3 Old Country Songs That Don’t Sound Like Old Country

Everyone seems to think that old country songs are all steel pedal and honky tonk. However, that’s simply not the case. Here are three old country tunes that sound nothing like “old country.”

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“No One Else On Earth” by Wynonna Judd

The release of this Wynonna Judd hit, along with her debut album, helped this singer successfully separate herself from the mother-daughter duo, The Judds. In addition, “No One Else On Earth” also created a huge moment for crossover hits in the 90s. It was similar to how Dolly Parton’s “Here You Come Again” did the same thing in the late 70s.

In this song, written by Jill Colucci, Stewart Harris, and Sam Lorber, Judd sings about the juxtaposition of having a love that’s not comparable to anything else but also not as hard to get over.

No one else on earth
Could ever hurt me
Break my heart the way you do
No one else on earth
Was ever worth it
No one could love me like
No one could love me like you.

“Stranger In My House” by Ronnie Milsap

In 1983, Milsap released this country song with a synth-pop flair. And he proved that a killer country storytelling concept can thrive under pretty much any type of production. The lyrics in this song leading up to the hook are next level. But they’re slightly masked by how groovy this 80s song really is.

There’s a stranger in my house
It took a while to figure out
There’s no way you could be who you say you are
You gotta be someone else
‘Cause he wouldn’t touch me like that
And he wouldn’t treat me like you do
He would adore me, he wouldn’t ignore me
So, I am convinced there’s a stranger in my house.

“Whenever You Come Around” by Vince Gill

Plenty of Vince Gill’s songs have a bit of a pop edge to them. That’s definitely true of this country song, which was released in April of 1994 for Gill’s album When Love Finds You.

Before singing this one at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, Gill affectionately recalled the moment that inspired the tune. “This is a song that was inspired by a smile that I saw for the first time on the face of a woman that I’d never met,” he shared with the crowd. The woman in question was his wife, Amy Grant.

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