Country music has some of the best storytelling, of any kind of music, with plenty of the artists writing their own songs. But while they may be part of country music, numerous artists have also deviated from the genre, with several of them showing off their songwriting skills by writing songs for other artists, in other genres.
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We picked four stunning country artists who wrote hits for artists in other genre.
1. Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson has strayed from the genre multiple times, to write songs for other artists, including "Funny How Time Slips Away." The song was recorded by several pop artists, including Al Green, who included the song on his 1973 Call Me album. Nelson wrote the song with Green and Al Jackson, Jr.
Shockingly, Nelson wrote the hit in the late 1950s, the same week he wrote one of his most iconic songs of all time, while still living in Texas.
"In one week I wrote 'Crazy,' 'Funny How Time Slips Away' and 'Night Life,'" Nelson says (via American Songwriter). "That's when I decided maybe to go to Nashville. So I took off to Nashville in my '46 Buick and went immediately to a place called Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, where I had heard was the spot to be if you want to find some songwriters. And, sure enough, it was the great spot to be."
Numerous other artists recorded the song, including The Spinners and Dorothy Moore.
2. Dolly Parton
When Dolly Parton penned "I Will Always Love You" as a goodbye letter to Porter Wagoner, she had no idea that the song would have a massive resurgence years later. Parton released it on her own in 1974, becoming a No. 1 hit for her.
The song, to Parton's surprise, was released again in 1992 by Whitney Houston, for the film, The Bodyguard.
"The first time that I heard Whitney's version, I just about wrecked my car," the Country Music Hall of Fame member remembers, adding that she was driving home when she heard it for the first time. "I had sent the song to Whitney's people. ... I was heading home, and all of a sudden, I had the radio on, and I just heard the a cappella part, 'If I should stay...' It kind of got my attention, but it hadn't registered yet. And I thought, 'What?' All of a sudden, she went into the chorus, and I thought, 'Oh my God! This is 'I Will Always Love You!'"
3. Chris Stapleton
Chris Stapleton has famously collaborated with other artists, including Justin Timberlake on "Say Something," out in 2018. Stapleton also sang with Adele on "Easy on Me," for Adele's 30 album, out in 2021. But that isn't their only connection. Adele also recorded "If It Hadn't Been For Love," a song Stapleton wrote with Michael Henderson for her 2011 21 record.
Stapleton had already recorded the song, as part of the bluegrass band, The SteelDrivers, which he used to front. Admittedly, Stapleton didn't know Adele when she first requested to cover the song - not that he cared.
"I always kind of like to write the songs and they get turned loose into the world and who knows what happens with them," Stapleton says on The Howard Stern Show.
4. Shania Twain
When Shania Twain was at her peak as a country artist, she also had a song recorded by a major pop star. Twain and her then-husband Mutt Lange, along with Keith Scott, penned "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know." The song is from Britney Spears' sophomore Oops!... I Did It Again album, out in 2000.
"She was working with my ex-husband in the studio," Twain recalls to Fuse. "She was very sweet and it was a great experience just to get to know her on a behind-the-scenes level a little bit and it was obviously an honor to have her record some of my songwriting."
