In the 1980s, country music was gaining popularity, and quickly. Some of the best songs of all time, songs that are still revered today, came out in the 1980s. As the format was changing and evolving, some artists continued to make the music that they wanted to make, even if it might have been risky. These are four of the boldest songs ever released in country music, which all came out in the 1980s.
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“9 To 5” by Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton wrote “9 To 5” by herself. The song is part of the 1980 film of the same name. Parton starred in the movie, along with Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda. “9 To 5” also appears on Parton’s 9 To 5 And Odd Jobs album.
It came out at a time when women were still making significantly less than men. Also not accustomed to high-power positions, Parton bravely sheds a spotlight on the disservice.
In “9 To 5”, Parton sings, “Workin’ nine to five, what a way to make a livin’ / Barely gettin’ by, it’s all takin’ and no givin’ / They just use your mind and they never give you credit / It’s enough to drive you crazy if you let it / Nine to five, for service and devotion / You would think that I would deserve a fair promotion / Want to move ahead but the boss won’t seem to let me / I swear sometimes that man is out to get me.”
Parton later told the Today Show that she wrote the song by tapping it out on her acrylic fingernails.
“The Fireman” by George Strait
Mack Vickery and Wayne Kemp are the writers of “The Fireman”. George Strait includes it on his fourth album, Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind. Released as a single in 1985, “The Fireman” became Strait’s 11th Top 10 hit.
“The Fireman” is a brazen song about a man who goes after women who have just been dumped, including the ex of one of his friends. The song says, “Well, they call me the fireman, that’s my name / Making my rounds all over town putting out old flames / Hell, everybody’d like to have what I got / I can cool ’em down when they’re smoldering hot / I’m the fireman, that’s my name.”
“The Fireman” is not one of Strait’s 60 No.1 singles. A fan favorite, he still performs the song in his live shows today.
“I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool” by Barbara Mandrell
By the time Barbara Mandrell released “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool” in 1981, she already had more than a decade of success at radio. Among her former hits at the time were “Sleeping Single In A Double Bed”, “Married, But Not To Each Other”, “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right”, and more.
“I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool” is written by Kye Fleming and Dennis Morgan. The song’s inspiration is Mandrell’s own life.
“[Kye] and Dennis wrote it after a visit we had had about my early years as a little grade schooler in California,” Mandrell says. “I was doing live television on a Saturday night and going back to school on Monday morning and being teased about … that hillbilly music. Just things of that nature, little stories.”
“I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool” says, “I remember circling the drive-in / Pulling up and turning down George Jones / I remember when no one was looking / I was putting peanuts in my Coke / I took a lot of kidding, ’cause I never did fit in / Now look at everybody trying to be what I was then / I was country when country wasn’t cool.”
“Copperhead Road” by Steve Earle
Steve Earle is the sole writer of “Copperhead Road“. Out in 1988 as the title track of Earle’s third studio album, the song is from the perspective of a man who is the son and grandson of men who made and sold moonshine illegally.
The song is a departure for country music. But Earle tells Songfacts he knew as soon as he wrote it that it would be a hit.
“Copperhead Road” says, “Now, the revenue man wanted Grandaddy bad / Headed up the holler with everything he had / Before my time, but I’ve been told / He never come back from Copperhead Road.”
Photo by Craig Sjodin/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
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