3 Throwback Country Hits From the 1970s That Wound up Predicting Where the Genre Is Now

Country music has gone through many evolutions. The genre today is a far cry from what it was in the 1970s. Good or bad, there is a marked shift. Despite the obvious differences, there are several taste-making songs released during that decade that somehow predicted what country would sound like in modernity. Revisit these ’70s country hits below.

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“Here You Come Again” – Dolly Parton

The lines between pop and country have been irrevocably blurred. Not to say that’s something to take issue with, but it’s an irrefutable fact. While many country fans think that’s a modern development, it’s actually been decades in the making. Dolly Parton was pushing that kind of pop-tinged production in 1977.

“Here You Come Again” is one of Parton’s biggest hits. It also had crossover appeal thanks to the pop-friendly instrumentation. This song borders on easy listening, making it difficult to categorize within country music. This is the kind of genre-blurring that is commonplace nowadays.

“The Pill” – Loretta Lynn

There was a time when country music didn’t dig too deep. In the years between its storied beginnings and modern mass market appeal, the deepest country music would get is a painful heartbreak song. However, when Loretta Lynn came around, she managed to change that fact.

Lynn had many songs that shook up the country scene, but none were as shocking and transformative as “The Pill” proved to be. A woman singing about birth control? A female country artist singing about birth control? You’d have never fathomed it back in the ’70s. However, in modern times, country artists have increasingly addressed serious topics such as these. They’ve all followed in Lynn’s footsteps.

“Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way” – Waylon Jennings

Listeners who prefer throwback country often blame the modern industry’s demands. Many people think songs are thrown together, lean too far into pop, and have lost the country spirit these days. Waylon Jennings was an early supporter of that thought, having released “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way” in 1978.

With this song, Jennings questions the glitz and the glamour of country in his day. However, both were just a fraction of what the genre peddles now. Though not everyone sees country’s shift as a bad thing, Jennings certainly predicted what direction country would be moving toward.

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