When Rockers Go Country the Results Can Be Extraordinary
The songs below prove it
Back in 2013, the late, great Tom Petty blasted today’s country music as nothing more than “bad rock with a fiddle.” For those of us who still prefer George Jones to Brad Paisley, the comment was pretty much spot-on, which is sad because rock has always been an alchemical blend of blues and country. Sometimes this blend leans more to the country-rock side, with bands like Drive By Truckers, Old 97’s, Steve Earle, and (going back a bit) the Marshall Tucker Band.
I started this piece as a look at bands like the ones mentioned above, but then I came across that Petty quote, which somehow led me down a totally different musical rabbit hole; this is how I lose entire days without realizing it. When all was said and done, what I had was a list of times rock artists either produced or covered country songs better than any of the “stadium country” crap coming out today.
Some you know, some will be new, and several will probably surprise you. And rest assured, none are by Darius Rucker, the New Country icon and former Hootie & the Blowfish frontman. Listen closely to Hootie’s Cracked Rear View album and you will quickly see that Darius has always been a country singer. Anyway, on with the list:
1. “Faraway Eyes” (Rolling Stones). The Stones had recorded country-influenced songs numerous times before the release of Some Girls in 1978, with “Wild Horses” and “Dead Flowers” two of the most obvious. But with “Faraway Eyes,” they created a country song so perfect that it rivals David Alan Coe’s “You Never Even Called Me By My Name” in hitting all the necessary themes. Is it as much parody as straight country? Maybe, but either way it’s still a great country song.
2. “Cheatin’” (Gin Blossoms). An unexpected surprise on the otherwise rockin’ New Miserable Experience album, it is also the only track where guitarist Jesse Valenzuela takes over lead vocals in place of Robin Wilson. If the pedal steel guitar doesn’t scream “country,” the line “you can’t call it cheatin’ because she reminds me of you” certainly does.
3. “Lodi” (Creedence Clearwater Revival). Creedence regularly flirted with a more country sound (as seen in “Lookin’ Out Amy Back Door,” for example), but on 1969’s Green River album they went all in with “Lodi.” It’s since been covered by country artists from Buck Owens to Emmylou Harris.
4. “Johnny 99” (Bruce Springsteen). Springsteen’s first solo album is usually classified as folk or folk rock, and that aptly describes most of the album. However, several of the tracks on Nebraska would fit perfectly on a Nashville radio station pre-1990, and “Johnny 99” is one of them.
5. “The Ballad of Curtis Loew” (Lynyrd Skynyrd). I’ll admit that I could have chosen any number of Skynyrd songs; as with many artists in the Southern rock genre, half of their catalogue could be played on a country radio station without listeners complaining. Still, for me this one has always stood outside the Southern rock label and more firmly in the country camp.
6. “A Good Year for the Roses” (Elvis Costello). Elvis Costello has always been a musical chameleon, which he proved again in 1981 with his Almost Blue, an album that consisted solely of covers of songs by country legends like George Jones, Merle Haggard, and Charlie Rich. His take on the George Jones hit “A Good Year for the Roses” may be the best of the lot.
7. “Kentucky Rain” (Elvis Presley). Protest his inclusion as a rocker if you wish, then listen to his early stuff that inspired a generation to pick up guitars and repent of your error. Written by future country music legend Eddie Rabbitt, it made both the Billboard pop and country charts, and reached #1 on the Canadian country charts in 1970.
8. “Mama Said” (Metallica). That Metallica would do anything close to a country song is more shocking than even the next one on our list. This ballad about James Hetfield’s mother (who died when he was a teenager) is more outlaw country than classic country, but still qualifies.
9. “Battle with the Bottle” (Sebastian Bach). The former lead singer of metal band Skid Row may be the least likely inclusion besides Metallica on this list, until you hear the song. Bach sang this 2011 track on the finale of the reality TV show Gone Country’s second season; he won, and rightly so. He may have missed his true calling as a country artist.
10. “Hot Dog” (Led Zeppelin). This track from their final studio album, In Through the Out Door, is probably more rockabilly than straight country, but as most rockabilly is simply sped-up country I’m including it. Besides, anything close to country by Zeppelin is noteworthy.
11. “Louisiana Rain” (Tom Petty). I started this article with a quote by Tom Petty about how bad today’s country music had become. This song from Damn the Torpedoes proves he can do it better than any of the current cookie-cutter country “stars” ever could.
There are many more out there, from the Beatles’ cover of the Buck Owens song “Act Naturally” to any number of Eagles songs from their early days. For me, the best country meets rock song can’t be included here simply because when Social Distortion is finished covering Johnny Cash’s classic “Ring of Fire,” it’s definitely not country anymore. I don’t know if Johnny liked their version, but I like to think he did; he covered a Nine Inch Nails song after all.
What songs would you include (or remove) Terry Barr, Pierce McIntyre, Alex Markham, Keith R. Higgons, David Acaster, Rob Janicke?