4 Forgotten 80s Country Songs That Feel Like Growing Up

The 80s might have been all about pop music, but there were also a few country classics that ruled the decade. Here are some country songs from the 80s that feel like tunes you would hear on the way to school.

“When I Call Your Name” by Vince Gill

There’s just something about a Vince Gill ballad that screams nostalgia. In “When I Call Your Name”, the crooner sings of a love that has supposedly left him and a house that is emptier than it once was.

I rushed home from work like I always do
I spent my whole day just thinking of you
When I walked through the front door, my whole life was changed
‘Cause nobody answered when I called your name.

“How Blue” by Reba McEntire

“How Blue” might have been McEntire’s third No. 1 hit on the Billboard country music chart, but it’s not often the song from her catalog that fans remember. This song is traditional country through and through, even featuring a fiddle and steel guitar. To me, this song sounds like something you’d hear at an old breakfast diner or just as the dive bar’s closing down. The song is relatively upbeat, but make no mistake, McEntire is definitely drowning in some sorrows in this one.

“Ace In The Hole” by George Strait

In “Ace In The Hole”, Strait teaches his listener a valuable lesson. He warns against putting all your eggs in one basket, or rather, putting it “all on the line for just one roll.” Life’s a game, and everybody has to gamble every now and then, but it’s best to think ahead rather than get ahead of yourself.

“Love At The Five And Dime” by Nanci Griffith

When you look at Griffith’s attention to detail in “Love At The Five And Dime”, you’ll quickly realize that there isn’t a lot not to love about this folky song. From her album The Last Of The True Believers, the track tells the story of a couple who fall in love while dancing through the aisles of a five-and-dime. There aren’t that many five-and-dimes anymore, but this song makes you wish you could go back in time and see that “Woolworth counter shine.”

Photo by: Ebet Roberts/Redferns

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