Despite having one of the most potent voices in recent country music history, Trisha Yearwood‘s contributions to the genre are too often limited to a few of her massive ’90s hits – or to her status as the First Lady of stadium-sized country, thanks to her husband Garth Brooks. But Yearwood has decades worth of meaty musical output that beg revisiting.
Yes, Brooks was her first musical ally and has been a common thread through her career, even long before they were married to one another. But Yearwood’s song choices, with compositions by Melissa Etheridge, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, and Jack Ingram all included in her vast catalog, defy the traditional route for a conventional country radio queen; her sound has included plenty of startlingly traditional records as well as thoughtful pop crossover. Most of all, her singing voice remains bright and unburnished, totally country but versatile enough to deliver on the most acrobatic of melodies.
From her self-titled debut in 1991 to her just-released new single “Put It In A Song,” here are 20 songs that span Yearwood’s decades in Nashville in age, topic and style – all of them, though, are among her best.
Listen to the best Trisha Yearwood songs now.
Real Live Woman (2000)
A song about defying the status quo that itself defies the status quo, with a central topic – ordinary womanhood – that remains all but untouchable in most art. Yearwood insists that she won’t “starve herself for some weight I’m told” or model her life after movies and magazines in “Woman,” which reached No. 16 on Billboard’s country chart. It’s a moody ballad with a slew of all-too-relatable lyrics, convincingly delivered by Yearwood.
Every Girl In This Town (2019)
A power ballad on an epic scale, “Every Girl” was co-written by up-and-coming country star Caitlyn Smith – a nod from Yearwood to the next generation of women in country music. The track paints the shared experience of young women in small towns, the ups and downs (literal and figurative), misadventures and wins. Yearwood comes across as a benevolent maternal figure, reassuring listeners that every insecurity and mistake is completely normal.
Georgia Rain (2005)
A bit of a comeback single for Yearwood, “Rain” paid specific homage to Yearwood’s roots in Jasper County, Georgia. The track, a soaring ballad about nostalgia for young love, became Yearwood’s first top 20 hit on Billboard’s country chart since 2001 and reached the Hot 100 as well. “That old dirt road’s paved over now/Nothing here’s the same,” she sang, evoking images familiar to anyone who’s lived long enough to leave and go home again.
There Goes My Baby (1998)
The first single off her seventh studio album Where Your Road Leads, “Baby” marked a shift for Yearwood: Instead of handing the aesthetic reins to producer Garth Fundis, Yearwood co-produced the entire album alongside Nashville veteran Tony Brown. It was a successful move, with the song reaching No. 2 on Billboard’s country chart and – for just the third time in Yearwood’s career – the all-genre Hot 100.
Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love (2007)
A rowdy boot-stomping track, “Heaven” is Yearwood’s most recent top 20 hit on Billboard’s country chart – maximalist and danceable, it’s a good-timing juxtaposition to the serious ballads that got the singer on the Adult Contemporary charts. The singer’s potent voice is also showcased well as she effortlessly owns the tune’s rollicking sound and tempo in conversation with the screaming organ and bluesy guitar.
Believe Me Baby (I Lied) (1996)
A ’90s pop song of the first order, “Baby” became Yearwood’s fourth No. 1 single on the Hot Country Songs chart. The track was written by Larry Gottlieb, Angelo Petraglia and singer-songwriter Kim Richey, who had just started to scrape the bottom of the country charts with her own releases. With “Baby,” lilting, upbeat acoustic production puts a positive spin on what is lyrically a desperate, regretful plea – Yearwood’s built-in twang is basically the only thing keeping it country, but the result is compelling all the same.
You Can’t Trust The Weatherman (2014)
A story song about twists of fate (and their meteorological manifestations), this is a welcome anomaly in Yearwood’s catalog. Upbeat and more than a little rock n’ roll, “Weatherman” is upbeat and clever, showcasing how well the singer can sell fun songs as well as the more downbeat ballads. Sharp, clear harmonies from Morgane Stapleton make the song even more compelling.
Powerful Thing (1998)
One of Yearwood’s few true honky-tonk tunes, “Powerful Thing” begs for a dance floor full of two-steppers. There’s jangling piano, swinging fiddle, steel and Yearwood singing with attitude aplenty on this fairly standard but punchy love song. The track became another crossover hit for Yearwood, reaching No. 50 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and No. 6 on the country chart.
This Is Me You’re Talking To (2007)
Genuinely heartbreaking, this ballad features Yearwood at her most sensitive and evocative. The opening verse is especially affecting, showing the singer’s more conversational side before she starts belting on the chorus. There’s nothing old-fashioned about this song except for its overwhelming pathos, which is as classic country as it gets – it’s begging for a stripped-down version to counter the swooning pop strings on this take.
I Wanna Go Too Far (1995)
Here, the typically agreeable Yearwood pushes outward, gently promising to break the rules (someday). There’s a bit of rockish energy to this one, with a distorted guitar wailing right alongside the steel – the musical expression of Yearwood singing, “I need to rock the boat/I need to speak my mind.” The song was Yearwood’s tenth top 10 hit on the Billboard country charts, further evidence that she was anything but an anomaly.
In Another’s Eyes (1997)
This soaring ballad marked another steamy pre-marriage Brooks-Yearwood duet (both were married to other people when it was recorded) about…fantasizing about someone who’s not your partner. Released as part of Yearwood’s greatest hits compilation (Songbook), “In Another’s Eyes” reached No. 2 on Billboard’s country chart and won the 1997 Grammy award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. Both singers are at their potent best on this track, singing for the cheap seats as they plumb emotional depths that seem, in retrospect, all too personal.
Thinkin’ About You (1995)
This bubbly song about the fever of early love proved to be another major hit for Trisha Yearwood, reaching No. 1 on Billboard’s country chart. “This train of thought ain’t about to jump the track it’s on,” Yearwood sings with typical verve. There’s a healthy dose of pop in the production of this track, from its core bounce to its not-so-twangy guitar – organ and fiddle help keep it country, though.
A Perfect Love (1997)
A breathless song about the most mundane beauties of partnership, “Love” was released on Yearwood’s first collection of greatest hits – and lived up to that placement by becoming her fifth and final No. 1 song on Billboard’s country chart. Yearwood emphatically sings the praises of doing nothing but being with the people you care about, making happiness sound entirely approachable instead of unattainable. “We’re not trying to make history,” she sings, describing a love that’s as ideal as it is quotidian.
You Can Sleep While I Drive (1995)
A countrified take on a single from Melissa Etheridge’s sophomore album, “Drive” shows Yearwood’s voice at its most vulnerable and evocative. The song is an unconventional one for country radio, moody and outside of the usual stylistic tropes – yet Yearwood released it as a single anyway, and it peaked at No. 23 on the country charts.
How Do I Live (1997)
Yearwood’s biggest pop hit has a complicated backstory: She and LeAnn Rimes released versions of the Diane Warren composition to radio on the same day, somewhat unwittingly. Rimes’ take became a record-breaking success, but Yearwood’s – which was used as a theme for the blockbuster Con Air – was also big, reaching No. 23 on the Hot 100 and earning Yearwood a Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance (which Rimes was…also nominated for with her recording). Yearwood’s take has a few more specifically country cues, but shows that her vocal range is just as showstopping as the famously dynamic Rimes.
Wrong Side Of Memphis (1992)
This song’s bluesy groove and dose of hard-edged twang offered a potent counter to the sugary success of “She’s In Love With The Boy,” and continued Yearwood’s streak of top ten country hits. A lightly autobiographical tale from the song’s co-author Matraca Berg, “Memphis” is all about what it takes to make it in Music City – but remains an evergreen anthem for anyone ambitious who feels stuck in a rut.
Like We Never Had A Broken Heart (1991)
The sultry ballad that birthed a lifetime more: Garth Brooks joined Yearwood on this after hours ballad, which he co-wrote with Pat Alger. Though not the first time Brooks and Yearwood appeared on record together, it was the first time Yearwood’s sterling voice was front and center in their duet. Presented without the overwhelming strings that were so popular in the early ’90s, this song lets the pedal steel and fiddle sing right alongside Brooks and Yearwood – and that traditional sound eventually brought it to No. 4 on the country charts.
XXX’s and OOO’s (An American Girl) (1994)
There’s revolution in this song’s sweet understatement – not only in its feather-light feminism, with buoyant talk of women’s struggles, but behind the scenes: Alice Randall, who co-wrote the song with Matraca Berg, was just the second Black woman to write a No. 1 song on the Country Airplay chart. If “Go to work, make up, try to keep the balance up” isn’t strictly political, it is certainly a line just about everyone feels is specifically relevant to them – in other words, as country as it gets.
Walkaway Joe (1992)
The emotional flipside of “She’s In Love With The Boy,” “Walkaway Joe” became another one of Yearwood’s most iconic tracks as it explored the dark side of rebellious teen love. Don Henley sings harmony on this heartbreaking, familiar story, which begs lighters in the air and sing-a-longs to its earworm chorus. The song uses more down-the-middle pop production, and in Canada was a minor Adult Contemporary hit; stateside, it only gained traction on the country chart, reaching No. 2. It laid the groundwork, though, for future crossover balladry.
She’s In Love With The Boy (1991)
Few artists (or athletes) hit it out of the park their first time up to bat, but Trisha Yearwood went yard with this irresistible tale of young love, hitting No. 1 on the country charts with what remains her most-beloved song. The story of small-town courtship was meticulously crafted by Jon Ims, who rewrote the song 32 times before eventually landing on its full-circle final verse. Cast in an upbeat, fiddle-laden setting where traditional elements were backed with the lightest rock pulse, “Boy” remains instantly memorable and effortlessly optimistic – a multigenerational love song that will never go out of style.
