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PODCAST

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music

Melton McMaynerbury

Have you always thought there was something special about 80s and 90s country music that you"ve never been able to put your finger on? Why does this music stand out? Well, let"s don our cowboy hats, adjust our oversized belt buckles, tease that hair, and see if we can get the bottom of it, by picking apart one song at a time.

music music commentary

All Episodes

22:35

Dissecting "Slow Hand" by Conway Twitty - 1982

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music ·

2025/11/24

1982 finally takes us to legendary hitmaker Conway Twitty's cover of the Pointer Sisters' "Slow Hand". Twitty was never shy about mature topics, and this one is no exception, but how does the change in perspective from the original serve to amplify the charismatic delivery of this all-time pro?

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25:49

Dissecting "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool"...

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music ·

2025/11/10

1981 takes us to a time when reigning Entertainer of the Year Barbara Mandrell needed to remind us that she had stayed true to her roots. And if you don't believe her, just ask guest vocalist George Jones, as he supports Mandrell in one of her signature hits: "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool". We know this refrain, don't we?, in a genre that is constantly pitting itself against the "evil" forces of Top 40. But was Barbara Mandrell country? Or was country Barbara Mandrell? And what does...

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43:13

Dissecting "He Stopped Loving Her Today" by George...

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music ·

2025/10/27

For our milestone 100th episode, we take on a song and singer both of whom are in the conversation for Greatest of All-time. And it's no coincidence: in "He Stopped Loving Her Today", the sheer weight of Bobby Braddock & Curly Putman's composition, set in the legendary Billy Sherrill's production (with an assist from unsung hero Millie Kirkham), could have been carried by no other voice than that of George Jones. It's known as the saddest song ever written and the cut that put George Jone...

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19:22

Dissecting "I Let Her Lie" by Daryle Singletary

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music ·

2025/10/13

Daryle Singletary lets life happen to him in this mid-90s gem: 1995's "I Let Her Lie". No one can deny the Randy Travis influence in the vocals, but how does the fruit of that influence align with the passive lyrics and common chord progression, to give us a taste of irrevocable loss due, at least in part, to our own refusal to act?

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21:33

Dissecting "Some Girls Do" by Sawyer Brown

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music ·

2025/09/29

Sawyer Brown remind us how to have fun in the early 90s, with their catchy, lowish-class anthem "Some Girls Do". Mark Miller paints a vivid picture of connecting within one's lane, in this classic of 1992, but what does the abrupt resolution in the chorus tell us about how his narrator wrestles with his station in life?

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29:20

Dissecting "Little Rock" by Collin Raye

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music ·

2025/09/15

As we close in our 100th episode (this is #97), we tackle another listener request, and one of Melton's all-time favorites, Collin Raye's gut-wrenching 1994 hit "Little Rock". Raye delivers a wallop of emotion with Tom Douglas's poignant lyrics taking center stage, as we don't know whether to cheer or cringe at what this recovering alcoholic is proclaiming. But does he believe what he's saying? And if so, what's so diminuitive about this guy's new foundation?

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25:30

Dissecting "Let Me Let Go" by Faith Hill (with Vince...

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music ·

2025/09/01

Faith Hill showcases her powerful and versatile vocal stylings on her plaintive 1998 hit "Let Me Let Go". Vince Gill's harmony vocals don't hurt a bit either, but what are we to do with all these unorthodox chords? And what does Ray Charles have to do with it?

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22:50

Dissecting "Texas Tornado" by Tracy Lawrence

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music ·

2025/08/18

By request, we're finally chasing down thoroughbred Texas honky-tonker Tracy Lawrence, and his 1995 hit "Texas Tornado". Steel guitar and soaring strings collide on this Bobby-Braddock-penned, Tracy-Lawrence-produced amalgation. But how does Braddock's wild chord progression pick this chorus up, spin it round, and put us right back down again where we started from? Also, if you're into this sort of thing, you can find Melton's other podcast here: Propaniacs: A King of the Hill Podcast.

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22:32

Dissecting "Every Once in a While" by Blackhawk

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music ·

2025/08/04

By request, it's the smooth sounds of Blackhawk's 1994 hit "Every Once in a While". The instrumentation, the vocals, and the overall sound are all Blackhawk. But how do all these things lend support to these lyrics' understated confidence? And while you're at it, why not roll over to Melton's other podcast, Propaniacs: A King of the Hill Podcast? He publishes an episode every now and then...

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34:33

Dissecting "The Heart Won't Lie" by Reba McEntire &...

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music ·

2025/07/21

The requests keep coming in, and this time it's Reba & Vince's 1993 powerhouse ballad, "The Heart Won't Lie". In the canon of country duets, this one holds a unique place. Conway & Loretta this ain't, but how does this arrangement fit the adult contemporary context leading up to it, and what does Disney have to do with it?

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59:59

Dissecting "Independence Day" by Martina McBride

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music ·

2025/07/04

It's about time. In this special July 4th episode, we finally tackle 90s icon Martina McBride, and arguably her signature song, 1994's "Independence Day". Rarely has a song been so committed in every aspect to its interwoven themes of justice and judgment, and from so many different angles and perspectives that we had to bring in a PhD to help us unravel them! (Seriously.) Dr. Victoria Reynolds Farmer joins Nashville Anthems as our first ever guest! So you're going to want to stick arou...

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25:15

Dissecting "Take It Like a Man" by Michelle Wright

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music ·

2025/06/23

By request, we take on a classic one-hit-wonder (in the U.S. anyway). It's Michelle Wright with 1992's "Take It Like a Man". Rarely has a song done more with a single note than this one does with the note G. But this cut is much more than a just G thing. How does this catchy number shift seamlessly between eye-rolling frustration and empowered assertion? And how do Wright's outstanding vocals tie it all together? Here's the video we mention in the episode, in which Wright tells the stor...

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15:43

Dissecting "Don't Be Stupid" by Shania Twain

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music ·

2025/06/09

In the first of a trilogy of feminine perspectives in the 90s, we tackle Shania Twain's lighthearted 1997 hit "Don't Be Stupid". Twain puts a twist on stereotypical gender roles, and not for the first time, but how does her protagonist's response to her man's stereotypical suspicion give us a perfect example of Twain's brand of 90s feminine empowerment?

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26:28

Dissecting "I Cross My Heart" by George Strait

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music ·

2025/05/26

We follow one "Pure Country" hit with another: 1992's "I Cross My Heart". George Strait doffs the pyrotechnics (or something like that) and gets intimate in this one, but how do these rolling harmonic and melodic hills frame this speaker's specific message of commitent? And what about that key change??

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27:01

Dissecting "Heartland" by George Strait

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music ·

2025/05/12

George Strait takes us back to his acting days, with 1993's "Heartland". Strait's signature honky-tonk style sounds right at home on this Texas-sized arena astage, but how do this song's lyrics try to take us somewhere else? And what tensions might this song encapsulate between the journeys of "Dusty" and real-life George Strait?

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18:27

Dissecting "I Know Where I'm Going" by the Judds

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music ·

2025/04/28

It's vintage Judds, with their 1987 classic hit "I Know Where I'm Going". This cut is a prime example of the Judds' signature acoustic-with-attitude shtick, but how does heavy harmonic ambiguity in this one leave us less sure of our destination that Wynonna and Naomi seem to be?

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20:18

Dissecting "Addicted to a Dollar" by Doug Stone

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music ·

2025/04/14

Our first encounter with Doug Stone taps into his rowdy side, with 1994's indignant, deliciously unhinged, "Addicted to a Dollar". Stone shows us what angry, working class honky-tonk sounds like in the mid-90s, but what indications do we have in this song that this first person narrator is ever actually going to muster the courage to tell anyone to take this job and shove it?

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30:28

Dissecting "Here in the Real World" by Alan Jackson

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music ·

2025/03/31

One episode after exploring Brooks & Dunn's explosive debut, we turn our ears to Alan Jackson's more toned down entrance onto the scene, 1990's "Here in the Real World". As we'd expect, Jackson writes the book here on Jones-inspired neotraditionalism, as melody, harmony, instrumentation, lyrics, and phrasing all work together on this heartbreaker. But how does all that combine with the very idea of neotraditionalism, to give this one a nostalgic feel that seems to break the fourth wall?

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16:46

Dissecting "Brand New Man" by Brooks & Dunn

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music ·

2025/03/17

We examine the song that introduced Brooks & Dunn to an unsuspecting country music world in 1991: their debut single "Brand New Man". In some sense, Kix & Ronnie were just continuing what George Strait, Randy Travis, and the famed Class of 1989 had already brought to the fore, but what is it about this high-octane Texas honky-tonker that yet felt like the ushering in of a new, or maybe a consummate, era of neotraditionalism?

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42:58

Dissecting "Amarillo by Morning" by George Strait

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music ·

2025/03/03

In this episode, we explore why George Strait's career-defining 1983 classic "Amarillo by Morning" isn't just a great song, isn't just Strait's own favorite, but is in the conversation for greatest of all time.

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102 results

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