3 Country Songs From 1979 That Still Shake the Ground We Stand On

The country music community often looks back at the 1970s through a romantic lens that has immortalized the decade in a completely untainted package. As a result, the 10 years are consistently deemed as the golden era of country music. However, all good things have to come to an end. And the golden era of country songs came to an end, more or less, in 1979.

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Movements such as these rarely, if ever, have a hard end date. Instead, the trends and tropes slowly dissolve as time goes by. That is what ultimately happened with 1970s country music. However, before it came to a close, 1979 gave the world these three genre-shaking country songs. And might we add that they still shake the ground we stand on to this day.

“The Devil Went Down To Georgia” by The Charlie Daniels Band

One of the most energetic boot-stomping and barn-burning songs in country music is The Charlie Daniels Band‘s 1979 single, “The Devil Went Down To Georgia”. The country music community was not the only community to think so, as this single was a crossover smash hit upon its release.

Particularly, after the release of the single, “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” peaked at No. 1 on the country singles chart and at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Concerning the latter of the two rankings, when was the last time a country music fiddle tune ranked that high on the Billboard Hot 100? It’s tough to say, and that in and of itself is a testament to this staple hit.

“(Ghost) Riders In The Sky” by Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash was the face of music in the late 50s and throughout the 60s and 70s. Well, when the new decade was getting ready to appear, Johnny Cash solidified that face once again. He solidified that fact with the release of his monster hit single, “(Ghost) Riders In The Sky”.

Following the release of “(Ghost) Riders In The Sky”, Cash’s song peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Country songs chart and remained there for 16 weeks. While it is not a Cash original, folks seemingly associate the intense weight of the single with Johnny Cash to this day.

“You’re The Only One” by Dolly Parton

In a sense, and to a certain extent, Dolly Parton created the country music trends of the 1980s. One single of her’s that foreshadowed and or forged the path for 80s country artists is her 1979 hit, “You’re The Only One”.

In typical Dolly fashion, this song had an incredible chart run on several charts. On the Billboard Hot Country songs chart, the single peaked at No. 1. Furthermore, it peaked at No. 14 on the Adult Contemporary chart and at No. 59 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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