Cover art for Coward of the County by Kenny Rogers
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1981

Coward of the County

Kenny Rogers

The first concert I remember attending was Kenny Rogers at the Astrodome for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. I’m not sure which year it was, but I was pretty young. Four or five? But I had a favorite song, and my folks knew what it was so they tried to make sure I was paying full attention when it came on: “Coward of the County.”

I’ve not mentioned it yet, but I was born in Pasadena, Texas, the home of Gilley’s nightclub and Urban Cowboy and Luv Ya Blue. I lived in and around Houston nearly all my life until moving to Austin in 2012. I was born into being an Oilers and Astros fan. So having my first concert be:

  1. At the Astrodome;
  2. For the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo; where I saw
  3. Houston native Kenny Freaking Rogers…

Well, that’s a very Houston way to grow up. If you rep Houston, if you love Houston, if Houston sports, Houston music, and Houston food are in your blood, then you and I are good friends. Even if we have never met.

That being said, I’ll go ahead and tell you: in this ongoing playlist—50 songs for 50 years—this is probably going to be the only country song. And that’s not intentional. It’s just kinda how things worked out. But it’s not a reflection of how much I love country music or how influential it’s been in my life.

My mom played pop and rock, but my dad played country music on the radio. And I have lots of fond memories riding around in my dad’s Chevy Blazer listening to Country Radio. So here now are my top 10 favorite country songs i remember from riding around with my dad as a little kid:

  1. Johnny Lee - “Lookin’ For Love”
  2. Merle Haggard - “Rainbow Stew”
  3. Mel McDaniel - “Louisiana Saturday Night”
  4. Don Williams - “I Believe In You”
  5. Conway Twitty - “Tight Fittin’ Jeans”
  6. Roseanne Cash - “Seven Year Ache”
  7. The Charlie Daniels Band - “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”
  8. Eddie Rabbit - “Drivin’ My Life Away”
  9. Dolly Parton - “9 to 5”
  10. Willie Nelson - “Mama’s Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys”

These aren’t my favorite country songs. But these are the non-Kenny songs I remember loving when I was a little kid living in Houston in the late 70s / early 80s. Kenny’s not on there, because if he was, it might just be a list of Kenny’s songs.