Country music in the early 1970s will always be timeless, regardless of how many years pass. So many great country songs came out in the first part of the decade, including these three tunes. All released in 1972, I can’t help but smile when I hear them today.
“My Man (Understands)” by Tammy Wynette
On Tammy Wynette’s My Man album is “My Man (Understands)”. The romantic song was written by Billy Sherrill, Norro Wilson, and Carmol Taylor.
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A No. 1 hit for Wynette, “My Man (Understands)” says in part, “His touch is too much / He knows how to love me just enough / And I love him, I love him / My man understands / He holds me in the palm of his hand / And I wanna keep it like this, all the time.”
My Man also includes “‘Til I Get It Right”, another No. 1 single for Wynette.
“Chantilly Lace” by Jerry Lee Lewis
On Jerry Lee Lewis’s The Killer Rocks On album is “Chantilly Lace”. The song was written by J.P. Richardson and first released by Richardson, who went by The Big Bopper, in 1958, becoming a Top 10 hit for him.
14 years later, Lewis put his own spin on “Chantilly Lace”. His version became a No. 1 single at country radio, and a moderate crossover hit as well. The song says, “Chantilly lace pretty face pony tail hangin’ down / A wiggle in her walk giggle in her talk it gonna make that world go around / Ain’t nothing in the world like a big- eyed girl / Make me act so funny spend my doggone money.”
“Chantilly Lace” is Lewis’s final song to reach No. 1 on the country charts.
“My Hang-Up Is You” by Freddie Hart
The title track of a record Hart also released in 1972, Hart is the sole writer of “My Hang-Up Is You”. The song is Hart’s second consecutive No. 1 single, staying at the top of the charts for an impressive six weeks.
A song about attraction, “My Hang-Up Is You” says, “The wanting, the craving, the needing keeps my world from crawling through / Everybody’s got one baby my hang-up is you.”
After “My Hang-Up Is You”, Hart’s next three singles all reached the top of the charts as well, including “Bless Your Heart”, which was a two-week No. 1 single, and “Got The All Overs For You (All Over Me)”, which became a three-week No. 1 hit.
Photo by Charlie Gillett/Redferns
More The List
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UNITED KINGDOM – JANUARY 01: TOP OF THE POPS Photo of Bobby GOLDSBORO, performing 'Honey' (Photo by David Redfern/Redferns) -
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CLARKSTON – JULY 31: American singer and actress, Whitney Houston, performs at the Pine Knob Music Theater during her "Moment of Truth" world tour, on July 31, 1987, in Clarkston, Michigan. (Photo by Ross Marino/Getty Images) -
American singer Chuck Negron performing with American rock group Three Dog Night at the Sundown, Edmonton, London, 6th October 1972. (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)