The 90s remain one of the most revered decades in country music. These four country songs are from the 90s, but are so good, they still deserve a spot on any party playlist today.
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“Boot Scootin’ Boogie” by Brook & Dunn
“Boot Scootin’ Boogie” is on Brooks & Dunn’s freshman Brand New Man album. Released as a single in 1992, the song was written by duo member Ronnie Dunn. “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” became a four-week No. 1 single for Brooks & Dunn. Before they recorded it, the song was recorded by Asleep At The Wheel. Although Brooks & Dunn liked the song, they admit it almost didn’t become a single.
“We were afraid of ‘Boot Scoot,’ and the label was, to release it,” Dunn says (via The Boot). “That’s why they made it the fourth single on the first record.”
“Boot Scootin’ Boogie” says, “I’ve got a good job, I work hard for my money / When it’s quittin’ time I hit the door runnin’ / I fire up my pickup truck and let the horses run / I go flyin’ down that highway to that hide-a-way / Stuck out in the woods to do the boot scootin’ boogie.”
“Poor, Poor Pitiful Me” by Terri Clark
“Poor, Poor Pitiful Me” is the debut single from Terri Clark’s sophomore Just The Same record. Written by Warren Zevon, Linda Ronstadt first released the song in 1976. 20 years later, Clark released the same song, thanks to loving Ronstadt’s version. The song is Clark’s second No. 1 single.
The song says, “Poor, poor pitiful me / Poor poor pitiful me / All these boys won’t let me be / Lord have mercy on me / Woe woe is me.”
In 2024, Clark released a new version of the song, joined by Lainey Wilson, for Clark’s Take Two album.
“Friends In Low Places” by Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks released “Friends In Low Places” in 1990, on his sophomore No Fences project. Written by Earl Bud Lee and Dewayne Blackwell, the song remains one of Brooks’ biggest hits.
“Friends In Low Places” says, “‘Cause I’ve got friends in low places / Where the whiskey drowns, and the beer chases my blues away / And I’ll be OK / Yeah, I’m not big on social graces / Think I’ll slip on down to the oasis / Oh, I’ve got friends in low places.”
In 2024, Brooks opened his Friends In Low Places Bar & Honky Tonk in downtown Nashville.
“Pickup Man” by Joe Diffie
Joe Diffie had plenty of hits in the 90s, including “Pickup Man”. Out in 1994 as part of Diffie’s Third Rock From The Sun record, Kerry Kurt Phillips and Howard Perdew are the two writers of the song.
“Pickup Man” is a lighthearted song about how men can attract women based on the vehicle they drive. The song includes lines like, “You can set my truck on fire, roll it down a hill / But I still wouldn’t trade it for a Coupe DeVille / I got an eight-foot bed that never has to be made / You know if it weren’t for trucks, we wouldn’t have tailgates / I met all my wives in traffic jams / There’s just something women like about a pickup man.”
Photo by Sherry Rayn Barnett/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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