The country music in the middle of the 1960s might have produced some of the most timeless country songs of all time, including these three tunes. All out in 1966, it’s almost a guarantee that every 60s kid still knows them by heart today.
“Don’t Come Home A Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ On Your Mind)” by Loretta Lynn
A Loretta Lynn anthem if there ever was one, “Don’t Come Home A Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ On Your Mind)” is the title track of a record Lynn also released in 1966. Lynn wrote “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ On Your Mind)” with her sister, Peggy Sue Wright.
Videos by American Songwriter
A cautionary tale, “Don’t Come Home A Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ On Your Mind)” says, “No, don’t come home a drinkin’ / With lovin’ on your mind / Just stay out there on the town / And see what you can find / ‘Cause if you want that kind of love / Well you don’t need none of mine / So don’t come home a drinkin’ / With lovin’ on your mind.”
“Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ On Your Mind)” is Lynn’s first No. 1 single. It was Wright who had the idea for the feisty song, which was at least partly autobiographical for both women.
“I Get The Fever” by Bill Anderson
Bill Anderson released one single in 1966, and it’s “I Get The Fever”. The song, written solely by Anderson, is part of his I Love You Drops record.
“I Get The Fever” is a song about wanting to get away to escape from the pain of lost love. The chorus says, “This town’s too full of memories of cruel love / And I can’t stand it seein’ her with him / Every time I hear a buddy say he’s put lots of dust and clay / Between him and yesterday I get the fever.”
It was Anderson’s third No. 1 single, and he didn’t return to the top spot for three more years. In 1969, Anderson had his fourth No. 1 single, with “My Life (Throw It Away If I Want To)”.
“I Want To Go With You” by Eddy Arnold
Eddy Arnold had numerous hit singles throughout the 1960s, including “I Want To Go With You”. Written by Hank Cochran, “I Want To Go With You” became a moderate crossover hit. It peaked just inside the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
An admission of feelings, the song says, “I wanna go with you / To that other world / The one your love takes me to / I wanna go with you.”
Later in 1966, Arnold returned to the top of the charts with “Somebody Like Me”.
Photo by CBS via Getty Images
More The List
-
Bronx, N.Y.: Singer Dion DiMucci sings for the crowd at Freedomland in the Bronx, New York on July 30, 1963. (Photo by Dick Morseman/Newsday RM via Getty Images) -
Photo by Ebet Roberts/Redferns/Getty Images -
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 06: (L-R) Trent Reznor and Boys Noize perform onstage during the World Premiere of Disney's Tron: Ares at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood, CA on October 06, 2025. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for Disney) -
UNITED STATES – JUNE 17: Photo of Jefferson Airplane at the Monterey Pop Festival (Photo by Paul Ryan/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) -
Australian singer and actress Olivia Newton-John and American actor John Travolta as they appear in the Paramount film 'Grease', 1978. (Photo by Paramount Pictures/Fotos International/Getty Images) -
(L-R) Steve Harwell, Paul De Lisle, Greg Camp and Kevin Coleman of Smash Mouth on 8/30/97 in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Paul Natkin/WireImage) -
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 28: Kelsea Ballerini seen in West Village on July 28, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Aeon/GC Images) -
British rock band, Badfinger, filming a performance of 'Day After Day' to be used as an insert for the 'Top Of The Pops', music show, BBC Television Centre, London, 26th January 1972. It is unclear whether the segment was ever broadcast. Left to right: Mike Gibbins (1949 – 2005), Pete Ham (1947 – 1975), Tom Evans (1947 – 1983) and Joey Molland. (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)