To us, these three hit country songs from the 1970s had the quality, popularity, and ability to hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100.

Ivory Joe wrote and released “Empty Arms” in 1957. It reached No. 2 on the Billboard R&B chart. More than a decade later, country singer Sonny James took the song to No. 1 in the early 1970s. James ...

In 1966, The Monkees scored a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “I’m a Believer.” The song was written by Neil Diamond, who already had launched a successful solo career by that time. [RELATED: ...