These 3 Hits in Country Music From the 1990s Are Actually Cover Songs

The 1990s in country music saw some of the biggest hits, with songs still being played on radio today. For all the success of the decade, several of the era’s biggest hits were actually cover songs. We uncover three No. 1 hits from the 1990s that were first recorded by someone else.

“T-R-O-U-B-L-E” by Travis Tritt

Tritt released “T-R-O-U-B-L-E” in 1993, the title track of his third studio album. But before Tritt had a hit with the song, it was first released by Elvis Presley. Written by Jerry Chesnut, the song was both a pop and country music hit for Presley.

Interestingly, the song was written for neither Presley nor Tritt, but for pianist and singer Little David Wilkins, who asked Chesnut to write him a song.

“Little David Wilkins kept bugging me, ‘Write me a hit, write me a hit,’” Chesnut recalls to The Tennessean. “He was playing Ireland’s Restaurant. It was steak and biscuits, and they had a bar set up. David would go over there and play the piano from 9 til 1. He’s like Jerry Lee (Lewis), man, he’s wild and great. We’d go over there and eat, have a few drinks and listen to David. I had watched him do this for a long time, and one morning, I decided to write a song for him, and I thought, ‘What would I write for David that he could really do? It needs to be uptempo,’ because man, he could get out there and rock.”

“The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia” by Reba McEntire

Before Reba McEntire released “The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia” in 1991, it was already recorded by not one but two other artists. Bobby Russell wrote the song, which was first released in 1972 by Vicky Lawrence, with whom Russell was married to at the time. In 1981, Tanya Tucker recorded a version of “The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia” for a film of the same name.

But it’s McEntire who made it the hit that most fans still know today. McEntire released “The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia” in 1991, on her For My Broken Heart album.

The song is surprisingly dark, about adultery and murder, a story McEntire told well enough to make it one of her most notable songs in country music.

Interestingly, according to Songfacts, the song was pitched to Cher through Sonny Bono, who turned it down on her behalf without actually ever playing her the song.

“Something in Red” by Lorrie Morgan

Lorrie Morgan released “Something in Red” in 1992, with many fans thinking the song was written for her. But the song, written by Angela Kaset, was first released by Kaset as a single on her own, albeit only in the UK.

Kaset first thought the song might be about another color. She was inspired to write the song, ironically while dealing with her own profound disappointment at losing her publishing deal. She was driving and saw things start to turn green.

“Wow, there really is going to be a spring,” Kaset remembers thinking (via Classic Country Music Stories). “There is going to be a break to all this darkness and gloom. It’s so good to see something in green.”

Photo by Stephen J. Cohen/Getty Images