My 100 Favorite Charted Country Songs: Rednecks, White Socks, and Blue Ribbon Beer

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And yet another song that I really don’t need to identify as a country song. Not with that title. So, for the first day of “normal” time, I give you this, as we continue the look at my 100 favorite charted country singles. Rednecks, White Socks, and Blue Ribbon Beer - Johnny Russell I guess I should state there’s nothing “evil” about this song. I didn’t know that no less than Charley Pride objected to this song when it was a hit. Truthfully, I can understand, because redneck means something completely different to a black man growing up in Jim Crow Mississippi than it does to the rest of the world. Out of consideration for his friend, Johnny Russell never performed this song when he was on a show with Pride. This is the national anthem of the corner country music bar. It’s pretty much a description of what you’d expect in a place like Bob’s Country Bunker from The Blues Brothers. I always found it kind of funny that the Falls City Beer name was covered on the album jacket photo, after naming the album after another brand of beer. As a singer, this was Russell’s only top ten hit, although that little tune he wrote that Buck Owens recorded and took to #1… “Act Naturally.” Rednecks, White Socks, and Blue Ribbon Beer Written by Bob McDill and Wayland Holyfield Recorded by Johnny Russell From Rednecks, White Socks, and Blue Ribbon Beer, 1973 Peak chart position: #4 Today’s rock song: “Rainy Day People” There’s no place that I’d rather be: