Just go ahead and release that classic country covers album already, Riley Green.
Today, he’s delivering another solid acoustic cover of Merle Haggard’s classic “That’s The Way Love Goes,” and I will never get tired of seeing these little Instagram videos pop up on my feed.
The song was the title track and second single from Merle’s 1983 album, and he’d actually fallen in love with it years back when he heard Lefty Frizzell’s original version.
Originally written by Lefty along with Sanger Shafer, Johnny Rodriguez first recorded it for his 1973 album All I Ever Meant to Do Was Sing. It was the second single from that record, and eventually peaked at #1 on the Billboard U.S. Hot Country Songs chart.
Merle’s version also went to the top of the charts, becoming his 30th #1 hit when it peaked at the top spot on the Billboard U.S. Hot Country Songs chart in 1984. His version also won him a Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance that same year.
And if you know anything about Riley, then you know that he often covers classic country songs, especially some of Merle’s other tracks like “Are The Good Times Really Over” and “The Way I Am”.
In his caption for the video, Riley noted that he measures a great country song by its timelessness. If he never gets tired of it, grows out of it and it always takes him to another place in his mind, then that makes it a classic.
I’d say that’s a pretty good way to measure it:
“For me the measure of a great country song means I never get tired of it, I never grow out of it, and it always takes me somewhere.
No matter how old it is. One of my favorites. What’s y’all’s favorite classic COUNTRY song?”
There’s just somethin’ about Riley singing these old country songs…
Of course, The Hag’s timeless original:
