Remember These? Why ’90s Country Music Videos Are The Visual Masterpieces We Didn’t Deserve

The music video is almost a lost art in country music these days.

Plenty of artists still make music videos to go along with their singles, but in this new era of music they mostly live on YouTube for fans to seek out.

But back in the ’90s, the music video was king. Sure, there are still some channels like CMT Music that occasionally show music videos, but a couple of decades ago channels like CMT and GAC broadcast nonstop music videos, and people actually watched. I still remember going to my grandparents’ house and CMT being on the television, and I would just sit there and watch the legends of ’90s country.

These days, with country music video channels having limited distribution and an even smaller audience, the importance of music videos to an artist’s career is pretty much nonexistent at this point. They’re fun, and some artists still put out some amazing videos, but does having a music video really make or break a single? No way.

One reason ’90s country music videos were so special was just how outrageous they really were. Obviously the technology has come a long way in nearly 3 decades, so the quality isn’t what you get today, but the effort was so over the top that looking back on them now is like watching a cinematic masterpiece and a time capsule all in one. They’re ridiculous, in the best possible way.

In case you’ve forgotten, here are some of the best:

“Watermelon Crawl” – Tracy Byrd

This is one of the first music videos I remember watching, and I couldn’t get enough. It was so over the top with watermelon flying everywhere, undeniably ’90s looks, and of course the line dancing. It’s pretty much perfect.

“The Shake” – Neal McCoy

This is another one that’s undeniably straight out of the ’90s. Neal was still rocking the mullet, the dancing and costumes were over the top, and the Footloose meets Leave It To Beaver storyline really sets the stage and makes for one of the most memorable music videos of the ’90s.

“Baby Likes To Rock It” – The Tractors

One common theme of ’90s country music videos is that they all tried to incorporate some kind of storytelling, and this one’s no different. A guy getting on a train and finding himself in the middle of one of the most ridiculous dance parties you’ve ever seen…it’s incredible.

“The Red Strokes” – Garth Brooks

While this may be one of the more visually simple music videos, largely just featuring Garth dressed in all white, sitting in a white room at a white piano, it becomes one of the most memorable videos of the ’90s as the red paint begins to cover Garth and the entire room as the song hits its climax.

“Third Rock From the Sun” – Joe Diffie

Remember when I talked about how far technology has come since the ’90s? Well this video features some of the best bad animation that you’ve ever seen, all while telling the ridiculous story of a town thinking there’s an alien invasion because the police chief was out cheating on his wife.

“Queen of My Double Wide Trailer” – Sammy Kershaw

This is another one that has a story within a story. The video actually centers around filming a music video for the story, complete with leather jackets, a trailer park, and plenty of ’90s nostalgia.

“Honky Tonk Truth” – Brooks & Dunn

Celebrity cameos were big in the ’90s, and maybe none more so than Dale Earnhardt making an appearance alongside doppelganger Kix Brooks in the video for this one. Unfortunately the video with Dale appears to have been scrubbed from YouTube, and any NASCAR fan can probably tell you why…

“Is There Life Out There” – Reba McEntire

This one is more of a short film, but it shows the effort put into ’90s music videos as it tells the story of a young waitress working her way through college while balancing the struggles of raising a family and working to put herself through school.

“Chattahoochee” – Alan Jackson

Alan Jackson water skiing in jeans. Enough said.

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