3 Country Songs From the 80s That Should Have Hit No. 1 but Didn’t Quite Make It

Sometimes the songs that stick in our heads aren’t the ones at the top. Here are three country songs from the 80s that should’ve been No. 1 but weren’t.

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“Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)” by Garth Brooks

This song was definitely Brooks’ first hit, but it did not go to No. 1. Regardless, as Brooks explained to Jimmy Kimmel, hearing this song on the radio for the first time was nothing short of special. 

“I was driving my truck in Nashville. There’s a place where 65 is cut by 40, I’m on that little strip, and it comes on, “Much Too Young” comes on,” he shared. “Me being the little listener that I am, as soon as the song was over, I switched over to the other station, and they were in the solo of it, so I got to hear it one and a half times the first time.”

To this day, he says that song takes him right back.

“Amarillo By Morning” by George Strait

Even though “Amarillo By Morning” might be the song most people know him for, it’s actually not one of George Strait‘s 60 No. 1 hits. 

Strait took this song further on the charts than Terry Stafford, who recorded it in 1973 and only reached No. 31 on the Country Chart. George certainly took the song to new heights when he recorded his version, but never the top spot.

“(You Lift Me) Up To Heaven” by Reba McEntire

Released as the first single from Reba’s album, Feel The Fire, “(You Lift Me) Up To Heaven” only hit the No. 8 spot on the Hot Country Singles and Tracks Chart. McEntire even performed this song at the ACMs in 1980, but it still never reached No. 1. It’s a shame, because it really is a beautiful song. In the second verse, Reba compares love to “the way that heaven oughta be.”

Reba sings: “I never try to get away on daydreams anymore / Love’s taken me to places that I’ve never been before / But if it’s not heaven when you’re holding me / It’s the way that heaven oughta be.”

Photo by: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for CMA