3 Beautiful Country Songs Unexpectedly Written by Rock Stars

When it comes to music genres, what’s really in a name? Sometimes the best songs are those that bridge styles. They are tracks that make our ears perk up as we wonder, What kind of sound is that?

Here below, we wanted to get to the center of that question. We wanted to highlight three tunes from back in the day that blended two fabulous, established sounds. Indeed, these are three beautiful country songs unexpectedly written by rock stars.

“Girl From The North Country” by Bob Dylan from ‘The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan’ (1963)

In the 1960s, Bob Dylan wrote spare, beautiful songs that highlighted his rhythm guitar playing and his exquisite lyricism. The benefit of that style was that Dylan could often fit in a number of genre boxes, from folk to protest to rock to even country. For an example of the latter, check out his reflective tune, “Girl From The North Country”, from his 1963 LP, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. The forlorn folky track sounds like it was passed down from generation to generation. But while it sounds traditional, it’s all The Bard.

“Dead Flowers” by The Rolling Stones from ‘Sticky Fingers’ (1971)

You might not expect the famous blues-rock band known as The Rolling Stones to write a country hit, but that’s just what happened on the band’s 1971 LP, Sticky Fingers. While The Rolling Stones are known for buzzy, electric guitar-based music, this song from the British-born band leans into down-home American country twang. Using slide guitars and a sense of the heartland, the band convinces us all that they could have been country music stars had they not gone the rock music route.

“Indoor Fireworks” by Elvis Costello from ‘King Of America’ (1986)

At the heart of it, Elvis Costello cared about the song most of all. He didn’t care about genre or what part of the store his albums were sold in, so long as the songs on the records were his best. So, if he went from rock to country, so be it. And that’s just what happened on his 1986 track, “Indoor Fireworks”, from his LP, King Of America. The acoustic-driven tune sounds like it could have been written in a barn in the American Southland.

Photo by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns