls to Texas Monthly. “But Hank sat down in a chair across from me, and I looked at him, picked up the guitar, struck a G chord, and started singing, ‘Well, excuse me, but I think you’ve got my chair.’ And he said, ‘Have you written that song?’ I said, ‘No.’ And he said, ‘Well, we’re about to.’ And 45 minutes later, we’d written ‘The Chair’.”
“Somebody Should Leave” by Reba McEntire
Hit songwriter Harlan Howard penned “Somebody Should Leave” for Reba McEntire. The song is about two people who can no longer make their relationship work, although neither of them are willing to walk away.
The heartbreaking song says in part, “Somebody should leave / But which one should it be / You need the kids and they need me / Somebody should leave / But we hate to give in / We keep hoping somehow we might need each other again.”
“Somebody Should Leave” is on her My Kind of Country album. The record also includes “How Blue”. Both songs were No. 1 hits for McEntire.
“Country Boy” by Ricky Skaggs
Ricky Skaggs’ “Country Boy” is the title track of his eighth studio album, released in 1984. Written by Tony Colton, Albert Lee, and Ray Smith, the song remains one of Skagg’s biggest hits, even after all these years.
The song is about a man who works in the city, but still feels most at home in the country. “Country Boy” became a big hit for Skaggs not just because of the song, but the video as well. In the video for “Country Boy”, Skaggs is joined by his own musical hero, Bill Monroe.
