Some country songs have the makings of gigantic hits but they fall a bit short. It can be hard to pinpoint why. For whatever reason, they did not succeed in a sweeping, chart-topping way you might have expected. Per khak.com, "Chris Stapleton's most well-known song barely dented the charts, and Kid Rock's best-known country effort didn't break the Top 20...Who is going to deny that 'Gentle On My Mind' is a country hit? Glen Campbell's song only peaked at No. 30 in 1967." What is going on here? Here are a few examples of this fascinating, tough-to-explain phenomenon. They are from hugely successful artists including Patsy Cline, Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, and Shania Twain. They all did these songs that richly deserved to rest atop the highest rung of the charts yet inexplicably did not. ("Crazy" came awfully close!)
Videos by Wide Open Country
'Crazy' by Patsy Cline
This is one of the most iconic songs in country music lore. Written by Willie Nelson, the 1961 tune remains a timeless and revered classic. Per theboot.com, "The song reached No. 2 in the country charts and has become a staple of the American songbook." It's in the Grammy Hall of Fame and the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress. Covers of it were done by Linda Ronstadt, LeAnn Rimes, Julio Iglesias, and Neil Young. But it is Patsy Cline who truly made it great.
'Fancy' by Reba McEntire
This song is from the pen of country music legend Bobbie Gentry. She was best-known for her "Ode to Billie Joe." "Fancy" is another compelling story song from 1969 that Reba McEntire recorded in 1991. It tells the tale of a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who uses her wiles and wits to rise in the world. Dramatic and heartfelt, "Fancy" was an ideal showcase for the voices of both Gentry and McEntire. Per nbc.com, the song was "a modest hit" for Gentry and then for McEntire, "cracking the Top 10 on Billboard's country charts in the year of its release more than 20 years after the original version."
'Ol' Red' by Blake Shelton
Many famous singers recorded this song, starting with George Jones, followed by Kenny Rogers. Then Blake Shelton came along in 2001 and put it on his freshman album. Per Songfacts, "Although it was not a hit at the time, it has become one of Shelton's most commonly requested tunes in concert, and he considers it his signature song."
Shelton appreciatively said of the tune, "I just loved it that much and, thank God, on the first album I was lucky enough to have two of the biggest hits of my career. ('Austin' is also from that album). That's awesome." "Ol' Red" did not ascend into the country charts' top tier, however.
'Man, I Feel Like A Woman!' by Shania Twain
It's hard to believe that this blockbuster anthem about womanly empowerment was not a number 1 hit for Twain. The song is from her legendary Come On Over album. The highest it ever got on the Billboard Hot 100 was number 23. Nevertheless, Twain's no-nonsense performance of it resonates with audiences and it helped to make her a force to be reckoned with in the music industry.
