The beauty of country music is that so many of the songs can stand the test of time. These three country songs were all released in 1983. Still, they are so good that every country music fan, of any age, needs to know them.
Videos by American Songwriter
“Islands In The Stream” by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton
“Islands In The Stream” is one of Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton’s most famous duets. On Rogers’ Eyes That See In The Dark album, the song is written by Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, and Maurice Gibb, better known as the Bee Gees.
Although Rogers and Parton went on to release numerous duets, “Islands In The Stream” is their first, giving country music fans a good indication of their musical chemistry. When Rogers planned on recording it, he didn’t think of it as a duet, at least at first. But after getting tired of singing it in the studio, Barry Gibb had the idea to bring Parton in on the song.
“I finally said, ‘Barry, I don’t even like this song anymore,’” Rogers recalls to People. “And he said, ‘You know what we need? We need Dolly Parton.’”
“You’re The First Time I’ve Thought About Leaving” by Reba McEntire
When Reba McEntire released “You’re The First Time I’ve Thought About Leaving”, it was immediately after her first No. 1 hit, with “Can’t Even Get The Blues”. McEntire includes the song on her Unlimited album.
Written by Dickey Lee and Kerry Chater, the song says, “You’re the first time I’ve thought about leaving / And I really don’t know what I’ll do / You’re the first time I’ve thought about leaving him / I’ve never known someone like you.”
“If you think about it, it’s a cheating song, even though she hasn’t done it yet,” McEntire tells American Songwriter. “But that was such a pretty song, and everybody’s been in that circumstance at one time or another. There are so many women who come up to me after a show and say, ‘Boy, did that song fit me, but don’t tell my husband.’”
“A Fire I Can’t Put Out” by George Strait
Among George Strait’s 60 No.1. hits is “A Fire I Can’t Put Out”. The song, written by Darryl Staedtler, is on Strait’s Strait From The Heart album. “A Fire I Can’t Put Out” is only Strait’s second time to land at the top of the charts.
“A Fire I Can’t Put Out” begins with, “‘I’m finding out how hot an old flame can burn / You’re a feeling I haven’t forgot, a love I can’t unlearn / You’ve become a memory I can’t live without / You’ll always be a fire I can’t put out.”
Photo by PL Gould/IMAGES/Getty Images
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