This is a light retrospective feature highlighting three country songs from 1980 that remain widely recognised today. It marks a pivotal year for the genre, as country music began a notable stylistic shift, and revisits tracks that have endured in popularity among people who grew up in the 1980s.

The article profiles George Jones's "He Stopped Loving Her Today", his first number one in six years and long regarded as one of the saddest songs in country music; Dottie West's "A Lesson In Leavin'", her first solo chart-topper, later covered by Jo Dee Messina in 1999; and Dolly Parton's "9 To 5", written solo for the film of the same name and reportedly first jotted down using her fingernails as a typing aid.

– George Jones's "He Stopped Loving Her Today" – his first No. 1 single in six years
– Dottie West's "A Lesson In Leavin'" – her first solo No. 1, later covered by Jo Dee Messina
– Dolly Parton's "9 To 5" – written solo for the 1980 film of the same name