As part of a month-long promotion, satellite radio station Sirius is sponsoring a countdown of what it considers to be the top 1,000 country-and-western songs in music history.
The list has already been played once this month and the countdown will be replayed and continued through the end of the month on Channel 4 among its hundreds of offerings.
Some critics already are blasting the list as leaning away from traditional country classics and featuring too many modern songs.
Here’s the list of the top 10 songs as they have been played out.
#10 – El Paso – Marty Robbins (1959)
#9 – Dirt Road Anthem – Jason Aldean (2010)
#8 – King of the Road – Roger Miller (1965)
#7 – The Devil Went Down to Georgia – Charlie Daniels Band (1979)
#6 – He Stopped Loving Her Today – George Jones (1980)
#5 – Springsteen – Eric Church (2011)
#4 – I Will Always Love You – Dolly Parton (1974)
#3 – Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny Cash (1957)
#2 – Crazy – Patsy Cline (1961)
#1 – Friends in Low Places – Garth Brooks (1990)
A complete list of the top 1,000 songs in spreadsheet form can be found here.
Critics had a field day when they considered that iconic country star George Strait’s highest-rated song “All My Exes Live In Texas” checks in at No. 41. Compare that with modern crooner Eric Church, who had two songs ranked among the top 22 on the list.
Uh, some guy named Strait can't crack the Top 10? Shaking my head at Nos. 5 & 9 being anywhere near the Top 10.
— Douglas Pils (@DouglasPils) May 22, 2019
Jason Aldean and Eric Church do not belong on a top 1000 list in any slot.
— Chris Lippincott (@texaslippy) May 22, 2019
So what are your thoughts about this list?
And can any self-respecting list of top country songs not have an offering from “King George” among its top 40?
