It might seem like country music in the 1950s has little to do with the country music of today, but that’s not entirely true. Not only did that era help shape country music, but some of the songs are truly timeless. These three songs all came out in 1959. But surprisingly, they might sound even better today.
“Set Him Free” by Skeeter Davis
By now, songs about marriages ending and new relationships starting are commonplace in country music. But in 1959, the subject was still considered a bit taboo, not that Skeeter Davis minded. On her debut I’ll Sing You a Song And Harmonize Too record, Davis wrote “Set Him Free” with Helen Moyer and Marie Wilson.
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Told as a woman trying to convince a judge to give the man she loves a divorce, “Set Him Free” says, “It began right after the wedding / She cheated and she lied / Right from the start / And I could see from the way they were headed / This woman would soon break his heart / Set him free / Set him free / For I love him, you see.”
Davis received her first Grammy nomination for this song at the second-ever Grammy Awards ceremony.
“Country Girl” by Faron Young
Faron Young’s only No. 1 single in 1959, “Country Girl” was written by Roy Drusky. The song appears on Young’s compilation Faron Young Sings The Best Of Faron Young record.
The uptempo tune is really about heartbreak. The story of a man who helps a poor country girl, only to have her fall in love with someone else, “Country Girl” says, “I was teaching you to love / You were learning fine / Then one day, you learned too much / And it poisoned your sweet mind / Now you’ve gone and left me / You’re with somebody new / But I wonder if you told him / I bought the clothes on you.”
“El Paso” by Marty Robbins
Much could be said about “El Paso” by Marty Robbins. One of the biggest singles of his career, Robbins is the sole writer of “El Paso”. It first appears on his Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs project.
“El Paso” says, “Out in the West Texas town of El Paso / I fell in love with a Mexican girl / Nighttime would find me in Rosa’s cantina / Music would play, and Felina would whirl / Blacker than night were the eyes of Felina / Wicked and evil while casting a spell / My love was deep for this Mexican maiden / I was in love but in vain, I could tell.”
Inspired by “El Paso”, Robbins later released both “Feleena (From El Paso)” and “El Paso City”. Although it’s surprising that it did not later become a hit for another country artist, the Grateful Dead recorded a version of the song in 1971.
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