It’s hard to believe 1995 was 20 years ago, but what a year it was for country music. In 1995, some of the best country songs were ever released, songs that are still classics today. These four country songs were released two decades ago, but still sound amazing today.
“I Like It, I Love It” by Tim McGraw
Tim McGraw’s “I Like It, I Love It” is the debut single from his third All I Want album. Written by Jeb Stuart Anderson, Steve Dukes, and Mark Hall, the feel-good track says in part, “But I like it, I love it, I want some more of it / I try so hard, I can’t rise above it / Don’t know what it is ’bout that little girl’s lovin’ / But I like it, I love it, I want some more of it.”
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Ironically, although it is now one of McGraw’s favorites, and one he still performs today, he wasn’t much of a fan of the song when he first heard it.
“I didn’t think much about recording it,” McGraw admits (via The Boot). “I was kind of cold on it, and I listened to it again, and for some reason, it hit me a whole lot different the second time around.”
“Wild Angels” by Martina McBride
Martina McBride’s “Wild Angels is the title track of her third studio album. Written by Matraca Berg, Gary Harrison, and Harry Stinson, the song is about a couple whose relationship survived, against seemingly insurmountable odds.
“Wild Angels” says, “Must’ve been wild angels, wild angels / Watching over you and me, yeah / Wild angels, wild angels / Baby, what else could it be?“
“Wild Angels” is McBride’s tenth single, and her first to hit No. 1.
“Check Yes Or No” by George Strait
There might not be a more quintessential George Strait song than “Check Yes Or No“. Written by Danny Wells and Dana Hunt Black, the song is on Strait’s Strait Out of the Box boxed set.
“Check Yes Or No” is a sweet, nostalgic song about a boy who has a crush on one of his classmates. The chorus says, “Do you love me? Do you wanna be my friend? / And if you do / Well then don’t be afraid to take me by the hand / If you want to / I think this is how love goes / Check yes or no.”
“‘Check Yes or No,’ that was a pretty big record,” Strait says. “And that was one of the songs, though, that I knew, right away when I first heard it, I wanted to cut it. I couldn’t wait to get home and play it for my son. I knew he’d love it. “
“It Matters To Me” by Faith Hill
Faith Hill captured the emotions of a relationship gone wrong in “It Matters To Me”. Written by Ed Hill and Mark D. Sanders, the song is the title track of Hill’s sophomore record.
In “It Matters To Me”, Hill sings, “When we don’t talk, when we don’t touch / When it doesn’t feel like we’re even in love / It matters to me / When I don’t know what to say, don’t know what to do / Don’t know if it really even matters to you / How can I make you see? / It matters to me.”
“It Matters To Me” became Hill’s third No. 1 single.
Photo by Paul Natkin/WireImage
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CIRCA 1966: Singer Mick Jagger of the rock and roll band "The Rolling Stones" performs onstage in circa 1966. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) -
Aerosmith Aerosmith, Steven Tyler, Vorst-Nationaal, Brussels, Belgium, 31st October 1993. (Photo by Goedefroit Music/Getty Images) -
UNSPECIFIED – JANUARY 01: John LENNON between 1970 and 1973. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images) -
1972: (L-R) Jim Hodder, David Palmer, Denny Dias, Donald Fagen, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter and Walter Becker of the rock band "Steely Dan" pose for a portrait in 1972. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) -
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images -
Kyu Sakamoto. (1941-1985) Japanese singer, best known outside Japan for his international hit song "Ue o Muite Aruko" (known as "Sukiyaki" in English-speaking markets), which was sung in Japanese and sold over 13 million copies. It reached number one in the United States Billboard Hot 100 in June 1963, making Sakamoto the first Asian recording artist to have a number one song on the chart. (Photo by Sjöberg Bildbyrå/ullstein bild via Getty Images) -
Picture taken in 1974 in Stockholm shows the Swedish pop group Abba with its members (L-R) Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Faltskog and Bjorn Ulvaeus posing after winning the Swedish branch of the Eurovision Song Contest with their song "Waterloo". – Sweden's legendary disco group ABBA announced on April 27, 2018 that they have reunited to record two new songs, 35 years after their last single. The quartet split up in 1982 after dominating the disco scene for more than a decade with hits like "Waterloo", "Dancing Queen", "Mamma Mia" and "Super Trouper". (Photo by Olle LINDEBORG / TT News Agency / AFP) / Sweden OUT (Photo credit should read OLLE LINDEBORG/AFP via Getty Images)
