When people think of country classics, they think of songs like “Crazy”, “I Will Always Love You”, and more. But there are several songs out recently, which already sound like classics, even though they are fairly new. We found five country songs released since 2020 that will likely become classics for future generations.
Videos by American Songwriter
“‘Til You Can’t” by Cody Johnson
“‘Til You Can’t” was released in 2021 by Cody Johnson from his sophomore record Human: The Double Album. The song, written by Ben Stennis and Matt Rogers, became Johnson’s first No. 1 hit. For Johnson, the message was too important not to share.
“If you spend your time spreading hate, your time is going to be up,” Johnson tells Billboard. “And that’s all you did with your time here.”
“She Had Me At Heads Carolina” by Cole Swindell
Cole Swindell released “She Had Me At Heads Carolina” in 2022, on his Stereotype album. The song is an homage to Jo Dee Messina’s 1996 “Heads Carolina, Tails California” hit, with a new twist that made it a No. 1 single for Swindell.
Swindell penned the song with Thomas Rhett, Ashley Gorley, and Jesse Frasure. Mark D. Sanders and Tim Nichols, the writers of “Heads Carolina, Tails California,” are also rightfully included.
“I was so excited when I got the chance to talk to Jo Dee and let her know that I’ve been a fan of hers for a long time. Now I to get to call her a friend,” Swindell tells MusicRow. “We wouldn’t have this song without her.”
“If I Didn’t Love You” by Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood
Country music fans still love those heart-wrenching ballads. It’s undoubtedly why Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood’s “If I Didn’t Love You” became a No. 1 single for the pair. Aldean’s bandmates, Tully Kennedy and Kurt Allison, wrote the song with John Morgan and Bernardis Hughes.
“We had a short list of people we wanted to reach out to. And Carrie was at the top of the list,” Aldean shares (via The Boot). “So we sent it to her and got basically an immediate response back from her that she loved the song, was interested, and then, all of a sudden, it was kinda like a rocket from there. … From the time the song was written until it was completely finished, it was literally about three weeks.”
“Son Of A Sinner” by Jelly Roll
Who knows where Jelly Roll would be without “Son Of A Sinner“? Written by Jelly Roll, Ernest Smith, and David Ray Stevens, the song is Jelly Roll’s first No. 1 hit. From his Ballads of the Broken album, it became quite the introduction to Jelly Roll as a country music artist, with an overwhelming response.
“I remember it being a very emotional moment,” Jelly Roll tells Billboard, recalling recording the song. “And I remember getting goose bumps as soon as I came in and sang, ‘I never get lonely/I got these ghosts to keep me company.’ There was just a chill bump that ran through my body.”
“Never Wanted To Be That Girl” by Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde
Few duets do what Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde did with “Never Wanted To Be That Girl“. The song, on Pearce’s 2021 album 29: Written In Stone, is by Pearce and McBryde, along with Shane McAnally. It’s about two women who are dating the same man, with one of them unknowingly helping him cheat on his wife.
“No matter if you’re the mistress or the wife…I think this is the realization that they are having the exact same feeling in real-time about being burned by the same man, even though they are both innocent,” Pearce tells Country Now.
Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
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