3 Country Songs From 1978 That Sound Even Better Today

The good ol’ year of 1978 was a big year for country music. Some of the genre’s most enduring songs, songs still revered today, were released in 1978. We picked three of our favorite country songs from 1978, which sound even better today, 47 years later.

Videos by American Songwriter

“The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers

Kenny Rogers released plenty of country hits over his career that spanned more than 50 years. But none had quite the impact as “The Gambler”. Written by Don Schlitz, “The Gambler” not only became a multi-platinum, No. 1 hit for Rogers, but it also inspired a series of TV movies starring Rogers.

“The Gambler” is an undeniable hit, but it took Rogers to make it one. The song was also recorded by Johnny Cash and Bobby Bare, among others, before Rogers made it a successful single.

“I wrote it in August of ’76, walking home from a meeting with my mentor, Bob McDill,” Schlitz tells American Songwriter.  “I walked from his office over on Music Row to my apartment, and in that 20 minutes, I wrote most of it in my head.”

Schlitz admits he didn’t write a last verse, so he had “no idea what was gonna happen.

“[I] thought it was an interesting story, but it was a throwaway,” he adds. “I spent about six weeks trying to figure out what was gonna happen after the chorus.”

“Sleeping Single In A Double Bed” by Barbara Mandrell

There’s a bit of nostalgia in Barbara Mandrell’s “Sleeping Single In A Double Bed“, since most people now sleep in queen or king-sized beds. But Mandrell’s single, from her eighth studio album, Moods, remains one of her biggest hits.

“Sleeping Single In A Double Bed” is Mandrell’s first No. 1 single. Written by Kye Fleming and Dennis Morgan, the song says in part, “Sleeping single in a double bed / Tossing, turning, trying to forget / I could be lying with you instead / I’m sleeping single in a double bed.”

Mandrell also includes the song on her Live album, out in 1981. In 1997, Mandrell retired completely from country music.

“I’ll Be True To You” by The Oak Ridge Boys

The Oak Ridge Boys released “I’ll Be True To You” on their Y’all Come Back Saloon record. The song is significant not only because it is their first No. 1 hit at country radio, but it was the first new chapter for The Oak Ridge Boys, who, up until Y’all Come Back Saloon album, were a gospel group.

“I’ll Be True To You,” written by Alan Rhody, is far from a sweet love song. The song, about a woman who drinks herself to death after the man she loves doesn’t reciprocate her feelings, was an anomaly for country music at the time, which was mostly focusing on feel-good, optimistic songs.

“I think the song really, for whatever reason, had a unique thing about it in that way,” Rhody tells The Tennessean. “It was not only a ballad, but it wasn’t a really happy tale.”

Photo by David Redfern/Redferns