So many great country songs came out in the 1960s. But especially in 1968, the year saw some of the best country songs ever released, including these three, which are impossible to listen to without smiling.
Videos by American Songwriter
“Mama Tried” by Merle Haggard
One of Merle Haggard’s most beloved tunes, “Mama Tried” is the title track of Haggard’s seventh studio album. The song is actually inspired by Haggard’s own mother and the pain she endured because of his wayward ways.
“By the time I was 20 years old, I was in San Quentin,” Haggard says. “’Mama Tried’ is probably a child of all that. The song says I’m the ‘one and old rebel child.’ I did have two older siblings, but they were excellent citizens, never went to jail. I was the one and only rebel.”
“Mama Tried” says, “And I turned twenty-one in prison doin’ life without parole / No one could steer me right, but Mama tried, Mama tried / Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading, I denied / That leaves only me to blame ’cause Mama tried.”
Even after so many years, most country fans can still sing along to “Mama Tried”, word for word.
“Stand By Your Man” by Tammy Wynette
Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man” comes on the heels of “D-I-V-O-R-C-E”, her previous No. 1 hit. Written by Wynette and Billy Sherrill, “Stand By Your Man” remains one of Wynette’s biggest hits, even though she was not a fan of the song.
“I didn’t like it,” Wynette says (via NPR). “I hated the high notes that I had to hit. I mean, I just didn’t like it. … I didn’t have confidence in my writing either, because I had never written with Billy Sherrill before. And he was a wonderful writer, and I knew that. He’d written ‘Almost Persuaded’ and some great songs. So I didn’t know, I just wasn’t, you know, confident at all.”
“Stand By Your Man” says, “Stand by your man, give him two arms to cling to / And something warm to come to / When nights are cold and lonely. / Stand by your man, and show the world you love him / Keep giving all the love you can. / Stand by your man.”
“Harper Valley P.T.A.” by Jeannie C. Riley
In 1968, Jeannie C. Riley released her debut single, “Harper Valley P.T.A.“. The title track of Riley’s freshman album, it became a four-week No. 1 hit. It is also Riley’s only song to land at the top of the charts.
Written by Tom T. Hall, “Harper Valley P.T.A.” begins with, “I wanna tell you all the story ’bout a Harper Valley widowed wife / Who had a teenage daughter who attended Harper Valley Junior High / Well, her daughter came home one afternoon and didn’t even stop to play / And she said, ‘Mom, I got a note here from the Harper Valley P.T.A.’.”
After Riley’s version came out, several other artists recorded a version of the song, including Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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