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Chapter 72: King Of The Road

60s country

The mid-to-late 60s may be my favorite country era; these songs are polished but still rootsy, elegantly constructed without skimping on personality. Buck Owens is a phenomenal songwriter, period (and you can hear why Creedence name-check him on “Lookin’ Out My Back Door.”) “Amos Moses” is addictively structured, and “King Of The Road” is a lackadaisical bop. Kicking this chapter off is the unsolvable mystery of “Ode To Billie Joe.”
1. Bobbie Gentry

Ode to Billie Joe

2. Jerry Reed

Amos Moses

3. Roger Miller

King of the Road

4. Buck Owens

I've Got a Tiger By the Tail

5. Claude King

Wolverton Mountain

6. Jeannie C. Riley

Harper Valley P.T.A.

7. Johnny Cash

Ring of Fire

8. The Statler Brothers

Flowers On the Wall

9. Buck Owens

Tall Dark Stranger

10. Loretta Lynn

Don't Come Home a Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind)