10) Hank Williams: 'I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry' (1949)
Inspired by Williams' troubled relationship with his wife Audrey Sheppard, the song evokes loneliness with such lines as: 'Hear that lonesome whip-poor-will / He sounds too blue to fly.' Country crooners B.J. Thomas, Charlie McCoy, and ex-NFL quarterback Terry Bradshaw have all covered this classic.
9) Lee Ann Womack: 'I Hope You Dance' (2000)
Recorded with the band Sons of the Desert, the pop country hit reached No. 1 on both the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks and Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts, reached No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, and won a Grammy Award for Best Country Song.
8) Tammy Wynette: 'Stand By Your Man' (1968)
Co-written by Tammy Wynette (one of the most influential country singers) and Billy Sherrill, this country song stayed at No. 1 on the U.S. country charts for three weeks and peaked at No. 19 on the U.S. pop charts, and even reached No. 1 in the UK 7 years later. The song was ridiculed by the Feminist movement of the late '60s and early '70s, but Wynette defended the song saying that the lyrics are more about women who truly love their husbands, and can overlook their husband's flaws and shortcomings: "And if you love him, oh be proud of him / 'Cause after all he's just a man."
7) Johnny Cash: 'Folsom Prison Blues' (1955)
6) Patsy Cline: 'Crazy' (1962)
Willie Nelson originally wrote this song (which was initially more fast-paced) for country singer Billy Walker, who turned it down; Cline picked it up to follow 'I Fall to Pieces,' and worked with producer Owen Bradley, who arranged the song as a ballad, with jazz-pop and country overtones.The song was later recorded by LeAnn Rimes on her 1999 self-titled album.
5) Brad Paisley: 'Then' (2009)
4) George Strait: 'I Cross My Heart' (1992)
This track was the lead single to Strait's album 'Pure Country' -- a soundtrack to the same-titled film. Our No. 4 best country song peaked at No. 1 on both the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and the Canada RPM Country Tracks Chart.
3) Garth Brooks: 'The Dance' (1990)
To emphasize the song's meaning, the music video features several American icons who died for a dream, such as World Champion Bull rider Lane Frost, Country singer Keith Whitley, the crew from the Space Shuttle 'Challenger,' JFK, and of course Martin Luther King, Jr.
2) Toby Keith: 'Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)' (2001)
The song was written about his late father's patriotism and was inspired shortly after the 9/11 attacks, but was not recorded until Commandant of the Marine Corps James L. Jones strongly requested so -- after the positive feedback Keith received singing it to military personnel at his concerts. The song was also one of many causes of patriotic dispute between Keith and Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines -- who stated the song was "ignorant, and makes country music sound ignorant."
1) George Jones: 'He Stopped Loving Her Today' (1980)
What's a No. 1 country song without love and deceit? Jones, one of the all-time favorite country singers, sings about a man who was betrayed by his lover: 'He said I'll love you 'til I die / She told him you'll forget in time / As the years went slowly by.' In 1980, the song won Jones a Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance and was awarded Single of the Year and Song of the Year by the Academy of Country Music.
Listen to Classic Country 
1. I am a new member on internet space, but AOL makes me happy with choice and taste of music, specially for COUNTRY!
Posted at 4:03PM on Nov 5th 2009 by zdravko ticl