3 Country Songs From 1961 That Every 60s Kid Still Knows Today

Country music in the early 1960s might be among the most timeless sounds of any genre of music. Especially in 1961, some of the greatest country songs of all time were released, including these three. They are all so memorable, it’s almost a guarantee that every 60s kid can sing them by heart today.

“Tender Years” by George Jones

On George Jones’s George Jones Sings From The Heart album is “Tender Years”. The only single Jones released that year, “Tender Years” was written by Jones and Darrell Edwards.

“Tender Years” is about someone committing to wait for someone, even if they are in love with someone else. The song says in part, “And you’ll know that I love you / With a love that’s sincere / ‘Cause I’ll wait ’til you’re thru living / In your tender years.”

“Tender Years” is Jones’s second No. 1 single. In 1959, Jones reached the top of the charts for the first time with “White Lightning”. 

“Sea Of Heartbreak” by Don Gibson

Don Gibson had a Top 5 single with “Sea Of Heartbreak”. Written by Paul Hampton and Hal David, the song later appears on his compilation The Best Of Don Gibson record, out in 1965.

“Sea Of Heartbreak” says, “Yeah, the sea of heartbreak / Lost love and loneliness / Memories of your caress so divine  / How I wish you were mine.”

After “Sea Of Heartbreak”, it was another ten years until Gibson had another Top 5 single, which he did in 1971 with “Country Green”. In 1972, Gibson had his final No. 1 single, with “Woman (Sensuous Woman)”.

In 1996, Johnny Cash included a cover of this song for his Unchained record.

“The Blizzard” by Jim Reeves

Jim Reeves’ “The Blizzard” is actually a sad song, which only adds to its longevity. Written by Harlan Howard, “The Blizzard is on Reeves’ Tall Tales And Short Tempers album. “The Blizzard” is about a man who unsuccessfully tries to get to Mary Ann, the woman he loves, in the middle of a snowstorm, riding his horse, Dan.

The song ends with, “Late that night the storm was gone / They found him there at dawn / He’d have made it, but he just couldn’t leave old Dan / Yes, they found him there on the plains, his hands froze to the reins / He was just a hundred yards from Mary Ann.”

Although Reeves had plenty of hits in the early 1960s, “The Blizzard” is his only hit single from Tall Tales And Short Tempers.

Photo by LMPC via Getty Images

The post 3 Country Songs From 1961 That Every 60s Kid Still Knows Today appeared first on American Songwriter.