Country Music Legends as a Deck of Cards
For years I’ve been thinking that a cool way to present the legends of country music would be to illustrate the genre’s top artists through a deck of cards. Where to place what artist, what suit would be suited best for certain performers all seems like it would create great discussion points, and ultimately it’s a good way to keep these legends top of mind, especially if someone actually made a physical deck of these legendary performers.
Lo and behold, somebody already did. A company called HeroDecks.com (no, this is not a paid endorsement) has released a deck of country music legends, and yours truly received a set for Christmas. It’s illustrated with cool caricaturist interpretations by artist Michael Graessle.
Now I have to say, some of their selections are a little too contemporary for me. No offense to Taylor Swift, Faith Hill, and Toby Keith, but when I think of “legends,” I can’t make it much past the Class of ’89 (Garth, Clint Black, Alan Jackson, Travis Tritt). The Hero Decks set of country legends is still a valiant effort, but I decided to mock up one of my own.
When fielding the face cards, country music already has a defined set of Kings (Hank, George, Roy Acuff, Bob Wills) and Queens (Kitty, Tammy, Loretta). The Jacks seem like a good place for the top Outlaws. After all, Waylon Jennings had a semi-hit with the song “Jack-A-Diamonds,” so you pretty much have to put him in that spot. Of course Ace cards have to be absolute legends too, but ones not known for being “Kings” or “Queens.” And lets reserve “10” cards for the “Mothers” and “Fathers” of country music, since they’re of great importance as well.
RELATED: Country Music’s Royal Court and Founding Family
Since spades are pretty universally recognized as the trump suit, you have to reserve this for the tip top of country artists, but hearts also make for a strong country music suit. George Strait as the King of Hearts just has a good ring to it. Juice Newton may make a good Queen of Hearts, except there are probably more important artists to fill that slot, no offense Juice. And since there’s only a limited number of slots, some country legends are just gonna be left out. Using the members of the Country Music Hall of Fame is a good litmus test of who should be included, with some exceptions of course.
So anyway, after painstakingly consternating over who to put where, here’s my attempt at a deck of cards fielded by country legends. Feel free to share your thoughts below.
Ace of Spades – Johnny Cash
King of Spades – Hank Williams
Queen of Spades – Loretta Lynn
Jack of Spades – Willie Nelson
10 of Spades – Jimmy Rodgers
9 of Spades – Patsy Cline
8 of Spades – Buck Owens
7 of Spades – Hank Snow
6 of Spades – Roy Clark
5 of Spades – Marty Robbins
4 of Spades – Porter Wagoner
3 of Spades – Little Jimmy Dickens
2 of Spades – John Anderson
Ace of Hearts – Dolly Parton
King of Hearts – George Strait
Queen of Hearts – Kitty Wells
Jack of Hearts – Ernest Tubb
10 of Hearts – “Mother” Maybelle Carter
9 of Hearts – Alan Jackson
8 of Hearts – Kenny Rogers
7 of Hearts – Eddy Arnold
6 of Hearts – Jerry Reed
5 of Hearts – Bill Anderson
4 of Hearts – Roger Miller
3 of Hearts – Vince Gill
2 of Hearts – Emmylou Harris
Ace of Clubs – Merle Haggard
King of Clubs – Bob Wills
Queen of Clubs – Tammy Wynette
Jack of Clubs – Kris Kristofferson
10 of Clubs – Bill Monroe
9 of Clubs – Charley Pride
8 of Clubs – Hank Williams Jr.
7 of Clubs – Lefty Frizzell
6 of Clubs – Randy Travis
5 of Clubs – Tanya Tucker
4 of Clubs – Tex Ritter
3 of Clubs – Charlie Daniels
2 of Clubs – Don Williams
Ace of Diamonds – George Jones
King of Diamonds – Roy Acuff
Queen of Diamonds – Reba McEntire
Jack of Diamonds – Waylon Jennings
10 of Diamonds – A.P. Carter
9 of Diamonds – Garth Brooks
8 of Diamonds – Conway Twitty
7 of Diamonds – Barbara Mandrell
6 of Diamonds – Ray Price
5 of Diamonds – Webb Pierce
4 of Diamonds – Glen Campbell
3 of Diamonds – Brenda Lee
2 of Diamonds – Keith Whitley
Joker – Gene Autry
Joker – Clint Black
Joker – Chet Atkins
Joker – Jimmy Martin
Joker – Earl Scruggs
Joker – DeFord Bailey
Joker – Connie Smith
Joker – Bobby Bare
Joker – Ricky Skaggs
Joker – Marty Stuart
Joker – Dwight Yoakam
Joker – Jerry Lee Lewis
Joker – Gary Stewart
Yeah I know, too many jokers. But how do you leave Clint Black, Marty Stuart, and Gary Stewart out of something like this? Really, what you need is two decks. This is just the deck I drafted, and I’m sure we all would draft a different one.
Oh but then it got me thinking, we need a deck of cards of today’s independent country stars: Cody Jinks, Tyler Childers, Billy String, Zach Bryan, Sierra Ferrell and the like. And you could do one for Texas Country artists, with Wade Bowen and Randy Rogers on down. You could have dedicated decks for bluegrass, and there’s darn near enough old legends to do one for Western Swing, for songwriters, or country women, or Americana, or the country underground.
They could be useful recommendation tools for folks just getting into this music. It would give them a good place to start listening. So who knows, if time and interest permits, maybe we’ll mock up some more hypothetical card decks in the coming weeks and months.
As Kenny Rogers once sang, “Know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em.”
Good luck.
BRO country
January 4, 2023 @ 10:17 am
Very inclusive list. Iโm sure there will be some debate about the order, but you got all the main players. The only person I noticed as MIA is Uncle Dave Macon. Maybe as a joker. Very cool idea for a topic.
Lilโ DL
January 4, 2023 @ 7:03 pm
Uncle Dave would be a great shout. Only change I think I would make is I would replace AP Carter with say Fiddlinโ John Carson or maybe Vernon Dalhart, someone more in the old-time vein.
Howard
January 4, 2023 @ 10:36 am
You definitely need a second deck. “Jokers” is where I expect to see Billy Ray Cyrus and Shania Twain, not Clint Black and Keith Whitley. Others you might consider: Rosanne Cash, Vern Gosdin, Johnny Rodriguez.
JJ75
January 4, 2023 @ 10:51 am
Some of those other names being included but not Dwight Yoakam is abominable tbh.
Matsfan/Jatsfan
January 5, 2023 @ 7:32 am
Dwight is included. He was the first contemporary name I looked for.
Kevin
January 4, 2023 @ 10:56 am
Garth is gonna be VERY pissed you didnโt make him a seven
Howard
January 4, 2023 @ 11:00 am
And you NEVER want to piss off Garth! The bodies, remember?
Trigger
January 4, 2023 @ 11:13 am
On the Hero Decks version, Garth Brooks is a Ace of Spades.
wayne
January 4, 2023 @ 11:26 am
Nah, Garth would just cry his crocodile fake tears again.
Kevin
January 4, 2023 @ 12:01 pm
The families deserve closure, Garth
Sir Adam the Great
January 4, 2023 @ 11:01 am
Shouldnโt Lemmy be the ace of spades?
Luckyoldsun
January 4, 2023 @ 11:34 am
George Jones covered Jim Lauderdale’s “King of Broken Hearts,” which was reportedly inspired by Jones, so I’d give him that card.
Minnie Pearl has to be one of the jokers. Ray Stevens could be the other joker, but since I never found Stevens funny, I’d give the other one to Roy Clark, who was both funny and an incredible musician.
Bear
January 4, 2023 @ 12:37 pm
Yeah… I prefer your deck. On the original deck Carrie Underwood… meh Swift meh Faith Hill is old enough for me but I’d rather see Lee Ann Womack from that era. I’m surprised they didn’t put Shania in there.
Patty Loveless is legit for me, she’s proven she isn’t just some 90s fling. And while some omissions are annoying the GLARING omission of national treasure Emmylou astounds me.
Would have to have Dottie West in your deck considering all her trailblazing against misogyny in the business. A 2 of Hearts or Diamonds for me has to be The Judds.
But now you h ave me thinking even more interesting would be a country music tarot deck.
Stellar
January 4, 2023 @ 1:44 pm
I’ve been thinking about that tarot deck but I think it will offend a few people here
Howard
January 4, 2023 @ 3:05 pm
Emmylou’s in the deck. She’s the 2 of Hearts.
Bear
January 5, 2023 @ 2:30 pm
Ah no sorry the original deck from the link is missing Emmylou
LindzB
January 6, 2023 @ 8:17 am
I’m a bit biased, but I do think Martina McBride should be included here, at least as a “joker.” In the last year, she released an album of country classics with her dad under her dad’s name, Daryl Schiff. It includes a few of his originals + covers on Merle Haggard, Ray Price, Porter Wagner, etc. Martina also played at a county fair in KS with her dad & brother where she only played awesome classic country covers with her family, her band, & her dad’s friend who plays steel guitar. She grew up playing local country dances around KS with her father & went back to her roots this summer to sing country classics with her family. For me, there is nothing more country than that! The county fair concert will remain my favorite (because I’m pretty young & will never get to see the legends I love.) Anyways, just a note I wanted to share. Obviously, it’s just a deck of cards, but I think she leaves quite a legacy, esp. In KS ๐
Teresa
January 4, 2023 @ 12:58 pm
Definitely need two decks of legends. Maybe three. Both Jack Greene and Ricky Van Shelton recorded and released “From a Jack to a Queen” and thus each should be a Jack, or Greene at least. This is something someone could easily get carried away with and oh!, what fun it would be.
SRAvery
January 4, 2023 @ 1:44 pm
Very cool. A tarot deck would be intriguing. You get 78 spots (79 if you count the Loversโฆ George and Tammy?) and a lot of conceptual fun. Cups for barroom legends, wands for writers, pentagrams for the big money-makers and swords for the trailblazers. As for the Fool โฆ lotsa candidates ๐
Stellar
January 4, 2023 @ 1:45 pm
Who’s the Hanged Man?
SRAvery
January 4, 2023 @ 3:57 pm
A lot of possibilities. The Hanged Man can mean a change of perspective that leads to reevaluation. Certainly Willie or any of the outlaws fit. Also anyone who was self-destructing and โ โฆSaw The Light.โ
Linda Kennedy
January 5, 2023 @ 9:35 am
I think that should definitely be Waylon Jennings. โค
Trigger
January 4, 2023 @ 1:51 pm
Not a bad idea.
Mike
January 4, 2023 @ 2:06 pm
No argument here, I’d buy a deck .. print em up.
Davey Boy
January 4, 2023 @ 2:08 pm
The fact that Zach Bryan isn’t included is an abomination
Kenny M
January 4, 2023 @ 2:20 pm
If Triggers deck comes to fruition. Townes Van Zandt should be on the cover of the box. Maybe call it the ‘Mr. Mudd, Mr. Gold’ edition
Andy
January 4, 2023 @ 4:31 pm
This will probably raise a few blisters, but I do miss Kinky Friedman on this list, at least as a Joker. ๐
Strait86
January 4, 2023 @ 5:13 pm
Maybe should be split up by era.
Hell idk
January 4, 2023 @ 10:26 pm
Where is David Allen Coe!
JonnyBoy23
January 4, 2023 @ 11:47 pm
I’m going to have to give this a lot of thought, but I’m definitely going to try to come up with my own deck. I’m comment back when I get it figured out.
The only real flaw I see in your deck is I’d switch Reba with Emmylou Harris. She’s a queen in my eyes. But Emmylou has a special place in my heart, I named my daughter after her (Emilia Lucile – Emmi Lu for short)
David: The Duke of Everything
January 5, 2023 @ 4:19 pm
That is a nice deck of cards though like someone before me said, tom t hall would be there. In fact he would be there before lots of those people. Also no buck Owens but you got roy clark. I don’t know, I’m starting to see some flaws though maybe I’m missing some criteria. Too brain numbing for me, I could probably just do one group like the spades and Garth Brooks wouldn’t even be on there let alone the ace.
Trigger
January 5, 2023 @ 5:18 pm
Buck Owens is on there.
David: The Duke of Everything
January 5, 2023 @ 6:34 pm
Sorry I see that now.
Countryfan68
January 5, 2023 @ 2:59 am
Very cool deck of cards.
Sean
January 5, 2023 @ 6:09 am
No Coe or Paycheck?
Bob
January 5, 2023 @ 8:39 am
Bro where’s Chris Ledoux
Bill
January 5, 2023 @ 10:05 am
Nice start. I would have found a place for Tom T. Hall, however
Sana
January 5, 2023 @ 6:25 pm
I love this!! ๐
Steverino
January 5, 2023 @ 8:07 pm
It would seem to me that the only artist who could be on the cover of the box of a “Deck of Cards” would be Tex Ritter…
Ryan S
January 6, 2023 @ 4:54 pm
Now let’s do country music Tarot!
Ben
January 9, 2023 @ 5:49 pm
If you come up with the definitive deck and it had some good artwork, I would definitely buy a few. Even better if itโs a two-deck set.