3 Unforgettable Country Songs From 1980 That Every 80s Kid Still Knows Today

Likely no one could have predicted in 1980 that it was the beginning of a revolutionary decade in country music. But it was in 1980 that country music started going through a pretty important transformation. These are three of the best country songs that came out in 1980, which almost every 80s kid likely still knows today.

“He Stopped Loving Her Today” by George Jones

Undoubtedly one of the biggest hits of George Jones’s career, “He Stopped Loving Her Today” appears on his I Am What I Am album. Curly Putnam and Bobby Braddock wrote what is still considered one of the best songs in country music, and also among the saddest.

“He Stopped Loving Her Today” is Jones’s first No.1 single in six years, since “The Door” came out in 1974. The song says, “I went to see him just today / Oh, but I didn’t see no tears / All dressed up to go away / First time I’d seen him smile in years / He stopped loving her today / They placed a wreath upon his door / And soon they’ll carry him away / He stopped loving her today.“

“A Lesson In Leavin’” by Dottie West

“A Lesson In Leavin’” is on Dottie West’s Special Delivery record. It was written by Randy Goodrum and Brent Maher. 

The uptempo tune says, “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 / It’s like you to love ’em and leave ’em / Just like you loved me and left me / It’s like you to do that sort of thing / Over and over again / You’re a fool-hearted man.“

“A Lesson In Leavin’” is West’s first No. 1 single as a solo artist. She previously had two songs with Kenny Rogers, “Every Time Two Fools Collide” and “All I Ever Need Is You”,  go to the top of the charts. In 1999, Jo Dee Messina had a hit single with her cover of this song.

“9 To 5” by Dolly Parton

Even people who aren’t country music fans likely know “9 To 5” by Dolly Parton. Parton wrote the working women’s anthem by herself for a film of the same name, starring Parton, Lily Tomlin, and Jane Fonda.

“9 To 5” also appears on Parton’s 9 To 5 And Odd Jobs album. The song says, “Workin’ 9 to 5 / What a way to make a livin’/ Barely gettin’ by / It’s all takin’ and no givin’ / They just use your mind / And they never give you credit / It’s enough to drive you crazy / If you let it / 9 to 5, for service and devotion / You would think that I / Would deserve a fair promotion / Want to move ahead / But the boss won’t seem to let me / I swear sometimes that man is out to get me.”

Parton first wrote “9 To 5” by typing it out with her fingernails.

Photo by David Redfern/Redferns