Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music

Brad Paisley applies his self-consciously retro schtick to the concept of grace in a modern family, in his late-1999 breakthrough hit, "He Didn't Have to Be". But what exactly is the nature of his throwback vibe? What's surprising about it, and what about his neo-traditionalist-influenced vocals works so well with this song's whimsical melody?  "When a single mom goes out on a date with..."

Alabama shows us how country music approaches Conway Twitty's favorite subject, while continuing to meld the 70s & 80s influences that formed their unique wheelhouse, on their 1982 hit "Take Me Down".  But how does this song's harmonic complexity particularly fit the particular subject matter?

Melton tackles Steve Wariner's 1998 ACM & CMA Song of the Year, "Holes in the Floor of Heaven," a cut remarkable for its similarity to recent selection, "Two Teardrops". But what holes might there be in this song so acclaimed, and what points of departure from its said close cousin?

Brooks & Dunn get us up from our tables and onto the dance floor with their  quintessential neotraditional honky-tonker, "Boot Scootin' Boogie".  But what is it about this cut that not only made us start dancing in 1992 but has also kept us dancing all these decades later?

Vince Gill teaches us how to milk a great hook for all it's worth  in his 1997 hit "A Little More Love". But what specific take does this hook have on the country trope of almost breaking up? And what on earth is Melton talking about with this idea of "bluegrass soul"?

Ronnie Milsap does what he does on 1982's "He Got You". You knew it was going to be 50s/60s R&B-infused 80s country, but what other genre shows up, perhaps unexpectedly, with all four on the floor?

The Oak Ridge Boys remind country music what it sounds like to be lighthearted and fun with their monster 1981 hit "Elvira".   Everybody remembers Richard Sterbin's rafter-rattling bass solo, but what context does it take for something that unique, to fit perfectly into?  In other words, why are our hearts on fire for this classic country song?

Steve Wariner puts on a clinic in tasteful, well-crafted sentimentally in one of his last hits, 1999's "Two Teardrops".  But how exactly is he able to keep it mellow without becoming melodramatic?

In this episode, we get locked away inside of some old Alabama, in their 1981 hit "Love in the First Degree".  Nowadays it all just sounds like old school country, but what specific things things were happening more broadly in country music at the time that Alabama are guilty of?

Collin Raye makes us still feel like we're in 1998 with his upbeat pop country hit "I Can Still Feel You".  We've apostrophized lost love before, but what perhaps surprising left turn does this particular version take?