Country music masterpieces celebrate 50th anniversary
Walking the Floor by Chris O’Kelley
When it comes to turning 50, you hear it all. You’re getting old. You’re still young. You’re only as old as you feel. Fifty and fabulous. Fifty is the new 30. You are half a hundred. Those may all, to some extent, be true. Turning fifty is certainly a big milestone in life. So, if you were born in 1975, happy 50th birthday this year to you. I won’t ask you how you feel.
I will, however, ask how you feel when you discover some of your favorite music is turning 50. Do you, all of a sudden, feel old? Do you feel like perhaps 50 is not the new 30?
Time does fly and great music never really ages. It takes an outstanding piece of work to stand the test of time and continue to be recognized at 20 or even 30 years old. When an album turns 50 and it still feels like the first time you heard it, it becomes easy to call it a masterpiece.
In 2025 several of country music’s greatest albums are turning 50. These albums have left their mark on the country music world, but music and society in general.
Here are a few country music albums turning 50 in 2025:
“Red Headed Stranger” by Willie Nelson
This was Nelson’s 18th studio album but his very first project for Columbia/Sony music, at the time one of the biggest labels in Nashville. So, what did Nelson, who had negotiated creative control, want to do on his Sony debut? A concept album. The album was inspired by a song Nelson played working as a DJ in his native Texas – “The Tale of Red Headed Stranger” by Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith.
The album’s concept is the story of a fugitive on the run after killing his wife and her lover. The album went on to be one of Nelson’s most acclaimed albums and featured two of his biggest hits – “Blue Eye’s Crying In The Rain” and “Remember Me.” “Red Head Stranger” would also be made into a movie starring Nelson and in 2003 was ranked 184 in Rolling Stone’s 500 greatest 500 albums of all time.
“Dreaming My Dreams” by Waylon Jennings
One of the founding fathers of outlaw country music in the 1970s, it was “Dreaming” that marked Jennings as an authentic voice in the rule-bending style. The album’s lead single “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way” hit No. 1 on the Hot Country Singles chart and the album peaked at No. 1 on the Country Albums chart. The album would go on to be Jenning’s first album to sell over 500,000 copies, making it a gold record. He would also win the Country Music Association’s Male Vocalist of the Year.
While there were only two radio singles from this album, several songs from this project became fan favorites recut by other artists. “Waymore’s Blues” has been cut by Sturgill Simpson, Hank Williams Jr and in 2024, George Strait. “The Door is Always Open” went on to become a big it for Dave and Sugar and “Bob Wills is Still the King” reigns supreme as a staple of country music.
“Keep Movin’ On” by Merle Haggard
This was, at the time, the biggest album of Haggard’s career and featured three No. 1 songs. The first single was a song written by Dolly Parton called “Kentucky Gambler” and Parton contributed background vocals on the track. The second No. 1 was “Always Wanting You,” a song written by Haggard for Dolly Parton when he fell in love with her. Dolly, for the record, told him no because she was married. “Always Wanting You” spent two weeks at No. 1. The biggest hit from the album was “Movin’ On.”
“Movin’ On” was written by Haggard during the height of the trucker song boom. An abbreviated version of the song was used as the theme to the NBC drama “Movin’ On”, which ran from 1974-1976.
While these are a few of the bigger albums turning 50 in 2025, it was a year packed with memorable hits. Here are a few more from the Class of 1975.
“Promised Land” by Elvis Presley
“Linda On My Mind” by Conway Twitty
“Rhinestone Cowboy” by Glen Campbell
“Windsong” by John Denver
“Black Bear Road” by C.W. McCall
“The Silver Fox” by Charlie Rich
1975 saw the birth of both Bradley Cooper and Drew Barrymore. The Pittsburg Steelers won their first Superbowl. Gas prices topped-out at 57 cents per gallon. All of those were pretty cool things, but none touch the great country music released in 1975.