Good morning and welcome to the 98 Country Classic Show.  You can join me from 9 am to 1 pm for the very best in country classic music.  At 98.1 FM Minnesota’s New Country, online and on your mobile device.

Today we’re offering you a bonus of the most requested songs from the radio show featuring Vern Gosdin, Glen Campbell, Merle Haggard, Alan Jackson and Tanya Tucker.

 


 

Vern Gosdin – “Set’em up Joe” -- 1988

 

 

Vern Gosdin co-wrote “Set ‘Em Up Joe” with Dean Dillion, Buddy Cannon and Hank Cochran. Gosdin recorded the song and took the song to number one on the country chart.

In the news in 1988:

  • Terrorists kill nine tourists on Aegean Cruise on July 11th
  • Republicans sweep 40 states in the  election, George Bush beats Michael Dukakis
  • US Space Shuttle program resumes 2-and-a-half years after Challenger disaster

 

They get a vintage Victrola 1951, full of my favorite records that I grew up on.

 


 

Glen Campbell – “Gentle on my Mind” -- 1967

 

 

This song is written by John Harford which won four Grammy Awards in 1968.  Glen Campbell used “Gentle on my Mind” as the theme to his television variety show ‘The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour.’  This went to number 30 on the country chart.

In the news in 1967:

  • Right Wing Military Coup deposes King Constantine II of Greece
  • Dr. Christiaan Barnard and a team of South African surgeons perform world’s first successful human heart transplant; the patient dies 18 days later
  • On May 1st Elvis Presley marries Priscilla Beauliue in Las Vegas they divorced in 1973

It's knowin’ that your door is always open and your path is free to walk.

 


 

Merle Haggard – “Okie from Muskogee” -- 1969

 

 

Merle Haggard co-wrote “Okie from Muskogee” with Edward Burris.  The song was released in September 1969 and was one of the most famous songs of Haggard’s career.  The song top the country chart at number one and stayed there for four weeks.

In the news in 1969:

  • President Nixon begins Vietnamization in Southeast Asia
  • Stonewall riot in New York State marks the beginning of the gay rights movement on June 28th
  • Golda Meir becomes the first female Prime Minister of Israel

 

We don’t smoke marijuana in Muskogee, we don’t take no trips on LSD, we don’t burn no draft cards down on main street, we like livin’ right and bein’ free.

 


 

Alan Jackson – “Gone Country” -- 1994

 

 

Bob McDill wrote Alan Jackson’s hit “Gone Country.”  The song reached the top of Billboard’s Hot Country Chart in December of 1994.

In the news in 1994:

  • South Africa holds first Interracial National election April 29th, Nelson Mandella elected President
  • The US sends forces to the Persian Gulf on October 7th
  • President Richard Nixon dies April of 1994

 

She’s been playing in a room on a strip for ten years in Vegas every night she looks in the mirror but she only ages.

 


 

Tanya Tucker – “Can I See You Tonight” -- 1981

 

 

The song was released in 1980, written by Deborah Allen and Rafe Van Hoy.  The song was a top ten hit reaching number four on the country chart.

In the news in 1981:

  • Air controllers strike, disrupting flights, US Government dismisses strikers August 11th
  • A rapid accumulation of more than 10 inches of snow causes the roof of the Metrodome to collapse
  • The first flight of the US Space Shuttle Columbia takes place

 

I don’t know where to start now that we’re fallen apart, how can we talk heart to heart, you’re so far away.

 


 

 

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