The Best Smoky Mountain Playlist
Building a perfect road trip playlist is part art and part science. But you also need some alchemy. You want the songs to fit around a certain theme to help build the hype. For example, some Beach Boys music for a beach trip. A little Sinatra for New York. Some Disney Magic if you’re heading to Orlando. But if your road trip is long, break things up a little. Get creative with your connections. Don’t be afraid to pick songs that might stir up some conversation. But you also want songs you can just shut up and vibe to.
When it comes to a Smoky Mountain playlist, it is possible to go too deep. The original version of this post was longer than some college dissertations with long diatribes about the life and death of Hank Williams, ruminations about Davy Crockett and a history lesson on Tennessee Ernie Ford. Ain’t nobody got time for all that. First and foremost, a playlist is about vibes. And the Smoky Mountains have vibes for days. With all of this in mind, here are the top 10 Smoky Mountain songs.
1. “Jolene” by Dolly Parton
You have to start with the queen, the pride and joy of Pittman Center, Dolly Parton. The year 1973 was especially fruitful for Parton. Her 11th autobiographical studio album “My Tennessee Mountain Home” was released. That year, she also wrote the monster hits “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You” back-to-back. Legend says she wrote them the same day, but her recollection is unclear.
We chose “Jolene” over “My Tennessee Mountain Home” for a couple of reasons. First, this list needs a little jolt of tempo. Secondly, the origin story of Dolly being jealous of a red-headed bank teller flirting with her husband Carl Dean is just too good to pass up. Like any good mountain music, “Jolene” carries more than a touch of darkness as Dolly uses minor chords to convey her stress and desperation. It is a masterwork by one of the greatest living songwriters of any genre of our time.
2. “Tennessee Whiskey” by Chris Stapleton
When David Allan Coe originally sang “Tennessee Whiskey,” it was probably a reference to the operations in the middle of the state. But in the years between Coe’s version and Stapleton’s the balance of liquor power shifted somewhat. Now, a trip to the Smokies means passing seemingly hundreds of distilleries. Whether or not you’re taking part, until someone writes a song about Tennessee go-kart tracks or pancakes, it’s hard to find something more appropriate for the mountains.
3. “Rocky Top” by The Osborne Brothers
Speaking of appropriate for the mountains, this song was written by husband and wife songwriting team, Felice and Diadorius Boudleaux Bryant while they were staying in a Gatlinburg hotel. “Rocky Top” is a bit of a mixed bag for some people since it became the University of Tennessee’s fight song.But there’s no denying that The Osborne Brothers cut a certified banger when they recorded it.
Do you want to get ready for a trip to the mountains? How about an upbeat banjo-heavy riff? No, we are NOT including “Dueling Banjos” thank you very much. The “Rocky Top” lyrics include wild bear-cat-women and killing revenuers and hiding their bodies in the mountains. The Dillards’ version of “Dooley” from “The Andy Griffith Show” was based on Griffith’s hometown of Mount Airy, North Carolina.
4. “The Way I Talk” by Morgan Wallen
This is a good time to pick things up. Born in Sneedville – a tiny mountain town in remote Hancock County, Tennessee – Morgan Wallen is one of country music’s biggest stars. As a teen he moved to Knox County and went to Gibbs High School – also the alma mater of Kenny Chesney. So, Wallen is just about as East Tennessee as they come. Wallen came to national attention on “The Voice.” He didn’t win but in the years since he has shot to music stardom. The song which is essentially his version of Tom Petty’s “Southern Accents” serves as a decent introduction for anyone who hasn’t spent much time around an East Tennessee twang.
5. “Copperhead Road” by Steve Earle
So, three of the top five songs have a heavy reference to alcohol and two of the three deal with moonshiners vs. revenuers. Though I think that’s disproportionate based on the impact alcohol operations – legal or otherwise – have had on the mountains, I do think it’s representative of the outsized place moonshining holds in the national, or even international, fascination with the mountains. As such, Earle’s 1988 classic is a rocking banger and the mountain music is typically short of rock.
6. “Friend of the Devil” by The Grateful Dead
I was shocked as a kid when I learned The Dead was a hippie jam band with bluegrass tendencies. Why is “Friend of the Devil” on this list? It’s the story of a polyamorous man with wives on both sides of the country, one in Chino, California and the other in Cherokee, North Carolina. Our guy has trouble with the law and a loan-sharking Satan, which is somewhat appropriate for the mountains where rumors of ancient spirits, devils, demons and wild people have lingered for centuries.
7. “Back Where I Come From” by Kenny Chesney
This song reflects an East Tennessee upbringing by a graduate of Gibbs High School. It’s been a long and strange journey for Chesney whose proclivity for rooting for any old sports team that will give him a jersey has alienated him with some Vol fans. Still, he’s a Knox County boy and this song is a certified banger. Also, his Uncle Butch used to sell delicious barbecue on the side.
8. “Wagon Wheel” by Darius Rucker
Another opportunity for road trip trivia! “Wagon Wheel’s” roots run back to 1973. That was also the year that Bob Dylan was recording the soundtrack for the movie “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid” – which also brought us “Knocking on Heaven’s Door.” At the time, Dylan had been noodling with a demo called “Rock Me Mama” that never got released.
In the middle 90s, Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secour heard the demo and the tune got stuck. Eventually, he fleshed it out with verses about a man hitching his way to North Carolina to see his lady. Secour toured with the song for years before he thought about contacting Dylan’s people. That is how he learned that Dylan’s version was based on old blues songs in the 20s, 30s and 40s. Old Crow recorded the song in 2003 and 10 years later Rucker – of Hootie and the Blowfish fame – recorded it. Rucker’s version was No. 1 on the U.S. Hot Country Chart and was a big part of Rucker’s successful transition to country music.
9. “Smoky Mountain Rain” by Ronnie Milsap
This ticks every box. Milsap was born in Robbinsville in the mountains of southwestern North Carolina. Blind from birth, Milsap was a singer and pianist who shined in country music from the 70s into the 80s. However, his career has in many ways been lost time. He isn’t given the same treatment as many other massive country acts from the time. “Smoky Mountain Rain” was a No. 1 hit in the 80s but if I’m being honest, it’s a little overproduced for my taste. Why include it on the playlist? Well, it’s hard to tell the story of music in the mountains without Milsap and this song. Also, the Ronnie Milsap Keyboard Café was a Gatlinburg staple for many years, pioneering a business model followed by Blake Shelton and Jason Aldean.
10. “Cathy’s Clown” by The Everly Brothers
With this bluegrass and county music-heavy list, it’s important to take a moment and recognize the importance of early Rock and Roll on the region. Dolly Parton has devoted an entire section of her theme park to recreate the sock-hoppin’ Sevierville of her youth. Early Rock and Roll acts were massive in the mountains, especially those like Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and The Everly Brothers whose work was tinged with rockabilly, country and bluegrass sensibilities. Don, the oldest of the brothers, was born in the Kentucky coal mining territory. Both he and Phil played in the family band growing up. Their rise to fame started in Knoxville where they attended high school at Knox West. The duo had several hits in the late 50s. Why “Cathy’s Clown?” The brothers’ harmonies are insane.
But wait, there’s more!
No good playlist stops at 10. We’ve put together a more extensive list with songs with clear connections to the mountains and some that have a mountain road trip kind of vibe. Will you see the Oak Ridge Boy’s “Elvira” with its oom papa, oom papa mow mows? Maybe. Will we include the Bulls Gap icon Archie Campbell’s Hee-Haw classic “Pfft you was gone?” Well, you’ll have to check out our list below or our playlist on Spotify to see.
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