Explore every Grammy Best Country Song winner and nominee from 1980 through 1989, including the songs, recording artists, and songwriters recognized during the decade.
Written by Amanda Tempel
Published: November 11, 2026
From the Urban Cowboy era to the rise of neotraditional country, the 1980s brought new sounds and influences to country music. Throughout the decade, the Grammy Award for Best Country Song honored the songwriters responsible for some of the genre's biggest hits and most enduring recordings. Below is a complete year-by-year look at the winners and nominees from 1980 through 1989, including songwriting credits and recording artists.
Grammy Best Country Song Winners and Nominees: 1980
Winner: “You Decorated My Life”
Songwriter: Debbie Hupp and Bob Morrison
Recording Artist: Kenny Rogers
Nominees:
“Every Which Way But Loose” - Milton Brown, Steve Dorff, and Snuff Garrett (Eddie Rabbitt)
“Blue Kentucky Girl” - Johnny Mullins (Emmylou Harris)
“All The Gold in California” - Larry Gatlin (Larry Gatlin And The Gatlin Brothers Band)
“If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me” - David Bellamy (The Bellamy Brothers)
Grammy Best Country Song Winners and Nominees: 1981
Winner: “On The Road Again”
Songwriter: Willie Nelson
Recording Artist: Willie Nelson
Nominees:
“Lookin’ For Love” - Wanda Mallette, Bob Morrison, and Patti Russell (Johnny Lee)
“I Believe In You” - Roger Cook and Sam Hogin (Don Williams)
“He Stopped Loving Her Today” - Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman (George Jones)
“Drivin’ My Life Away” - David Malloy, Eddie Rabbitt & Even Stevens, songwriters (Eddie Rabbitt)
Grammy Best Country Song Winners and Nominees: 1982
Winner: “9 to 5”
Songwriter: Dolly Parton
Recording Artist: Dolly Parton
Nominees:
“You’re The Reason God Made Oklahoma” - Larry Collins and Sandy Pinkard (David Frizzel And Shelly West)
“Somebody’s Knockin’” - Jerry Gillespie and Ed Penny (Terri Gibbs)
“I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool” - "Kye" Rhonda Fleming and Dennis W. Morgan (Barbara Mandrell)
“Elvira” - Dallas Frazier (Oak Ridge Boys)
Grammy Best Country Song Winners and Nominees: 1983
Winner: “Always On My Mind”
Songwriters: Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher, and Mark James
Recording Artist: Willie Nelson
Nominees:
“She Got The Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)” - Tim DuBois (Jerry Reed)
“Ring On Her Finger, Time On Her Hands” - Don Goodman, Mary Ann Kennedy, and Pam Rose (Lee Greenwood)
“Nobody” - “Kye" Rhonda Fleming and Dennis W. Morgan, songwriters (Sylvia)
“I’m Gonna Hire A Wino To Decorate Our Home” - Dewayne Blackwell (David Frizzell)
Grammy Best Country Song Winners and Nominees: 1984
Winner: “Stranger In My House”
Songwriter: Mike Reid
Recording Artist: Ronnie Milsap
Nominees:
“Lady Down on Love” - Randy Owen (Alabama)
“I.O.U.” - Kerry Chater and Austin Roberts (Lee Greenwood)
“Baby I Lied” - Deborah Allen, Rory Bourke, and Rafe Van Hoy (Deborah Allen)
“A Little Good News” - Charlie Black, Rory Bourke, and Tommy Rocco (Anne Murray)
Grammy Best Country Song Winners and Nominees: 1985
Winner: “City Of New Orleans”
Songwriter: Steve Goodman
Recording Artist: Willie Nelson
Nominees:
“Mama, He’s Crazy” - Kenny O'Dell (The Judds)
“God Bless The U.S.A.” - Lee Greenwood (Lee Greenwood)
“Faithless Love” - John David Souther (Glen Campbell)
“All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight” - Hank Williams Jr. (Hank Williams Jr.)
Grammy Best Country Song Winners and Nominees: 1986
Winner: “Highwayman”
Songwriter: Jimmy L. Webb
Recording Artists: Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash & Kris Kristofferson
Nominees:
“Love Is Alive” - Kent M. Robbins (The Judds)
“Lost in the Fifties Tonight (In The Still of the Night)” - Fred Parris, Mike Reid, and Troy Seals (Ronnie Milsap)
“I Don’t Know Why You Don’t Want Me” - Rosanne Cash and Rodney Crowell (Rosanne Cash)
“Forty-Hour Week (For a Livin’)” - Dave Loggins, Don Schlitz, and Lisa Silver (Alabama)
“Desperados Waiting For A Train” - Guy Clark (Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson)
“Baby’s Got Her Blue Jeans On” - Bob McDill (Mel McDaniel)
Grammy Best Country Song Winners and Nominees: 1987
Winner: “Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout The Good Old Days)”
Songwriter: Jamie O'Hara
Recording Artist: The Judds
Nominees:
“Whoever’s In New England” - Kendal Franceschi and Quentin Powers (Reba McEntire)
“Guitars, Cadillacs” - Dwight Yoakam (Dwight Yoakam)
“Guitar Town” - Steve Earle (Steve Earle)
“Daddy’s Hands” - Holly Dunn (Holly Dunn)
Grammy Best Country Song Winners and Nominees: 1988
Winner: “Forever and Ever, Amen”
Songwriters: Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz
Recording Artist: Randy Travis
Nominees:
“Tellin’ Me Lies” - Betsy Cook and Linda Thompson (Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris)
“I’ll Still Be Loving You” - Pat Bunch, Todd Cerney, Mary Ann Kennedy, and Pam Rose (Restless Heart)
“All My Ex’s Live In Texas” - Lyndia J. Shafer and Sanger D. Shafer (George Strait)
“80’s Ladies” - K.T. Oslin (K.T. Oslin)
Grammy Best Country Song Winners and Nominees: 1989
Winner: “Hold Me”
Songwriter: K.T. Oslin
Recording Artist: K.T. Oslin
Nominees:
“Streets of Bakersfield” - Homer Joy (Dwight Yoakam And Buck Owens)
“She’s No Lady” - Lyle Lovett (Lyle Lovett)
“I Couldn’t Leave You If I Tried” - Rodney Crowell (Rodney Crowell)
“Chiseled In Stone” - Max D. Barnes & Vern Gosdin (Vern Gosdin)
Source: Recording Academy, official Grammy Awards historical records.