17 Country Songs That Would Make Great Movies
From Billie Joe to Jolene, country’s greatest casts of characters, along with our wish list for actors to play them


Kevin Winter/ACMA2014/Getty Images for ACM; Valerie Macon/Getty Images; Erika Goldring/WireImage
From Glen Campbell’s performance in the original True Grit to Dwight Yoakam’s creepy, critically-applauded turn in Sling Blade, country stars have a long history of appearing in the movies. They also have an equally lengthy history of writing songs that could be adapted into screenplays. Maybe it’s the stories they tell, or the way the bright twang of a Telecaster guitar can evoke images of wide-open landscapes and rundown, roadside saloons, but country music can sound downright cinematic when it wants to. Most of these songs haven’t received the silver screen treatment — yet — but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve it.