Our Top 10 Rosanne Cash songs looks at a legendary country music artist that has been around since the 1970s. She has rocked the charts with her iconic voice and powerful lyrics. In this article, we will be discussing her top 10 best songs from her career so far. Rosanne Cash was born in Memphis on February 26, 1954, to Johnny and Vivian Cash. Her father was one of America’s most prolific singer-songwriters of all time, which inspired Rosanne to pursue a musical path early on in life.
In 1975, Rosanne married Rodney Crowell who later became a successful country musician in his own right. She started writing songs for other artists while working as a waitress before getting signed by CBS Records in 1979 after releasing her first album in 1978 with Ariolo Records. Her self-titled debut album received critical acclaim and went on to sell more than two million copies. Since then, many of her singles have reached the Top 40 including a duet “It’s Such a Small World” with her father, which was No. 1 on the country charts for six weeks in 1981.
Rosanne Cash, has released fourteen studio albums throughout her career. Sh has also released a little more than a handful of compilation albums as well as close to forty singles. She has always been a musical gem as our top 10 Rosanne Cash songs list pays tribute to her wonderful songs.
# 10 – Sea Of Heartbreak (2009)
We open up our top 10 Rosanne Cash songs list with a great track from her album The List. The album was released in 2009. The song entitled “Sea Of Heartbreak,” featured Bruce Springsteen as a special guest on deep sounding backing vocals. This is just a stunning recording as the two legendary singers delivers a performance that will cut right through you. Springsteen sings a solo verses a little halfway through the song. “Sea Of Heartbreak,” was written by Hal David and Paul Hampton.
# 9 – Wheel (1993)
Rosanne Cash and John Leventhal wrote this song. The lyrics describe a cheating man who fakes illness to garner sympathy from his mistress before leaving her. She then realizes that she is now free but has lost the love of another man in the process. This song peaked at number three on Billboard’s Country charts in 1993.
# 8 -Tennessee Flat Top Box
Continuing with our Top 10 Rosanne Cash songs list we turn to the classic recording “Tennessee Flat Top Box.” The song was released on the sensational Rosanne Cash album entitled King’s Record Shop. The song was written by her father Johnny Cash who had released it as a single way back in 1961. Rosanne Cash pays great tribute to her dad with her own stunning version.
# 7 – Runaway Train
In the number seven spot on our top 10 Rosanne Cash songs list we present the great track “Runaway Train.” The song appeared on the album Kings Record Shop. The album was released in 1987. “Runaway Train,” was the fourth and final single released from the album. This raging song was written by the great John Stewart who was one of our favorite songwriters of all time.
# 6 – Black Cadillac (2006)
As we continue our trip in exploring the music of Rosanne Cash we turn to the sad track “Black Cadillac.” This song was also the title track to Rosanne Cash’s Black Cadillac album released in 2006. The song was written by Rosanne Cash. This one is a tuff one to listen too. Yet, it’s such a song of substance and depth it stands as one of her most important works.
# 5 – Rules of Travel (2003)
This song was written by Rosanne Cash, Richard Bennett, and T Bone Burnett for the 2003 film The Door In The Floor. It is a duet between her and her husband, who sings from the perspective of a man whose wife has cheated on him. This is a recurring theme in many of Rosanne Cash songs throughout her career. This song appeared on both the movie soundtrack as well as her album Rules of Travel.
# 4 – Somewhere in the Stars (1982)
‘Somewhere In the Stars’ appears on the Rosanne Cash 1982 album also titled Somewhere In The Stars. This heartbreaking song was composed by Rosanne Cash. This song follows a woman who is remembering her past with a man she loved. She recalls the nights they would take long walks together and how he taught her about music, and matter of factly, she remembers their good times as well as the bad. At the end of the song, she sadly sums up their relationship: “I think I’ll go back to Texas/ Find me a place where there’s nothing between us/ Somewhere in the stars.”
# 3- No Memories Hangin’ Round (1980)
“No Memories Hangin’ Round” appears on Rosanne Cash’s 1980 album entitled Right Or Wrong. The song “No Memories Hangin’ Round” was released as the first single from the album. It was also placed as the opening track on the record. “No Memories Hangin’ Round” was composed by Rodney Crowell. The song also featured the talents of Bobby Bare in a smoking duet with Rosanne Cash.
# 2 – She Remembers Everything (2018)
Rosanne Cash’s 2018 album ‘She Remembers Everything’ contains this song, originally written as a poem by Dennis Lehane for his wife after discovering that she was pregnant with their first child. It tells of a husband looking back on his life and everything that has happened to him as well as all the people who have helped him along the way. At the end of the poem, both he and his unborn child are killed in an accident, and it is revealed that they will now be together forever: “And we’ll be home/ Somehow/ Right where we started.”
# 1 – Seven Year Ache (1981)
Rosanne Cash and Merle Kilgore wrote this song. The lyrics focus on the pressure of a failing love affair with a married man and its effect on her life. This is only one of many songs she wrote about this subject matter in her early years. The song describes how it feels when you know your relationship is ‘wrong’ yet you cannot let go: It peaked at number three on Billboard’s Country chart in 1981 but won song of the year from the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association. It remains one of Roseanne’s most popular songs to date.
Conclusion:
Overall, Rosanne Cash is one of the most talented country singers that the genre has ever seen due to her unique vocals combined with powerful lyrics can make you feel as if you are right there with her during every moment of her songs. She has won 10 Grammy Awards, making her the most successful female country performer in history to have received this accolade. As well as being a successful solo artist, she has also performed alongside artists such as Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings for over 40 years. Overall, Rosanne Cash has many songs that refer to infidelity and heartache, which is why she is one of the most relatable singers in classic rock history.
Photo: Andy Witchger, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Top 10 Rosanne Cash Songs article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2021
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