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Wednesday, September 17, 2025

International Country Music Day

Today is International Country Music Day, established in 1950 and held each year on September 17. FYI, National Country Music Day is July 4. I was not aware of either. Everyday could be Country Music Day for me as long as they were playing tunes from the last half of the 20th Century. 

It would be impossible for me to decide a favorite singer or song - there are too many. It was quite some time after Patsy Cline made Crazy a hit in 1961 before I learned that Willie Nelson wrote that song. When he began recording songs not just writing them, I became a big fan of his especially during the late 70's and into the 80's. Good Hearted Woman was a favorite, as were Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys, and On The Road Again but my favorite was Always On My Mind. 

I never paid as much attention to songwriters as I did the artists who sang the songs until Kris Kristofferson.  When Janis Joplin's Me and Bobby McGee became a hit I had no idea it was written by Kristofferson. One of my favorites of his was Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again).

But my very favorite of his was/is this one:

Help Me Make It Through The Night

Take the ribbon from your hairShake it loose and let it fallLayin' soft upon my skinLike the shadows on the wall
Come and lay down by my side'Til the early morning lightAll I'm takin' is your timeHelp me make it through the night
I don't care who's right or wrongI don't try to understandLet the devil take tomorrowLord, tonight, I need a friend
Yesterday is dead and goneAnd tomorrow's out of sightAnd it's sad to be aloneHelp me make it through the night
Lord, it's sad to be aloneHelp me make it through the night
Lord, it's sad to be alone

Just as Patsy Cline made Willie Nelson's Crazy a hit, Sammi Smith's version of Help Me Make It Through The Night helped solidify Kristofferson's song as a classic and remains my favorite version.

I'm sure some ot the current country music is great but I'll stay in the last century with the memories those old tunes evoke.   ♫❤

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