Ricky Van Shelton – I’ve Cried My Last Tear For You
Best Oldies Songs Vow of Final Sorrow, Where Heartbreak Turns into Resolve When Ricky Van Shelton released “I’ve Cried My Last Tear For You” in 1990, it became the defining statement of emotional…
Linda Ronstadt – It Doesn’t Matter Anymore
Farewell Delivered with a Smile That Cannot Conceal the Hurt When Linda Ronstadt released her rendition of “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” on the 1974 album Heart Like a Wheel, she…
Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn – We’ve Closed Our Eyes To Shame
Portrait of Denial Where Love Refuses to Bow to Judgment When “We’ve Closed Our Eyes To Shame” arrived in 1971, it did more than climb to No. 1 on the…
Donny Osmonds – I’m Leaving It (All) Up To You
Young voice surrendering to love’s uncertainty with a courage beyond its years When Donny Osmond released “I’m Leaving It (All) Up To You” in 1971 as part of his solo…
Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram – Somewhere Out There
Lullaby for the Separated Heart, Carried on a Promise of Reunion When “Somewhere Out There” ascended to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1987, it did so…
Emmylou Harris & Don Williams – Follow Me Back To Louisville
Invitation to Return Home, Carried on Two Voices That Knew the Weight of Distance When “Follow Me Back To Louisville” emerged as a duet between Emmylou Harris and Don Williams,…
Grateful Dead – Marty Robbins “El Paso”
Ballad of Guilt, Flight, and Fatal Devotion That Refused to Fade On June 26, 1994, at Soldier Field in Chicago, Grateful Dead reached deep into their mythic songbook and revived…
When Big Iron Rode Again: Mike Ness Revisits a Western Legend
Gunslinger’s Ghost Rides Once More Through Electric Dust and Memory When Mike Ness released “Big Iron” on his 1999 solo debut Cheating at Solitaire, he was not chasing chart dominance…
Brian Connolly – Alexander Graham Bell
Fallen Idol’s Bitter Lament Disguised as a Rock Anthem Released in 1974 as the debut solo single from Brian Connolly, “Alexander Graham Bell” emerged during a turbulent interlude between his…
Emmylou Harris & Don Williams – Long Walk From Childhood
Gentle Reckoning With the Distance Between Innocence and Experience When Emmylou Harris and Don Williams recorded “Long Walk From Childhood” for Harris’s 1981 album Cimarron, they were not chasing the…