Someone once suggested that country songs about heartache and lost love sound the same as country songs about good times and happy days. Is it just the wailing fiddle intro often referred to as the “fiddle kickoff” that neutralizes the emotional jar of joy or grief that causes a reaction like that? Or is it just country songwriting is geared towards the simple task of expressing emotions in the terms of everyday life? No matter the reason, we’ll be taking on a country-themed collection of songs about heartaches this week in the show. We’ll do this by walking through some of the golden greats from the Golden Age of Country Music where the ways of the heart were a common theme and, thus, the heartache was an easy rhythmic mark for the country songwriter. We’ll share the Walkers’ Charlie and Billy, Jimmie Skinner, Buck Owens, Lefty Frizzell, Patsy, George and Stonewall among a couple dozen others, all with a message that speaks to country heartaches; and may we also say that there was plenty of fodder to draw from. Drop in…and don’t forget the hankies.

No.
1	Artist	Title	Album	Buy
2	Lefty Frizzell	I Never Go Around Mirrors (I've Got a Heartache to Hide)	Life's Like Poetry (Disc 9)
3	Buck Owens	Excuse Me (I Think I've Got A Heartache)	Classic Country Vol. 15 The Sixties Legends Disc 2
4	Dwight Yoakam	The Heartaches Are Free	Tomorrow's Sounds Today
5	Wynn Stewart	Heartaches For A Dime	Come On – Gonna Shake This Shack
6	Rose Maddox	Sing A Little Song Of Heartache	Swing West 1: Bakersfield
7	Leon Russell	Heartaches By The Number	Best Of Hank Wilson
8	Little Jimmy Dickens	Happy Heartaches	Four Classic Albums Plus Singles 1954-1962
9	Buddy Miller	Looking For A Heartache Like You	Cruel Moon
10	Patty Loveless	Looking For A Heartache Like You	On Your Way Home
11	Jimmie Skinner	100 Proof Heartaches	One Dead Man Ago
12	Carl Butler	If I Could Spend My Heartaches	The Chronogical Classics 1954-1958 (Warped 5592)
13	Hawkshaw Hawkins	A Heartache to Recall	22 Greatest Hits
14	Billy Walker	Headin' For Heartaches	Whirlpool – Gonna Shake This Shack Tonight
15	Charlie Walker	Who's Giving You Heartaches Now	1952-1958 (Warped 5230)
16	The Everly Brothers	A Brand New Heartache	Bob Dylan: Radio Radio – Theme Time Radio Hour, Vol. 5 [Disc 4]
17	Elvis Presley	That's When Your Heartaches Begin	Elvis Presley (8 Classic Albums Plus Bonus Singles)
18	Guy Mitchell	Heartaches By The Number	The Sweetest Memories (Newsound)
19	Patsy Cline	Heartaches	20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection – Classic Patsy Cline
20	Bobby Lewis	Doggone This Heartache	30th Anniversary Collection Disc 2
21	Stonewall Jackson	If Heartaches Were Wine (I'd Be Drunk All the Time)	Warped 6742 – Stonewall Jackson – 1966-1967
22	George Jones & Melba Montgomery	Multiply The Heartaches	Vintage Collections
23	Sonny James	Somebody Else's Heartache	Singles
24	Mason Dixon	Queen of My Heartaches	Country & Western Nuggets
25	The Mavericks	Excuse Me (I Think I've Got a Heartache)	From Hell to Paradise
26	The Time Jumpers	This Heartache	Kid Sister
27	Rosie Flores & Ray Campi	A Little Bit Of Heartache	A Little Bit Of Heartache
28	Jesse Dayton & Brennen Leigh	Brand New Heartache	Holidin' Our Own
29	Jimmie Dale Gilmore	Don't Look For A Heartache	Don't Look For Heartache
30	Patsy Cline	That's How A Heartache Begins	The Patsy Cline Collection
31	BR5-49	Heartaches By The Number	One Long Saturday Night, Plus
32	Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers	Heartache	Loved Wild Lost
33	Johnny Tillotson	Suff'rin' from a Heartache	The Tillotson Touch
34	Cyndi Lauper	Heartaches By the Number	Detour
35	Dane Stinit	Heartache Catches Up with Me [Take 15]	Original Sun Recordings

There are a handful of common story threads that run through classic country songs. I’m not talking about trucks, beer the ‘merica that seems to have overwhelmed modern so-called country with autotune and synth pop. The heartbreak of cheating situations that were among the most common storylines in the Golden Age of country at a time when family unity was of paramount importance. It was country music’s frank portrayal of infidelity that offered a counterpoint which was both relatable and controversial. Cheating songs became a central theme, reflecting the complexities and emotional intensity of love, betrayal, and heartbreak. Dave will share as many as will fit in two hours in this week’s episode with early tearjerkers from Kitty Wells, The Louvin Brothers, Billy Walker, Bonnie Owens and George Jones. There will also be the very best of the classics from Charley Pride, Dolly Parton, and Loretta Lynn to take us into the 70s and beyond. . .

No.
1	Artist	Title	Album	Buy
2	Hank Williams	Your Cheatin' Heart	24 Greatest
3	Patsy Cline	Your Cheatin' Heart	20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection – Classic Patsy Cline
4	Charlie Walker	Cheaters Never Win	1952-1958 (Warped 5230)
5	Billy Walker	One Heart's Beatin' One Heart's Cheatin'	1949-1952 (Warped 4960)
6	Hank Thompson	I Find You Cheatin' on Me	1946-1949 (Warped 4660)
7	Lee Elliott	Cheaters Never Win	Country & Western Nuggets
8	Jerry Lee Lewis	She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye	The Definitive Collection
9	Sanford Clark	A Cheat	Chills & Fever: The Dot Records Story 1955-1962
10	The Rockin' Saints	Cheat On Me Baby	That'll Flat Git It, Vol. 6 (Us Decca, Vol. 2)
11	Bonnie Owens	How Can Our Cheatin' Be Wrong	1968-1971 (Warped 6947)
12	The Louvin Brothers	While You're Cheating On Me	Close Harmony [Disc 4]
13	Kitty Wells	Cheated Out of Love	Lonely Street/Dust On the Bible
14	Kitty Wells	Cheatin's a Sin	The Complete Country Hits
15	George Jones	The Window Up Above	George Jones The Absolutely Essential 3 CD Collection
16	Loretta Lynn	You Ain't Woman Enough	Loretta Lynn Legendery Country Singer
17	Billie Jo Spears	The Cheating Kind	Country Greats #2
18	Crystal Gayle	Talking In Your Sleep	Superstars Of Country: Easy Loving [Disc 1]
19	Dolly Parton	Jolene	Dolly [Disc 3]
20	Charley Pride	Does My Ring Hurt Your Finger	Golden Age of Country Volume 4: Honky-Tonk Man [Disc 1]
21	Gary Stewart	She's Acting Single (I'm Drinkin' Doubles)	Superstars Of Country: Good Ol Songs [Disc 2]
22	Del McCoury	Cheater's in the Soup	1975-1976 (Warped 7553F)
23	Ricky Skaggs	Don't Cheat In Our Hometown [Album Version]	Country Gentleman: The Best Of Ricky Skaggs
24	T.G. Sheppard	Last Cheater's Waltz	Contemporary Country: The Late '70s Pure Gold
25	Moe Brandy	I Cheated Me Right Out Of You	Contemporary Country: The Late 70's – Hot Hits
26	Moe Bandy	It's A Cheating Situation	The Late '70s
27	John Prine With Dolores Keane	It's A Cheating Situation	In Spite Of Ourselves
28	John Anderson	She Just Started Liking Cheatin' Songs	Anthology
29	Dale Watson	Cheatin' Heart Attack	Cheatin' Heart Attack
30	Mickey Gilley	My Baby's Cheatin' On Me	Boppin' By The Bayou – Made In The Shade
31	Dwight Yoakam	King of Fools	Reprise Please Baby: The Warner Bros. Years Disc 2
32	Porter Wagoner	The Cold Hard Facts of Life	The Essential Porter Wagoner
33	Emmylou Harris	The Last Cheaters Waltz	Songbird: Rare Tracks & Forgotten Gems Disc 1
34	Kenny Rogers	Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town	20 Great Years
35	Kitty Wells	Hey Joe	Cheatin's a Sin

We’re heading on over to the Alibi Room, or Red’s Recovery Room, or whatever your local watering hole might be named and we’ll be doing so with the idea that the hair of the dog is what’s in order this Friday morning, recalling if we can the previous night’s bar hop celebrating country music’s favorite songs of cigareets, whiskey and wild wild women. Songs about whiskey and the glasses on the bar where stories and faces go from long to bright as the jukebox fires up. We’ll hear some classic songs from Webb Pierce, George Jones, Roger Miller and Merle Haggard alongside some contemporary sounds from the late Bill Staines, Chris Stapleton, and Dale Watson, all celebrating Johnnie Walker, Jim Beam, and Maker’s Mark…alongside a little bit of scotch and rye…neat or on the rocks. The honky tonk joints we’ll visit will likely have sawdust on the floor and a well-worn bar. Tune for the very best from the past century with your host, Dave Stroud, on KOWS Community Radio.

No.
1	Artist	Title	Album	Buy
2	Cal Smith	The Lord Knows I'm Drinking	20 Hits
3	Ernest Tubb	Two Glasses Joe	Ernest Tubb: The Definitive Collection
4	[dialogue]	…People Condemn Whiskey…	Heartworn Highways
5	Johnny Bush	Whiskey River	Country USA 1972
6	Dale Watson	Whiskey or God	Blackjack
7	Merle Haggard	The Bottle Let Me Down	The Lonesome Fugitive: The Merle Haggard Anthology 1963-1977 [Disc 1]
8	Bill Staines	Rye Whiskey Joe	Just Play One Tune More
9	Misisipi Mike Wolf	Whiskey Warm and Mellow	The Cold Hard Facts of Mike
10	Marty Stuart/Travis Tritt	The Whiskey Ain't Workin'	Compadres: An Anthology of Duets
11	Willie Nelson	Whiskey River	Shotgun Willie
12	Chris Stapleton	Tennessee Whiskey	Traveller
13	Tex Ritter	Rye Whiskey	High Noon
14	Merle Haggard	I Think I'll Just Stay Here And Drink	20 Hits
15	Webb Pierce	There Stands The Glass	20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: Best Of Webb Pierce
16	Jerry Garcia & David Grisman	Whiskey in the Jar	Shady Grove
17	Blue Mountain	Little Stream Of Whiskey	Roots
18	Osborne Brothers	Hey Hey Bartender	1963-1965 (Warped 6361)
19	Dale Watson	Hair Of The Dog	A Collection Of Drinking Songs
20	Dale Watson	Wine Don't Lie	A Collection Of Drinking Songs
21	Roger Miller	Chug A Lug	20 Hits
22	Hank Thompson	Scotch And Soda	A Collection Of Drinking Songs
23	George Jones	Tennessee Whiskey	Legendary Country Singers
24	Hayes Carll	Knockin' Over Whiskeys	Trouble In Mind
25	The Bootleg Honeys	Little Whiskey	Paint It Red
26	Emmylou Harris	Bottle Let Me Down	Pieces Of The Sky
27	Joe Ely	Whiskey And Women And Money To Burn	New Country January 1995
28	Red Ingle & His Natural Seven	Cigareets, Whiskey and Wild Wild Women (Smoking)	Bob Dylan Presents: Radio Radio, Theme Time Radio Hour, Vol. 3
29	Jerry Lee Lewis	It Was The Whiskey Talkin' (Not Me)	A Half Century Of Hits: Rockin' My Life Away [Disc 3]
30	David Luning	Whiskey Bottle	Just Drop On By
31	Hank Williams Jr.	Whiskey Bent And Hell Bound	Contemporary Country: The Late '70s Pure Gold
32	Asleep at the Wheel	Chug-A-Lug (feat. Huey Lewis)	King of the Road: A Tribute to Roger Miller
33	Chris Stapleton	Whiskey Sunrise	Starting Over