There might not be a more influential decade in country music than the 1990s. It’s an era that, for years, artists have tried to replicate. All out in 1994, these three country songs remain fan favorites of that period.
Videos by American Songwriter
“Be My Baby Tonight” by John Michael Montgomery
On John Michael Montgomery’s sophomore Kickin’ It Up record, “Be My Baby Tonight” is one of several of Montgomery’s songs to hit No. 1. Written by Richard Fagan and Ed Hill, the fast-tempo tune became a two-week No. 1 hit for Montgomery.
“Be My Baby Tonight” says, “Could ya, would ya, ain’t ya gonna / If I asked you, would you wanna be my baby tonight? / Yeah, I’d take a chance, slow dance, make a little romance / Honey, it’ll be alright / Girl, you got me wishin’ / We were huggin’ and a kissin’ and a holdin’ each other tight / So, could ya, would ya, ain’t ya gonna / If I asked you, would you wanna be my baby tonight?”
In 2024, Post Malone performed the song with Montgomery when Malone made his Grand Ole Opry debut.
“XXX’s and OOO’s (An American Girl)” by Trisha Yearwood
Trisha Yearwood’s “XXX’s and OOO’s (An American Girl)” became a No. 1 hit for her, three years after her first chart-topping single, with “She’s In Love With The Boy“. Matraca Berg and Alice Randall are the writers of “XXX’s and OOO’s (An American Girl)” . The song is on Yearwood’s fifth studio album, Thinkin’ About You.
The positive song says, “She used to tie her hair up in ribbons and bows / Sign her letters with X’s and O’s / Got a picture of her mama in heels and pearls / She’s gonna make it in her daddy’s world / She’s an American girl / An American girl.”
“XXX’s and OOO’s (An American Girl)” was written for a CBS movie. Ironically, the song was written for Wynonna to sing. But when she didn’t show up, Randall asked Yearwood, who was already in the studio, to sing it instead.
“[Yearwood] left her own session to come help me at mine,” Randall recalls to ASCAP. “I will never forget that. And she had to sing on tracks that had been already set down in Wy’s key. And she nailed every syllable and sound of it. We knew before it was mixed – it was something amazing.”
“Wink” by Neal McCoy
It’s impossible not to smile while listening to Neal McCoy’s “Wink”. Written by Bob DiPiero and Tom Shapiro, “Wink” is McCoy’s second consecutive No. 1 single. The tune appears on his third studio album, No Doubt About It.
“Wink” says, “I woke up this morning my head felt dense / I splashed it with water trying to make it make sense / I stumbled to the kitchen she was standing at the sink / All she had to do was just give me that wink / And slam-bam I’m feelin’ alright / Troubles take a hike in the blink of an eye / Don’t need to psychoanalyze or have a stiff drink / All she’s gotta do is just give me that wink.“
Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
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