Non-country songs that sound country.

[jfrancispastirchak]

Another artist whose music oozed with country nuance was Michael Nesmith, the only truly accomplished musician among the Monkees.

Good one! Hard to believe "Joanne" and "Silver Moon" weren't country hits. Likewise, it's a bit of an anomaly that "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by John Denver wasn't as big a country hit as it was pop.

You're right about Nesmith's Joanne never being a country hit, although some country stations did play it. Might have been a hit though had one of his competiting auditioners won the role of "Mike" on THE MONKEES, stranding Nesmith in his behind-the-scenes songwriting role, thus mercifully saving him from that wanna-be-rocker stereotype. By the way, the name of one of those other "competitors"? Stephen Stills.

 

[allenv]

It Takes A Fool To Love A Fool-Burton Cummings.. I believe it hit the country top 40 in 79??

 

[allenv]

After The Glitter Fades-Stevie Nicks..Also quite a few Dr. Hook songs would qualify..

 

[vchimpanzee]

"Houston" by Dean Martin is on Dial Global standards right now. That one sure sounds country.

 

[vchimpanzee]

And that was followed by Merrilee Rush's "Angel of the Morning". Is that country?

 

[jfrancispastirchak]

And that was followed by Merrilee Rush's "Angel of the Morning". Is that country?

Could be, at least by association, since Juice Newton copied Merrilee's Angel some about 15-years later. Newton's releases got some country airplay in the early '80s. Sort of like the guitarist who claimed to be "country" on the critieria that he knew a guy whose cousin once stepped in cow manure.

 

[EZway2go]

Could be, at least by association, since Juice Newton copied Merrilee's Angel some about 15-years later. Newton's releases got some country airplay in the early '80s. Sort of like the guitarist who claimed to be "country" on the critieria that he knew a guy whose cousin once stepped in cow manure.

jfrancispastirchak brings up an interesting twist—one that might be called "country by default" or "unintentional country." Juice Newton is a perfect example. I don't think she set out to be a country artist per se. (I could be wrong—who knows?) But somewhere along the way her music got picked up on the country side and, in my opinion anyway, is now regarded moreso as a country artist than she is pop. A country crossover in reverse, perhaps?

I would also put John Denver, Anne Murray, Terri Gibbs, and Marie Osmond squarely into this category. Glen Campbell, Bobbie Gentry, and B.J. Thomas might also possibly qualify. Not so sure about the Bellamy Brothers, though. While their first hit, "Let Your Love Flow," was much bigger on pop than it was country, their remaining extensive repertoire is purely country.

On the other hand, Kenny Rogers and Exile do not fit this category because they changed the direction of their music from when they first started out, making them the bona fide country artists we know them as today. The difference is Kenny Rogers' country hits crossed over to pop, whereas Exile's did not. Why certain songs and/or artists crossed over from one genre to the other during the golden age of Top 40 radio could be a whole other topic of discussion.