Mark Chesnutt’s ‘Ol’ Country’ Still Rings True With Traditional Country Music Fans

The song “Ol’ Country” was written by Bobby Harden and recorded by Texas-born country music singer Mark Chesnutt. Released in January 1993 on his album “Longnecks & Short Stories,” the song was the album’s fourth single. Telling the story of a country guy from Birmingham, Alabama who rendezvous with a city girl from Ohio and falls in love, the song is famous for its traditional country sound and was part of Chesnutt’s greatest recording successes. Premiering in 1993, the music video that accompanies the song was directed by John Lloyd Miller.

A native of the Lone Star State, Chesnutt presently resides in Beaumont and continues to play festivals and special events, while having released his most recent album in 2016. His first album was released in 1980 on Axbar, an independent label, and was only done in vinyl. It would be a decade later before he would come to national attention through the chart-topping release of the single and album “Too Cold a Home.” Since then, he has brought more than 30 songs onto the country charts and has accumulated a loyal legion of fans that follow his shows and concerts to this day.

For the album “Traditional Lives,” which was his first new material in eight years, Chesnutt didn’t diverge from his signature traditional style, which clearly hasn’t disappointed his fans. Hailing him as a classic country singer, critics have called him one of Country music’s most realistic and elite entertainers, and his stature is easily measured. He has 23 top-ten singles, 14 number one hits, four platinum albums, and five gold records, and he continues to maintain an industry presence with an annual aggressive tour schedule. Fans and critics alike need to look no further when it comes to good country music stylings. Chesnutt has them in spades.