'70s Country

Country music was in transition during the immediately pre-Urban Cowboy era. Angry white-guy anthems, such as Johnny Paycheck's "Take This Job and Shove It" and Merle Haggard's "The Fightin' Side of Me," sat cheek by jowl with more mellow love songs, like Sammi Smith's "Help Me Make It Through the Night" and Crystal Gayle's "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue." And somewhere in that blend was the occasional nutty novelty tune, such as C.W. McCall's "Convoy."

One of country's most significant events of the '70s was Dolly Parton's emergence from the shadow of her mentor, Porter Wagoner. Her autobiographical "Coat of Many Colors" was a Top 10 hit, and showcased her developing talents as both songwriter and performer. Canadian Anne Murray took a Kenny Loggins tune, gave it a country gloss, and had a huge crossover hit with "Danny's Song." Guilty pleasure: Jerry Reed's "When You're Hot, You're Hot."

In the '70s, Rhodes scholar Kris Kristofferson came to the fore. Not only was he starring in films (A Star Is Born, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore), but people like Johnny Cash ("Sunday Morning Coming Down") were covering his songs, and his own recordings, including "Why Me," were increasingly popular. Meanwhile, in 1978 Willie Nelson took a gamble by recording Stardust, an album of standards; he was rewarded with two chart-topping singles, including "Blue Skies."

In the immediately pre-Urban Cowboy era, country music was in a bit of a tangle. Coming later than rock to the social-consciousness party, largely locked out of the charts due to sketchy info-gathering practices, and on the cusp of a generational handoff, the genre nonetheless managed to produce some noteworthy music during the '70s. Much of its interesting tunes came from its so-called "outlaws" — folks like Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings, who'd let their hair grow and who opposed the Vietnam war. Reigning country queen Emmylou Harris had just begun recording (under the tutelage of the late Gram Parsons), and the era saw the final chart entry from "The Singing Sheriff," Faron Young. A surprisingly turbulent and fascinating period.