Country Music "Can't Miss" Crowd Pleasers for a Bar Crowd?

I'm in the process of putting together a Country band that does alot of Classic Country, lots of Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard and Hank Williams Sr... will add a few more modern songs too, such as Alan Jackson's version of "Mercury Blues" and Brad Paisley's "Alcohol"

Would be interested in what other modern Country songs you guys consider "can't miss" crowd pleasers for bar crowds? And any Classic Country songs you also consider "can't miss gotta do that one" type songs...

We want to honor the Country tradition of great classic songs and we want to please the crowd, too...

We always get requests for "Folsom Prison Blues", and Johnny Cash in general.

Depends how far you want to stray from Hank and Waylon, but "Friends In Low Places" seems to work especially well in, uh... low places :wink:

Here's my "A" list... for those times when you only need to show up and play one set (make it your best!).

Little Sister
Louisianna Saturday Night
White Lightnin'
I'm so Lonesome I Could Cry
Guitars, Cadillacs, etc...
I fought the Law
Cry, Cry, Cry
Luchenbach, TX
Honkeytonk Man
3rd Rate Romance
Race is on
Eagle Over Angel
Honkeytonk Song
One Woman Man
I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome

Always in demand===
Waltz accross Texas
Your Cheating Heart
For The Good Times
San Antonio Rose
Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain
Swinging Doors
Satin Sheets

There's plenty more like this that are always gonna fill the bill..

I play in a similar band. Any of Cash's more popular songs are guaranteed winners...Folsom, Ring of Fire, etc.

Other stuff that goes over well. Act Naturally, Hey Good Looking, Race Is On, etc. I'm purposefully mentioning the stuff that appeals to a wider audience. If you have a bunch of die hard country music fans then the world's your oyster...dig deep...Lefty Frizell, Stonewall Jackson, Wynn Stewart, Cowboy Copas, and so forth.

If you search the web for CMT's Top 100 Country Songs Of All Time (or something like that) you will get some ideas. It's not strictly a "classic" country list, but it will remind you of some good old country songs that most everybody likes or has at least heard of.

Take this job and Shove it by Johnny Paycheck

If you have a lot of ladies in the bar that night they seem to like The Mavericks stuff.

JUst learn a bunch of AC/DC songs and sing it with a FAKE country Twang...thats what all the "New Country" artist are doing...also make the song about how "COUNTRY" you are...................guarnteed!!!

Hank Jr - Family Tradition
Kenny Rogers - The Gambler
Kenny Rogers - Lucille
David Allan Coe - You Never Even Called Me By My Name
Hank Williams - Hey Good Lookin'

Guaranteed to go over well... even with non-country crowds.

Merle Haggard,

Ramblin' Fever
Mama Tried
Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink
Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down

Waylon,

Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line
Ain't Living Long Like This
Ladies Love Outlaws
Brown Eyed Handsome Man
Honky Tonk Heros

Buck Owens,
Act Naturally
I've Got a Tiger By the Tail
Sam's Place

Johnny Bush
Green Snakes

ET
Driving Nails in My Coffin
Waltz Across Texas
Thanks a Lot
Walkin' the Floor Over You

Ray Price
My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You
Heartaches By the Number
Crazy Arms

Western Swing...
Right or Wrong
Home in San Antone
Time Changes Everything
Take Me Back to Tulsa
End Of the Line


You can kind of tailor that to the audience, those are just some of the ones that I happen to enjoy when I get to do a classic country gig!

After playing a bunch of honkytonk classics, "I Believe in Miracles (You Sexy Thing)" is generally a big hit with the crowd. Seriously.

It's all about context.

Also I forgot about Lefty!

I would definitely include Always Late With Your Kisses, You're Humbuggin' Me, and She's Gone Gone Gone.

Just don't do Long Black Veil, that would kind of kill the mood! lol.

Seriously though, Gone gone gone is a lot of fun to play and you can really open it up for some burning if you would feel so inclined. I heard Redd play that song and it made me want to just put the guitar away!

A few others we do in the band I'm in -

Hank Sr - Jambalaya, Move It On Over
Waylon - Good Hearted Woman
Dwight - Fast As You
Merle - Silver Wings
Townes - Pancho & Lefty
Willie - Nothing I Can Do About It Now

Achy Breaky Heart. It's 2 chords and by far the most popular song that (based on the rush to the dance floor) our band will play on any given night

Looking at our set list right now. We are a Rock/Classic Rock/Country variety band. These work well in college towns too, it seems, with the younger clubbing crowd. And in the small country bars of course; loggers, truckers, bikers, etc.


Fishin' In the Dark- Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Redneck Girl- Bellamy Bros
Save a Horse(Ride a Cowgirl)- Big & Rich
The Ride- David Allen Coe
Chicken Fried- Zack Brown Band
Suspicious Minds- Dwight Yoakam's version
The Dance- Garth
Friend in Low Places- Garth
Stupid Boy- Keith Urban(great 3 minute(?) guitar solo for outro)
Copperhead Road- Steve Earle

In the country bars I've been to there are definitely certain crowd favorites. These always got EVERYBODY going.

Family Tradition - Hank Jr
Sweet Home Alabama - Skynyrd
Save A Horse - Big & Rich
Need You Now (ugh...) - Lady A
Friends In Low Places - Garth
Copperhead Road - Steve Earle
Dirt Road Anthem - Jason Aldean

BUT don't rely solely on pre-1990's songs. I've noticed that people dig it when cover bands play something that's still in the top 40. For example, if you played "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" by Jake Owen at your next gig, I'm almost positive it'd get a HUGE response.

How about Trashy Women? The song, I mean.

Two More Bottles of Wine

Big Boss Man (Not technically Country, but a danceable crowd pleaser)

up against the wall redneck mother
road scholar
south's gonna do it again (I know, slightly out of genre)
Just good ole boys
waylon's version of that's all right mama
wichita lineman

Really depends on the crowd. If you want to be up to date you have to turn yourself into a human jukebox and add 3-5 new songs a week. They flash through real fast. For classics, it depends. If you're out where everybody says stuff like "I'm 'bout half crazy" and they're only half right you could do the entire Outlaws album (no not them outlaws. The Willie, Waylon and Glasers one), all of Happy Side/Suicide and Fire on the Mountain (not the song, the CDB album) and they could sing along all night. I don't think Hank done it that way ut I have.

If you're in a VFW with and older crowd you can do anything from Sink the Bismark and Fraulien to Acky Breaky and the Macarena. And Brad Paisely. Everybody likes him.

For doing classic stuff I think Tjeff had a real good list. Basically Willie's greatest hits, Waylon's greatest hits, Merle's greatest hits (this will cover 4 sets of just Merle) and then you can do the songs about Merle and Willie and Waylon. You probably won't have to play a song twice in a weekend that way. A few years back I heard Johnny Cash had a song in the top 100 from like 195x until nearly 2000? I forget when I heard that but that's just impressive. Maybe not to punks and "starving artist" types around here but it should be. Seems like it was way over 40 years.

The ones that stand the test of time and work with the youngsters too are Cash, Nelson, Jennings, Haggard, Hank and Jr., Buck Owens, Dwight Yokam and so on. Yeah, even Garth Brooks. Brooks and Dunn have some keepers.

Then if you've got a chick I think the list just tripled.

+1 on Folsom Prison...always a crowd pleaser. Also Alan Jackson arrangement of Mercury Blues

tequila makes her cloths fall off
just stay here and drink
good hearted woman
tulsa time
does ft worth cross your mind
the fireman
bar light bar bright
empty glass
workin man blues
party crowd
the black dress song