Step right up....come on in...

Happy Friday! I'm so happy to have a low-key weekend ahead....save for a session on Sunday morning, I have a nice weekend in. Considering I just bought a big stack of more vinyl, I fully intend on spending my Saturday with my record player.

It's Five on Friday time, and I'm totally theme-ing it this week. I had to pick out 5 songs for a friend this week to add to a playlist, and quite frankly: picking 5 of my favorite songs was a lot harder than I thought it would be! It should be no surprise to anyone that the 5 I picked were all "real" Country Music, and were mostly from artists I rave about daily. With that said....5 songs I can't live without, by 5 artists I can't live without:

one. The Grand Tour - George Jones 

Not only is this my fave Jones song, this is my all time favorite song by anyone.  This song is breathtaking. If this song doesn't hit you or bring tears to your eyes, I'm not sure you have a soul. "As you leave, you'll see the nursery, oh she left me without mercy..." I promise you no one but George Jones can deliver that line with that pain. Sigh. I'm so fortunate I had the chance to hear him do this live multiple times before his passing.


two. Till I Can Make it On My Own - Tammy WynetteI say it was hard to rank a top 5 songs, but it certainly isn't hard to rank my top 2. This vies sooo close to my #1 spot for favorite song. I love Tammy. I still cite getting the chance to see her live as one of the highlights of my life. I was eleven years old when she came to my hometown of Sebastian, Florida. My mother refused to buy me tickets, so thank goodness the DJ's at our local station took pity on the kid who so desperately wanted to go & handed me two tickets. Bless her heart, a rough life she led - she was pretty frail by the time I had the chance to see her. But boy was it magical - and I can still remember every single moment of that show. Hearing this live was one of the greatest moments of my life.
three. Jeannie's Afraid of the Dark - Dolly Parton/Porter Wagoner
Jeannie's Afraid of the Dark has always been my favorite Dolly song....and goodness knows it's hard to pick one, because that girl knows how to write a good song. I could have thought of 100 songs off the top of my head that she wrote that I can't live without. Anyway, I love this one --- I miss the days of Country Music songs telling a story. I almost miss the days of a good duet!


four.  It's Only Make Believe - Conway TwittyOh how I love, love, love this man. Talk about a huge loss -- waaaay too soon for Country Music. I was 9 years old when Conway died....I still remember where & when I was when my Mom told me he was gone. I often think about what an even bigger impact he would have made on Country Music if he had lived a little longer. This song is incredible live..

five. My Old Friend the Blues - Patty LovelessYou didn't think I'd actually leave P out of this list, did you? Goodness knows my top fave songs are peppered with probably almost every song P has ever cut. This song absolutely slays me. (And even more so live) Multiple artists have cut this, and not a damn one of them has put an ounce of the emotion that P has in her version.