Nashville is Music City, and the Bobby hotel makes it easy to listen to up-and-coming musicians and hear the beat of the city. If you are visiting town for the first time, you might want to get some perspective and how and why Nashville got its reputation. You could download forever, but if you want to get up-to-speed quickly, here are 14 essential songs to get you started. Add these your playlist to cover Nashville from the 1870s to the 1970s.
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, Fisk Jubilee Singers.
When the Fisk Jubilee Singers set out on their world tour to raise money for the financially struggling Fisk University in 1871, they sang Black spirituals, across the globe. The story goes that the Queen of England was so wowed that she asked if they came from some kind of Music City, and the nickname stuck. The Fisk Jubilee Singers are still impressing the world: In 2021 they won a GRAMMY Award.
Tennessee Waltz, Patti Page.
It is hard to count how many different artists have recorded a version the official song of the state of Tennessee. It’s a melancholy anthem, and this 1950’s version was the first one that country legend Roy Acuff published. It sold more than one million copies in sheet music. Legend goes that Page wanted to record it because it was her dad’s favorite song.
Hey Good Lookin’, Hank Williams.
Williams was the first country music celebrity, and still one of the best songwriters there ever was. Hank had many hits in his too-short life, and this 1951 number was ranked among the greatest country songs of all time by CMT. With it a new sound for country music followed.
It’s Now or Never, Elvis Presley.
While the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll is most associated with Memphis (that’s where Graceland is and where he made his home), this song was recorded at RCA Studio B in Nashville in 1961. You can take a tour to learn more. It was one of Elvis’s best-selling singles and is one of the best-selling songs of all time.
Little Wing, Jimi Hendrix.
While you don’t normally think of “Nashville” when you think of Hendrix, he lived on Jefferson Street early in his career (in the 1960s) and then-band, The King Kasuals, played in the clubs here. Hendrix honed much of his guitar playing skills while in Nashville. To get more Hendrix-in-Nashville details, check out the Jefferson Street Sound Museum.
Rainy Day Women No. 12 and No. 25, Bob Dylan.
This 1966 song marks the beginning of Dylan’s Nashville years. The crooner must have liked playing it on stage, he’s reportedly done so more than 1,000 times! It first appeared on Blonde on Blonde, an album so important artists including Old Crow Medicine Show have recreated it in its entirety.
D-I-V-O-R-C-E, Tammy Wynette.
Wynette was married five times, so her personal connection to divorce gives meaning to a song that otherwise could have been a novelty. It was one example of songs of the 1960s when women dared to sing about topics that had previously been taboo. (The idea is that the word is spelled out, so the kids won’t know what the grown-ups are talking about.)
Ring of Fire, Johnny Cash.
The Man in Black is perhaps country music’s single-biggest star, a musician whose songs are known by those who don’t even think of themselves as country fans. 1963’s Ring of Fire is on CMT’s list for the best country songs ever. This tune was written by Cash’s wife, June Carter Cash. Learn about their love story at the Johnny Cash Museum.
Sweet Dreams (of You), Patsy Cline.
Cline was just 30 when she died in a plane crash in 1963. This song, among her last recordings, became a hit and also the title track for a movie made about her life. Learn how she broke the mold for female singers and crossed over into pop as well at the Patsy Cline Museum.
Angel from Montgomery, John Prine.
Cline was just 30 when she died in a plane crash in 1963. This song, among her last recordings, became a hit and also the title track for a movie made about her life. Learn how she broke the mold for female singers and crossed over into pop as well at the Patsy Cline Museum.
The Pill, Loretta Lynn.
Writing and singing about birth control was pretty controversial when Lynn did it in 1972…in fact, her label refused to release this song for three years. Eventually, it gained traction and became one of the star’s best-selling songs in her long career. To learn more about this legend, take a road trip the Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills which is 70 miles west of Nashville.
Southern Nights, Glen Campbell.
Writing and singing about birth control was pretty controversial when Lynn did it in 1972…in fact, her label refused to release this song for three years. Eventually, it gained traction and became one of the star’s best-selling songs in her long career. To learn more about this legend, take a road trip the Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills which is 70 miles west of Nashville.
Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue, Crystal Gayle.
In the 1960s and early 1970s Gayle was primarily managed as her older sister, Loretta Lynn, was. It wasn’t until this GRAMMY Award-winning song in 1978 that she became a crossover star.
The Devil Went Down to Georgia, Charlie Daniels Band.
With spoken-word verses and fast-playing fiddle solos, this 1979 number became Daniels’ biggest hits. The song was recorded at Woodland Studios which is still a working music studio in East Nashville’s Five Points neighborhood.
