Real-life Inspires Country's Best Love Songs
Country Singers' Love Lives Fuel Many of Genre's Biggest Music Hits
Country music fans revel not only in the country songs they love most, but also in the love matches among their favorite country singers and the hit-country songs that such relationships inspire.
Recent Grammy-winning country artist Brad Paisley, for instance, has been inspired by his actress-wife Kimberly Williams-Paisley, whom he married in 2003, to write at least two love songs that have been shared with country radio and fans; namely, the top-country hits She’s Everything and Little Nothings, which rose to No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, on Billboard’s country singles charts.
Texas-born country star Clint Black, too, was hit hard by Cupid’s arrow when he met his wife of 18-plus years, actress Lisa Hartman-Black, and later put the emotion into a love song. The end result was the Grammy-nominated duet performed by the couple, When I Said I Do.
Country Singers' Marriages, Divorces Provide Impetus for Hit-Country Love Songs
Country-star couples, even those whose marriages don’t stand the test of time, hold lasting romance for the fans who buy their records or flock to their concert tours. From the high-profile divorces of legendary crooners Tammy Wynette and George Jones to the more recent demise of Shania Twain and record producer Robert “Mutt” Lange’s union, country fans often take note when their favorite country stars love lives change, be it for better or for worse.
Such splits, however, have gone on to inspire heartbreak-laden country hits, including Hank Williams Sr.’s classic, Your Cheatin’ Heart, a song released after his death, which reached No. 1 on Billboard’s country music charts in 1953, where it remained for six weeks.
Hanks Williams Sr. & Tammy Wynette Among Country's Heartbroken-Inspired Songwriters
According to the song’s entry in the Wikipedia online encyclopedia, the now-classic, blues-inspired cut—which is widely considered one of the greatest love songs and country songs of all time—was penned a number of years following the lanky singer’s divorce from first wife Audrey while driving in the car with his second wife, Billie Jean, who reportedly wrote down the song’s lyrics for Hank Sr. as he drove.
Heartbreak also inspired the late Miss Wynette’s Til’ I Can Make It on My Own, an emotional country ballad that hit No. 1 on Billboard’s country charts in 1976.
The acclaimed Mississippi-born vocalist co-wrote the track after parting with country-star husband Jones. Yet only three years earlier, in 1973, the husband-and-wife performers reached No. 1 on the same country chart when they collaborated to write and perform We’re Gonna Hold On, a duet whose lyrics reflect a couple’s focus on making their marriage endure.
In an Oct. 2, 1995, interview with People magazine about the singers’ post-marital teaming for a reunion performance, Wynette shared, “More than anything in the whole business, I missed the duets with George. I've (sung) with a lot of artists, but there's something about George and me that makes our voices blend."
Love Relationship Outcomes Create Timeless Music Duets, Classic Country Records
Per the People article, the First Lady of Country Music and her ex-husband, known widely in country-music circles by his “The Possum” nickname, worked to communicate again, albeit for limited spans, following the birth of their twin grandsons, Kyle and Ryan, whose mom is the couple’s only child, Tamala Georgette Smith.
However, there is no denying that the tumultuous and even “tortured” marital relationship between the pair resulted “a string of melancholy duets unequaled in country music,’ wrote People’s Patrick Rogers.
To view a list of the 500 Greatest Country Songs of All Time, according to country-music writer Shelly Fabian, please access the online Country Music Guide site.
Heart and headphones artwork
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Shania Twain penned
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George Jones & Tammy Wynette were solo/duet stars
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Clint Black, Lisa Hartman & daughter Lily.
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Brad Paisley, wife Kimberly and son Huckleberry.
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