3 Early Ricky Skaggs Songs That Every Country Music Fan Needs To Know
The article highlights three early Ricky Skaggs recordings that it argues remain essential listening for country music fans: “Crying My Heart Out Over You”, “Country Boy” and “Highway 40 Blues”. It presents them as examples of Skaggs’s early commercial success and his blend of traditional bluegrass influences with mainstream country appeal.
– “Crying My Heart Out Over You” was Skaggs’s first number-one single in 1981, having originally been recorded by Flatt & Scruggs in 1960; it later received a CMA Single of the Year nomination.
– “Country Boy”, released in 1985 as the title track of Skaggs’s seventh studio album, is described as an anthem to rural life and had a New York-set video featuring Bill Monroe, then mayor Ed Koch and actor David Keith.
– “Highway 40 Blues”, written by Larry Cordle, became Skaggs’s fifth consecutive chart-topper; Skaggs reportedly altered a lyric referring to beer to avoid offending his religious parents.
- Three early songs illustrate Skaggs’s country and bluegrass influence.
- “Crying My Heart Out Over You” was his first number one.
- “Highway 40 Blues” delivered his fifth consecutive chart-topper.
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Ricky Skaggs is an American country and bluegrass singer and musician who became a leading figure in country music during the 1980s. Raised in Kentucky, he had close links to bluegrass from an early age and later brought its instruments, harmonies and traditional songs to a wider country audience.
Bluegrass is a fast-moving form of American roots music associated with acoustic instruments such as banjo, fiddle and mandolin. Skaggs worked with influential bluegrass performers including Bill Monroe, while also making records that reached mainstream country radio and the sales charts.
His early success came at a time when country music included both polished pop-influenced recordings and performers drawing on older rural styles. Songs from this period helped establish Skaggs as an artist able to connect traditional bluegrass heritage with contemporary country listeners.