On This Day in 1970, a Country Music Husband-and-Wife Duo Proved That Stepping Outside the Box Can Get You a No. 1 Hit

Country music has seen its fair share of novelty songs, there’s no doubt about it. In the past, hits like “You’re The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly” have proved that you can have a sense of humor and still make it in the Top 10. Thank you, Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty! However, on this day in 1970, the husband-and-wife duo Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan redefined what it means to take an unconventional approach to songwriting.

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It was then that their song, “Tennessee Bird Walk”, perhaps one of the quirkiest songs in country music, went No. 1 on the country charts.

“Tennessee Bird Walk” imagines a world in which the birds of the sky don’t have trees to land on, wings to take them anywhere, or feathers to keep them warm. It’s a little hard to grasp if you haven’t heard it for yourself, so here are some of the lyrics.

“Take away the trees and the birds
All have to sit upon the ground, uum
Take away their wings and
The birds will have to walk to get around
And take away the bird baths
And dirty birds will soon be everywhere
Take away their feathers and
The birds will walk around in underwear.”

By the time you get to the chorus, Blanchard and Morgan make you rethink what it means to be a musical genius when they introduce the title with a double meaning. If you’re not convinced, take a listen for yourself.

Blanchard & Morgan’s Approach to Artistry

If you found yourself intrigued by “Tennessee Bird Walk”‘s unique approach to songwriting, you’re in luck. Blanchard and Morgan’s catalog is filled with songs that narrate quirky stories with that classic country twang.

For example, “Humphrey The Camel” details a day in the life of Humphrey, “a big raunchy cat” who’s just “groovin’ to the beat of a Nashville song.”

If you’re searching for something a little more on the nose, look no further than “Cows”. The song tells you everything you need to know about cows, of course, in addition to “lots of udder stuff.”

When asked what separates him and his wife from other artists, even Blanchard admitted that the things they write about tend to be a little out there.

“Besides our recognizable voices, probably the often eccentric subject matter in our songs,” he shared in an interview. “And the occasional strange chords. Faron Young told us, ‘Three seconds into the record you know who it is.’ We’re not the most perfect, but we are definitely us.”

It seems that really, it’s the duo’s undeniable authenticity that sets them apart.

(Photo by David Redfern/Redferns)