3 Songs That Were Country Hits Before They Found Mainstream Success

Three songs that became mainstream pop hits first succeeded as country recordings. Their early chart success shows how country songwriting and performances sometimes laid the groundwork for versions that reached much wider audiences.

John Michael Montgomery’s “I Swear” topped both the US country chart and the Billboard Hot 100, despite being considered too pop for some artists to record. Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” reached No. 1 on the US country chart twice after its 1974 release; she declined an Elvis Presley recording deal that would have taken half her publishing rights, before Whitney Houston’s 1992 version became a major hit. Kris Kristofferson first released “Me And Bobby McGee”; Roger Miller reached No. 12 on the US country chart in 1969, and Gordon Lightfoot took it to No. 1 on Canada’s country chart in 1970, before Janis Joplin’s posthumous version topped the US Hot 100.