Cody's Country Group Mania! (COMPLETE!)

[Kanenrá:ke]

"Jesus And Mama" deserved better, and "I've Been Lookin'" shouldn't be out in the bottom 6 but I fully expect name recognition and recency will play big roles in this RD.

[tim]

No real surprises in the first reveals for the rankdown as I expected to see “Just One Night”, “Holes”, and “American Made” leave in the bottom 6. I completely agree with bboat11 that The Oak Ridge Boys songs haven’t aged well at all. Locally I still hear “Trying to Love Two Women” frequently but my favorite two songs from them have always been “Gonna Take a Lot of River” and “No Matter How High” both of which were #1’s in the late 80s. The only song that I’m surprised to see leaving so soon is “Nowhere Fast” as I thought overall that was a solid track from a group I’m admittedly not much a fan of.

“Jesus and Mama” is the one song that I’m sad to see leaving so soon but alas also not surprised as I know Confederate Railroad doesn’t have many fans on Pulse. I really enjoyed their debut record as well as some of their material from Notorious and When and Where.

[Cody Wants Out...]

Here's a sneak peek at the next five songs leaving us next:

* #40 will be kicked off with our first girl group loss! Anyone wanna guess who it'll be?

* More high ranks will be leaving next, including my first top 20 and someone else's #2!

* Some of these five may or may not have been featured in recent rankdowns.

[Cody Wants Out...]

As I begin working on and finalizing graphics for the next set of reveals, here's a hint I just thought of for #40!

[Cody Wants Out...]

40. Sweethearts of the Rodeo - Since I Found You



Track #3 on Sweethearts of the Rodeo (1986)

Written by Radney Foster and Bill Lloyd
Produced by Steve Buckingham

Released to Radio on July 26, 1986

BB Hot Country Songs Peak: 7
Canadian RPM Top Country Tracks Peak: 15



Total Points: 454
Average Rank: 30.26666666666667
Standard Deviation: 9.654507953 (6th lowest!)

.indulgecountry - 15
bboat11 - 18
mamasaid - 18
g8erboi - 18
fearlessarrow - 24
Kanenrá:ke - 28
tim - 31
someguy - 33
castleoblivion26 - 34
austin - 35
George Strait Junkie - 35
d3vin44 - 38
LBTrocks - 40
Cody Wants Out... - 42
zaclord 🌈 - 45

Following: Troublemaker

[Cody Wants Out...]

39. Sons of the Desert - Hand of Fate



Track #1 of Whatever Comes First (1997)

Written by Michael Noble and Michael Lunn
Produced by Johnny Slate and Doug Johnson (entire album)

Released to Radio on August 30, 1997

BB Hot Country Songs Peak: 33
Canadian RPM Hot Country Tracks Peak: 21



Total Points: 439
Average Rank: 29.26666666667
Standard Deviation: 8.770621958 (4th lowest!)

Kanenrá:ke - 14
tim - 19
bboat11 - 19
mamasaid - 19
fearlessarrow - 21
castleoblivion26 - 28
George Strait Junkie - 30
zaclord 🌈 - 33
d3vin44 - 33
LBTrocks - 33
.indulgecountry - 34
someguy - 37
g8erboi - 38
Cody Wants Out... - 39
austin - 42

Following: Troublemaker

[Cody Wants Out...]

Up next, someone else loses their first top ten while I lose my first top 20!

[bboat11]

Lol all the catchy songs are leaving early. It makes me wonder what could possibly end up in the top 20...

[Cody Wants Out...]

38. Highway 101 - Who's Lonely Now



Track #9 on Paint the Town (1989)

Written by Kix Brooks and Don Cook
Produced by Paul Worley and Ed Seay

Released to Radio in September 1989

BB Hot Country Songs Peak: 1
Canadian RPM Hot Country Tracks Peak: 1



Total Points: 435
Average Rank: 29
Standard Deviation: 10.38542935 (9th lowest!)

LBTrocks - 10
Cody Wants Out... - 17
.indulgecountry - 18
Kanenrá:ke - 20
g8erboi - 20
mamasaid - 22
bboat11 - 29
George Strait Junkie - 29
tim - 35
fearlessarrow - 37
d3vin44 - 37
someguy - 39
castleoblivion26 - 40
austin - 41
zaclord 🌈 - 41

Following: Troublemaker

[Cody Wants Out...]

37. Love and Theft - World Wide Open



Track #1 on World Wide Open (2009)

Written by Eric Gunderson and Danny Orton
Produced by Jeff Coplan and Robert Ellis Orrall (entire album)



Total Points: 431
Average Rank: 28.7333333
Standard Deviation: 11.22794134

zaclord 🌈 - 5
bboat11 - 13
d3vin44 - 19
castleoblivion26 - 21
Cody Wants Out... - 25
someguy - 26
fearlessarrow - 28
mamasaid - 29
g8erboi - 29
Kanenrá:ke - 34
LBTrocks - 35
austin - 37
.indulgecountry - 42
tim - 44
George Strait Junkie - 44

Following: Troublemaker

[Cody Wants Out...]

Last reveal for the day has someone losing their #2!

[Cody Wants Out...]

36. BlackHawk - I'm Not Strong Enough to Say No



Track #4 on Strong Enough (1995)

Written by Robert John "Mutt" Lange
Produced by Mark Wright

Released to Radio on July 10, 1995

BB Hot Country Songs Peak: 2
BB Bubbling Under Hot 100 Peak: 4
BB Hot Country Songs of 1995: 20
Canadian RPM Top Country Tracks Peak: 1
Canadian RPM Top Country Tracks of 1995: 30



Total Points: 427
Average Rank: 28.4666666666667
Standard Deviation: 10.95358171

castleoblivion26 - 2
tim - 12
someguy - 22
Kanenrá:ke - 24
austin - 25
mamasaid - 26
.indulgecountry - 27
LBTrocks - 29
Cody Wants Out... - 31
d3vin44 - 34
bboat11 - 35
zaclord 🌈 - 37
g8erboi - 40
fearlessarrow - 41
George Strait Junkie - 42

Following: Troublemaker

[Cody Wants Out...]

And now...

for some way overdue commentary from yours truly! :kii:

46. McBride and the Ride - "Just One Night": I was actually enamored with this one upon my first listen when I listened to their album Sacred Ground several months ago; looking back, I think the title track (which was a #2 hit for them in '92 and did quite well by making the top 40 in the '92 Country RD earlier this year) may have been a better choice from them as that one had more supporters iirc. I included this song in the '93 Country RD, which took forever for me to finish, and was disheartened to see all those lower rankings coming in, which ended up putting it in the bottom five! :O
Now that enough time has passed, I can see why there wasn't much passion for this one to begin with. I may have been enamored with the stripped-down setting and the lyrics really got me too. I still like it quite a bit, but can understand why most find it boring perhaps.

45. Rascal Flatts - "Holes": ...and this is what I get for not picking a better album track!
Most of y'all may know this already, but I was a pretty big fan of them when I got all of their albums nearly a decade ago. Unfortunately, most of their recent material has been pretty underwhelming imo and have recently given up hope on them returning to top-notch shape. This may or may not have included applying the three-strike rule when I wasn't impressed with Unstoppable, Nothing Like This, and Changed.

44. The Oak Ridge Boys - "American Made": Now this one hurt! :'(
Yeah it wasn't the best song to represent these guys, but I thought it sounded inoffensive enough to make the top 40 at least. Again, I had other songs in mind, but chances are, ORB was screwed enough to begin with no matter what I chose! I think these guys are pretty talented and am looking forward to digging in their discography one day.

43. Old Dominion - "Nowhere Fast": I was a little skeptical about including this group since I haven't seen a lot of support for these guys, but I don't really find them that bad. Yeah they may make run-of-the-mill material, but I don't mind it at all. I haven't listened to any of their albums yet, although I've heard good things about them. This song in particular was a Highway (Sirius XM) discovery for me and I really enjoyed it a lot and think it would've gotten them another #1 had they decided to continue with the Meat and Candy era.

42. Confederate Railroad - "Jesus and Mama": This was a similar discovery to me (kinda like "Just One Night" was) for Confederate Railroad. I was also hoping for at least a top 40 finish for this one, but I guess age and familiarity did this one in pretty badly. I once considered using "Queen of Memphis" or "Trashy Women" since they're more recognizable, but this particular song also had me with the toned-down performances in comparison to the two songs I just mentioned. Was really hoping it would do better. Maybe I should dig into their discography as well?

41. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - "I've Been Lookin'": Was tempted to use "Fishin' in the Dark", but I dug into their other hits to avoid predictability since there's way too much of that these days. Maybe "Fishin' in the Dark" would've been better received? This one also deserved at least a top 40 finish imo. Guess I gotta make room for these guys as well huh?

[castleoblivion26]

WTH! Blackhawk deserved better. I cannot believe they are out this early. One of the best songs on this list, easily

[mamasaid]

44. The Oak Ridge Boys - "American Made": Now this one hurt!  

Yeah it wasn't the best song to represent these guys, but I thought it sounded inoffensive enough to make the top 40 at least. Again, I had other songs in mind, but chances are, ORB was screwed enough to begin with no matter what I chose! I think these guys are pretty talented and am looking forward to digging in their discography one day.

pretty talented? I don't think they've missed a note in those harmonies in over 40 years...

[Cody Wants Out...]

Oh wait! I can't stop there!

40. Sweethearts of the Rodeo - "Since I Found You": Aww! These ladies are so cuuute!
"Satisfy You" was an awesome discovery from tim 's 80s Ladies Rankdown a few months ago, but I guess us Pulsers aren't too fond of 80s harmonies unfortunately. Perhaps they're an acquired taste? Maybe their breakout top ten "Midnight Girl/Sunset Town" would've done better?

39. Sons of the Desert - "Hand of Fate": "Whatever Comes First" is obviously the better song from them, but it was already featured in the '97 Country RD last year so I figured the follow up would've shown another side of them? Their debut album was fantastic (highly recommended btw!) and I didn't think I could go wrong including these guys who were featured in Lee Ann Womack's mega-hit "I Hope You Dance". I think they're pretty underrated and was shaking my head knowing that they didn't get much success after that top ten hit of theirs (WCF).

38. Highway 101 - "Who's Lonely Now" Okay. Now THIS is messed up!
I thought this would be funky enough to overlook any unattractive aspects of this group (i.e. age, relevancy), but I guess I was wrong. Y'all did this one dirty, plain and simple. Can't do a recount since I've promised myself to be fair and true to y'all, but this disappointed me. BIG. TIME.

37. Love and Theft - "World Wide Open": OMG their debut album is FLAWLESS!!!!
These guys are still the definition of true underdogs imo and should've gotten more success than they ended up getting. Maybe this could be my first album rankdown?

36. Blackhawk - "I'm Not Strong Enough to Say No": There were quite a handful of songs I could've chosen, but ultimately this one has my heart.
Again, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I was hoping to see more higher ranks ala castleoblivion26, but alas, I guess it wasn't meant to be. Their harmonies are so tight, though! Can't wait to see how they do in '94 and '95 Country!

[tim]

Sweethearts of the Rodeo - I'm not sure why but I never cared much for them when I was growing up, but now I quite like some of their songs. I almost included "Midnight Girl/Sunset Town" in my 80s Ladies Rankdown as it's probably my favorite song of theirs and I think it likely would've done better here than "Since I Found You".

Sons of the Desert - I had almost forgotten about "Hand of Fate" being a single and I really enjoyed revisiting it. I love the lyrics to the song (especially the chorus) and kind of disappointed to see it leave so soon. The lead singer Drew Womack lives in the Austin area and met him once at a benefit last summer...needless to say he doesn't have the long hair anymore lol.

Highway 101 - Not until the 80s Ladies Rankdown did I realize how underappreciated this group is. "Who's Lonely Now" probably isn't one of my favorites from them but I do still enjoy it. "Cry, Cry, Cry" and "The Bed You Made For Me" are such classics...same goes for "Whiskey, If You Were A Woman" which got tanked in 80s Ladies.

Love and Theft - Nothing really to add here as I've never been much a fan of them.

Blackhawk - Very disappointing to see this one leave already...this song is such a gem from the mid 90s. I got to see them once when they opened up for Little Texas and Tim McGraw (probably 1995?) and have been a longtime fan of their music.

[Cody Wants Out...]

Who's ready to get to the top 30?!?

[bboat11]

I'm ready!

[Cody Wants Out...]

35. The Lost Trailers - How 'Bout You Don't



Track #2 from holler back (2008)

Written by Stokes Nielson, VIcky McGehee, and Jeremy Stover
Produced by Brett Beavers

Released to Radio on October 18, 2008

BB Hot Country Songs Peak: 17
BB Bubbling Under Hot 100 Peak: 4



Total Points: 419
Average Rank: 27.9333333333
Standard Deviation: 13.04096111

zaclord 🌈 - 7
fearlessarrow - 8
bboat11 - 11
austin - 14
d3vin44 - 25
castleoblivion26 - 26
George Strait Junkie - 27
LBTrocks - 28
Cody Wants Out... - 32
mamasaid - 32
.indulgecountry - 36
someguy - 40
Kanenrá:ke - 44
g8erboi - 44
tim - 45

Following: Troublemaker

---

Y'all DO remember me saying that I don't really care much for these guys and that this is the only song that I really like from them right?

A quartet of top fifteens leave us here, including a pair of top tens, so no one can really say there weren't any fans of this song despite the three bottom three rankings in place.

Considering that they only had a top ten hit out of the title track earlier in '08 and this one was coming off the heels of it, this probably could've done better here, but probably not much since TLT were essentially a flash in the pan imo.

[Cody Wants Out...]

Why walk baby, we were born to run

34. The Henningsens - American Beautiful



Track #1 from The Henningsens (2013)

Written by Brett Beavers and The Henningsens (Brian, Clara, and Aaron Henningsen)
Produced by Paul Worley

Released to Radio on December 17, 2012

BB Hot Country Songs (hybrid) Peak: 29
BB Hot Country Airplay Peak: 17
BB Bubbling Under Hot 100 Peak: 7
BB Hot Country Songs of 2013 (hybrid): 87
BB Hot Country Airplay Songs of 2013: 68



Total Points: 418
Average Rank: 27.866666666667
Standard Deviation: 12.574729

LBTrocks - 8
.indulgecountry - 12
g8erboi - 12
zaclord 🌈 - 17
fearlessarrow - 19
castleoblivion26 - 20
tim - 26
d3vin44 - 29
bboat11 - 32
mamasaid - 37
austin - 38
someguy - 38
George Strait Junkie - 39
Cody Wants Out... - 45
Kanenrá:ke - 46

Following: Troublemaker

---

I've always adored this song, even though I'll admit that I was underwhelmed upon first listen back when it was released given what they wrote for The Band Perry.

Despite that feeling, I still rooted for them to be successful and was eventually able to stomach a top 20 peak on radio for this particular song. Too bad they couldn't get any more hits afterwards. :(

Very happy to see that others love it too.

[Cody Wants Out...]

Okay y'all, we've seen a moderate amount of top fives eliminated already (including a #2), and we pick that type of pace right back up with #33.

[tim]

LOL at that hint because my dogs literally beg for these after going on their twice daily walks. So along with that I’m going to guess “The Walk” leaves next.

[Cody Wants Out...]

33. Smithfield - Hey Whiskey



Single released (digitally) in March 2018

Written by Smithfield (Jennifer FIedler and Trey Smith), Casey Derhak, and Adam Wood



Total Points: 411
Average Rank: 27.4
Standard Deviation: 11.45675097

g8erboi - 5
.indulgecountry - 14
LBTrocks - 14
zaclord 🌈 - 19
austin - 22
fearlessarrow - 22
bboat11 - 26
tim - 27
castleoblivion26 - 32
someguy - 34
mamasaid - 34
George Strait Junkie - 36
Kanenrá:ke - 40
d3vin44 - 40
Cody Wants Out... - 46

Following: Troublemaker

---

Smithfield is a brand of BACON that's sold in stores virtually everywhere!

Like Old Dominion's "Nowhere Fast", this was also a discovery for me during those semi-rare times I listen to The Highway.

Unfortunately, g8erboi loses his first top five, and I (finally?) lost my last place.

As a reminder, just because I put this last place doesn't mean that I don't like it. In fact, I think it's pretty underrated and I didn't see it pop up anywhere on the charts sadly.

In my defense though, something had to go there...

Glad this got a great amount of support btw!

[zaclord 🌈]

K, lets get rid of more of the older, boring stuff please 😊

[Cody Wants Out...]

SPOILER: Click to show

{The next two songs to miss the top 30 include two top tens a piece...}and ONE of those is MINE!

[Cody Wants Out...]

32. Thompson Square - Let's Fight



Track #8 on Thompson Square (2011)

Written by Westin Davis, Keifer Thompson, and Kip Moore
Produced by New Voice Entertainment (Rich Redmond, Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, and David Fanning)

Released to Radio on May 3, 2010

BB Hot Country Songs Peak: 58



Total Points: 400
Average Rank: 26.666666667
Standard Deviation: 11.14621439

castleoblivion26 - 9
.indulgecountry - 10
g8erboi - 13
d3vin44 - 20
George Strait Junkie - 21
LBTrocks - 22
Kanenrá:ke - 25
Cody Wants Out... - 27
bboat11 - 28
zaclord 🌈 - 29
tim - 34
someguy - 36
mamasaid - 40
fearlessarrow - 42
austin - 44

Following: Troublemaker

---

If the title of one of Pat Benatar's signature hits didn't do it for ya, try the lyric before the first chorus 'put up your dukes! let's get down to it!' :kii:

Both .indulgecountry and castleoblivion26 lose a second top ten while fearlessarrow and austin now have only one bottom six remaining.

Got this album when it was out and didn't realize that it was a single, and have only recently discovered that it was pulled prematurely for "Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not". I thought about choosing that one, but radio has beaten that into the ground enough imo.

[castleoblivion26]

WTH! This deserved better. Really judging some of you....

[Cody Wants Out...]

Sept 22, 2018 20:48:09 GMT -5 zaclord 🌈 said:

K, lets get rid of more of the older, boring stuff please 😊

Not inviting you to my next party btw!

31. The Forester Sisters - Just in Case



Track #3 on The Forester Sisters (1985)

Written by J.P. Pennington and Sonny LeMaire
Produced by Terry Skinner and J.L. Wallace

Released to Radio on November 2, 1985

BB Hot Country Songs Peak: 1
Canadian Hot Country Tracks Peak: 2



Total Points: 389
Average Rank: 25.933333333333333
Standard Deviation: 10.9183114

fearlessarrow - 7
Cody Wants Out... - 10
LBTrocks - 16
Kanenrá:ke - 18
.indulgecountry - 21
tim - 22
bboat11 - 22
George Strait Junkie - 24
mamasaid - 27
g8erboi - 30
someguy - 35
d3vin44 - 36
castleoblivion26 - 38
zaclord 🌈 - 40
austin - 43

Following: Troublemaker

---

This...is WAY TOO GOOD to be out this early you guys!

Shame on austin for not only pushing this out of the top 20, but also keeping it out of the top 20!

Also, those bottom 20s didn't help much neither!

[Cody Wants Out...]

Filler post to get to the next page...