Country & Western, HIllbilly, Rockabilly, Roots This is probably the most wide-ranging category represented here.  Some artists and groups listed below had hits that charted as rock and popular hits.  Probably no artist covered the entire spectrum like Johnny Cash.  He’s listed here because people think of him first as a country artist.  Hank Willliams is on this list, certainly a country singer, but as a songwriter, his talent found its way into covers by many non-country singers.  Over time, we’ll include some performers that aren’t often heard any more, but deserve an encore.  And we’ll try to also bring you some of the lesser-known songs by well known performers.  Johnny Cash There's no need here to provide links to the many well-known songs by this legendary writer and performer. Here are a few you don’t hear that often. I've often said that if I had to be marooned on an island with the works of only one artist, it wouldn't take me a second to reply ... "Johnny Cash."  His body of work is that big, that varied and that good.  Like many of my favorites, he had a storyteller’s flair for the words ... far more than just singing a tune. Cash influenced the business in more ways than you can count, and one of the musicians who got the benefit of a boost from Johnny Cash was Bob Dylan ... and Cash recorded some of Dylan’s songs.  Find more via Google ... just enter “cash dylan”. Dylan’s “Nashville Skyline” album, which opens with a duet with Cash, was a landmark achievement, and is still one of my all-time favorites.  Over the years, Cash recorded with performsrs from every era and genre.  Simply put, he was a giant in the world of American music ... He had movie roles, too, but the one which still haunts my memory is the story of an illiterate man ... “The Pride of Jesse Hallam.”  It’s memorable performance.  Brenda Vaccaro plays his young daughter’s schooteacher, who discovers his secret and helps him learn to read.  To paraphrase one review on a YouTube video of Cash performing at a prison, something he did frequently, it said that he could get a bunch of murders, rapists, and thugs to act like pre-teen girls at a Justin Bieber concert.  That pretty much sums it up.  The first performance of “A Boy Named Sue” was at San Quentin ... priceless!  That song isn’t in the list below ... it was written by Shel Silverstein, and is listed under his name in the Novelty section ... and it’s the San Quentin premiere.  I just had to credit the writer on this one. The first song listed below is "The Ballad of Ira Hayes.”  Cash believed, growing up, that he was part Cherokee, and although this proved to be untrue ... (Johnny Cash bio) ... he retained a lifelong affinity for Native Americans and their plight. This song was written by Peter LaFarge, a true account of the life and death of one of the Marines who raised the American flag on Mt Suribachi ... Iwo Jima ... in WWII. There was some resistance on the part of some radio stations to play it (1964), during the early Vietnam war years and civil rights struggles. Cash took out full page ads at his own expense in Billboard magazine, drawing attention to this story, which he felt deserved to be told ... read more about it.     The Ballad of Ira Hayes    Ira Hayes bio     Cocaine Blues   at Folsom Prison     Delia's Gone   recorded in later years     I Still Miss Someone     Big River  early recording     I Guess Things Happen That Way     Ballad of a Teenage Queen   early recording     Don't Take Your Guns to Town  on the Ed Sullivan Show     Tennessee Flat Top Box     Forty Shades of Green     Green Green Grass of Home     Long Black Veil   at Folsom Prison     Dark as a Dungeon   at Folsom Prison     Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down   written by Kris Kristofferson     Medley   with Muppets & Miss Piggy     Jackson   w/ June Carter ... dynamite!     It Ain't Me, Babe   w/ June Carter ... written by Bob Dylan     Girl From the North Country   w/ Bob Dylan ... from Nashville Skyline     You Are My Sunshine   w/ Bob Dylan     Mountain Dew   w/ Bob Dylan     Give My Love to Rose   early recording     Heartbreak Hotel   early impersonation of Elvis!     Home of the Blues   an early recording     Home of the Blues   cover by Norah Jones     This Train   1983 w/ Lewis, Orbison, Perkins  (volume is soft)     Will the Circle be Unbroken   sung by Jerry Lee Lewis, tribute Hank Williams  A meteoric talent as a singer and songwriter, his distinctive voice was perfect for the kind of "lonesome" music he wrote.  However, his songs have been covered by so many artists over the years that a lot of folks no longer know he wrote them. Some of 'em have been listed elsewhere on this page as performed by others ... "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry", "Cold Cold Heart", "Your Cheatin' Heart", "You Win Again", and more. Williams' life was plagued by physical pain, leading to drug and alcohol abuse. He was only 29 when he died in the back seat of his Cadillac on New Years' Day, 1953. But what a legacy he left ... the sheer number of songs he wrote ... and the fact that so many of them are still being performed today by such a wide variety of artists! He had eleven number one hits ... I can't begin to cover the huge biography or works of this tragically short life, but I recommend you take time to read this Hank Williams bio. Here are some songs in Williams' own voice ... and a few covers. I suggest you look for more of his music on YouTube.     Jambalaya      Hey Good Lookin'     Hey Good Lookin'   Linda Ronstadt & NGDB     I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You     I Can't Help It ...   by Elvis Presley     I Can't Help It ...   by L Ronstadt & E Harris     Take These Chains From My Heart     Take These Chains   by Ray Charles)     Lovesick Blues   (written by Rex Griffin) Leroy Van Dyke  There are two songs by this guy that everybody seems to know.  “Walk on By” was named by Billboard magazine as the biggest country music record in history, It was recorded by Van Dyke in 1961. The song was #1 on the country charts for a then record-breaking 19 weeks crossing over to the pop charts in November of '61 peaking at #5.  The other is “The Auctioneer” ... dare you to try to sing it at full speed!  The link has the lyrics ...     Walk on By      The Auctioneer