3 Songs From the 1960s That Will Instantly Turn You Into a Country Fan

The 1960s made a lot of people country fans. All you had to do was turn on your local country music station and let the dulcet tones of a crooner hit your ears. Then you’d fall in love with the twangy sound all over again.

Here below, we wanted to highlight three tracks from the decade that likely turned a lot of people into country supporters. Indeed, these are three songs from the 1960s that will instantly turn you into a country fan.

“I Fall To Pieces” by Patsy Cline from ‘Showcase’ (1961)

You can never go wrong by putting Patsy Cline on the speakers. Whether you’re in a saloon strolling up to the jukebox or at home turning on your home stereo, she is always the right choice. Country fans have known it since the 1950s when Cline started to rise on the Nashville scene. Today, Cline is known as a classic artist. But that’s only the case because she stood out like a bright star in her heyday. Indeed, the artist grew her legend one song at a time—and it worked!

“A Boy Named Sue” by Johnny Cash from ‘At San Quentin’ (1969)

Great art is about tension. That means when you create a sense of juxtaposition, you get magic. For an example, look no further than “A Boy Named Sue” by Johnny Cash. Written by poet and author Shel Silverstein, the track features a rough-and-tumble main character born with a girl’s name. Not only that, but the tune was first recorded by country outlaw Johnny Cash inside the San Quentin prison! These details are enough to make your head spin and conjure the plot for a new prestige television show! Indeed, no wonder “A Boy Named Sue” remains a timeless work today.

“Mama Tried” by Merle Haggard And The Strangers from ‘Mama Tried’ (1968)

The very title of this song is enough to pique your interest. Instantly, you know exactly what you’re in for. The outlaw country singer Merle Haggard is going to sing about how the world shaped him in ways his mother hoped he’d never experience. It just took two words to get that dynamic across—and that’s genius writing. Sometimes it only takes a fragment of a sentence to hook you on a genre. And this track is example No. 1.

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