Urban Cowboy Soundtrack

What was the Urban Cowboy soundtrack?

Urban Cowboy was a 1980 film starring John Travolta and Debra Winger, set in Gilley's, a huge honky-tonk in Pasadena, Texas. Its soundtrack mixed country singers with rock and soft-rock stars, and it became a huge hit. It reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the country albums chart, and the RIAA later certified it triple platinum.

The record is the root of the early-80s boom that the 80s country music guide calls the Urban Cowboy era: glossy production, pop-friendly songs and cowboy hats in cities.

The three big country hits

Three singles from the album went to No. 1 on the country chart in 1980. Mickey Gilley's "Stand by Me" got there on August 9, Johnny Lee's "Lookin' for Love" on September 6, and Anne Murray's "Could I Have This Dance" on November 15. "Lookin' for Love" was the biggest on the pop side too, reaching No. 5 on the Hot 100, while "Stand by Me" peaked at No. 22.

Murray's waltz has lasted longest in daily life, because it became a first-dance favorite at weddings. If that is why you are here, see our 80s love songs. All three lead the player above, along with Joe Walsh's "All Night Long", a No. 19 pop hit from the same album.

Songs from before 1980

Not every track on the album was new. The Charlie Daniels Band's "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" was a 1979 hit, and the Eagles' "Lyin' Eyes" came out in 1975. Bonnie Raitt's "Don't It Make Ya Wanna Dance" is also a late-70s record.

Because this site covers 1980 to 1989 only, those three are mentioned here but are not in the playlist. Every other song on this page was first released in the 80s, and each pick follows our song selection rules.

The Urban Cowboy soundtrack songs, in album order

1. 1. Hello Texas — Jimmy Buffett (1980)

   Buffett opens the album with a short, easygoing salute to the state, written by Brian Collins and Robby Campbell. It sets the mood before the honky-tonk starts, and it is a reminder that the soundtrack mixed country with Texas-flavored rock and pop.

2. 2. Times Like These — Dan Fogelberg (1980)

   Fogelberg's contribution is a gentle singer-songwriter song with no country twang at all. It first appeared on the soundtrack and was later included on his 1981 album The Innocent Age. It shows how wide the film's net was.

3. 3. Cherokee Fiddle — Johnny Lee (1980)

   Johnny Lee's second song on the album, after "Lookin' for Love". At just over four minutes it is one of the longer country cuts, and it gave Lee, the house singer at Gilley's, a second showcase on the record.

4. 4. Here Comes the Hurt Again — Mickey Gilley (1980)

   Gilley's hit single from the film was "Stand by Me", but he also took this heartbreak song, one of several tracks he sings on the album. It runs under three minutes and is a good sample of the honky-tonk sound the club was known for.

5. 5. Look What You've Done to Me — Boz Scaggs (1980)

   A smooth ballad co-written by Scaggs and David Foster, and one of the soundtrack's biggest pop hits. It reached No. 14 on the Hot 100 and No. 3 on the adult contemporary chart in 1980, and it has outlived the film as a soft-rock favorite.

6. 6. Orange Blossom Special / Hoedown — Gilley's Urban Cowboy Band (1980)

   A two-minute fiddle workout from the house band, built on the old "Orange Blossom Special" tune. It is the closest the album comes to the sound of a Friday night on the dance floor, and it is purely instrumental.

7. 7. Love the World Away — Kenny Rogers (1980)

   Kenny Rogers was already a pop star, and this June 1980 single from the film kept him there. It reached No. 14 on the Hot 100 and No. 4 on the country chart. A polished, mid-tempo ballad that fits the soundtrack's country-pop blend.

8. 8. Falling in Love for the Night — Charlie Daniels Band (1980)

   The Charlie Daniels Band has two songs on the album. The fiddle showpiece is the older one, but this is the new one, a shorter, looser song at about three minutes that shows the band's bar-room side.

9. 9. Darlin' — Bonnie Raitt (1980)

   Bonnie Raitt's second track on the album, after "Don't It Make Ya Wanna Dance". This one is a short, bluesy love song written by Stewart Blandamer, at under three minutes. It is not the Beach Boys song of the same name.

10. 10. Hearts Against the Wind — Linda Ronstadt & J.D. Souther (1980)

    Linda Ronstadt and her frequent collaborator J.D. Souther close the album with a quiet duet. It is a late-night country-rock ballad, a gentle ending after the dance-floor numbers.

Beyond the soundtrack: the boom hits

The film made country sound like pop radio for a few years, and the singers on the soundtrack kept the hits coming. Here are ten country No. 1s from 1980 to 1983 that carry the same polished, crossover sound. They play after the soundtrack songs in the player above.

One in a Million (Johnny Lee, 1980). Johnny Lee followed "Lookin' for Love" with another No. 1 on the country chart. It first hit the top on December 27, 1980, and was still there in the first week of 1981.

Smoky Mountain Rain (Ronnie Milsap, 1980). A heartbroken ballad written by Kye Fleming and Dennis Morgan. Milsap, a blind pianist from North Carolina, took it to No. 1 on the country chart on December 6, 1980, and it became one of his best-loved songs.

Starting Over Again (Dolly Parton, 1980). Donna Summer and her husband Bruce Sudano wrote this ballad, and Parton's version was No. 1 on the country chart in May 1980. It is a good example of how country artists borrowed songs from pop writers during the boom.

A Headache Tomorrow (Or a Heartache Tonight) (Mickey Gilley, 1981). Gilley's own follow-up to the film's success. This honky-tonk two-stepper reached No. 1 on the country chart in April 1981, and its title is the kind of line that made the club's crowd cheer.

You Don't Know Me (Mickey Gilley, 1981). An old standard that Eddy Arnold recorded in the 1950s and Ray Charles made famous in 1962. Gilley's version reached No. 1 on the country chart in September 1981, proving that the boom could make a classic sound new.

There's No Gettin' Over Me (Ronnie Milsap, 1981). Milsap's pop-flavored country sound was the Urban Cowboy style at its most polished. This song was No. 1 on the country chart on August 29, 1981, one of many chart-toppers from him in the early 80s.

Bet Your Heart on Me (Johnny Lee, 1981). Johnny Lee's third country No. 1, reached on December 5, 1981. By then the film was more than a year old, and the sound it popularized was still selling records.

You and I (Eddie Rabbitt & Crystal Gayle, 1982). A duet between two country singers who both had pop-friendly voices. It reached No. 1 on the country chart on December 4, 1982, and it shows how far the crossover sound had spread.

We've Got Tonight (Kenny Rogers & Sheena Easton, 1983). Kenny Rogers teamed up with Scottish pop singer Sheena Easton on this cover of a Bob Seger song. It went to No. 1 on the country chart in April 1983, the Urban Cowboy sound at its most pop.

Paradise Tonight (Mickey Gilley & Charly McClain, 1983). A duet by Gilley and Charly McClain that reached No. 1 on the country chart on October 15, 1983. It is a late example of the boom, three years after the film.

More country from the same years

For the second half of the story, when George Strait, Randy Travis and Reba McEntire brought back fiddles and steel guitar, go back to the 80s country music guide.