By 1999, country music was wrapping up the legendary decade of country music. So many great country songs were released at the end of the 1990s, including these three. All out in 1999, I can’t help but smile when I hear them today.
“Something Like That” by Tim McGraw
On Tim McGraw’s A Place In The Sun album is “Something Like That”. “Something Like That” was written by Rick Ferrell and Keith Follesé.
Videos by American Songwriter
The chorus says, “She had a suntan line and red lipstick / I worked so hard for that first kiss / And a heart don’t forget something like that.”
“Something Like That” became a five-week, multi-platinum No. 1 single for McGraw. A Place In The Sun remains one of McGraw’s most successful records. The project also includes “Please Remember Me”, “My Best Friend”, and “My Next Thirty Years”, all No. 1 singles for McGraw.
“Lesson In Leavin’” by Jo Dee Messina
On Jo Dee Messina’s sophomore I’m Alright album is “Lesson In Leavin’”. “Lesson In Leavin’”, a cover of a hit single for Dottie West in 1980, was written by Randy Goodrum and Brent Maher.
The song starts with, “Somebody’s gonna give you a lesson in leavin’ / Somebody’s gonna give you back what you’ve been givin’ / And I hope that I’m around / To watch ’em knock you down.”
“Lesson In Leavin’” isn’t Messina’s only cover song on I’m Alright. She also includes a cover of Jennifer Warnes’ 1979 “I Know A Heartache When I See One” on the record.
“She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” by Kenny Chesney
Kenny Chesney’s “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” is likely one of the most popular country songs from 1999, even though it did not reach the top of the charts. The song, written by Jim Collins and Paul Overstreet, appears on Chesney’s Everywhere We Go record.
The chorus says in part, “ She thinks my tractor’s sexy / It really turns her on / She’s always staring at me / While I’m chugging along.“
“There was no gray area with that song,” Chesney concedes to CBS. “Either you loved it, or you hated it. You know what I mean? But it was a great groove.”
“I was smart enough to record that song,” he adds. “But I was smart enough also not to record another one.”
Everywhere We Go also includes “How Forever Feels”, a six-week No. 1 hit for Chesney.
Photo by Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
More The List
-
LONDON – 1965: Keith Moon, Pete Townshend, John Entwhistle and Roger Daltrey of the rock and roll band "The Who" pose for a portrait in 1965 in London, England. (Photo by Cyrus Andrews/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) -
Photo by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns -
SACRAMENTO, CA – MAY 7: Robert Smith, lead singer, guitarist, multi instrumentalist, lyricist, principal songwriter and only consistent member of the rock band The Cure, which he co-founded in 1976 gets ready to perform May 7, 1992 at the California Expo Amphitheater, Sacramento , California (Photo by Paul Harris/Getty Images) -
CIRCA 1975: Pop Singer Elton John plays piano as he performs onstage in a bowler cap and a striped red and black scarf in circa 1975. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) -
LOS ANGELES – CIRCA 1961: Rock and roll singer Elvis Presley holds a prop gun while filming a movie in circa 1961 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) -
Photo by Barham/Tony Eyles/Mirrorpix/Getty Images
