Top 10 Songs by Kelly WIllis

Kelly Willis is a name in country music that doesn’t gain much attention or recognition. Central Texas residents may have seen her in car dealer Henna Chevrolet commercials singing the jingle and loading her kids into an SUV. She and her husband, also a country singer, are also featured in an allergy medication commercial. She gave a solid performance at the Austin City Limits festival in 2004 and receives high praise from music critics.

10 Find Another Fool- Finally, after a string of sad love songs on her 2002 album, Easy, Willis puts her foot down and gives her man the (cowboy) boot telling him to “go find another fool to love you.”

9 If I left You- After listening to a majority of the songs on this list, it won’t be difficult to be convinced that Kelly Willis has suffered at least one bad relationship. You can hear it in her words; you can sense it in her voice. It just feels like she’s singing the truth. If I Left You follows this style in the lyrics, but is almost too upbeat to be sad. It’s a good sad love song for a listener who doesn’t want to be depressed.

8 Pack Up Your Sorrows- This song is featured on Dressed In Black: A Tribute to Johnny Cash. It features Willis singing with her husband Bruce Robison. It’s a great cover whether you like Johnny Cash music or not.

7 Baby, It’s Cold Outside- Ok, so you might think putting a Christmas song on a list of top 10 is strange. I admit, I normally wouldn’t promote Christmas music. But in Baby, It’s Cold Outside, Willis sings with husband Robison as he plays the bad boy and she plays the good girl who wants to go bad in this Christmas classic.

6 Not What I Had In Mind- This is yet again a sad love song that makes listeners feel what Willis sings.

5 Reason To Believe- Willis has perfected the art of singing of cheating men and broken hearts; she’s very convincing. Good as she is at it, it’s refreshing to hear her sing a sweet, honest, and heartfelt love song. Sure, some of it is somewhat clichÃ?©, like when she sings lines like “I was born in your blue eyes,” but isn’t that what love songs are all about? Besides, what the song lacks in complete originality, it makes up for with Willis’s vocal talent. Willis could sing the most overplayed Britney Spears song and make it sound like sheer poetry.

4 I Have Not Forgotten You- From the album What I Deserve, I Have Not Forgotten You is another sad love song from Willis. You’ll like how easy it is to sing along to.

3 Take Me Down- I’m not a fan of typical country music, and I don’t normally warm up to country songs so easily. But from the first time I heard this song (and I heard it many, many times while at work) I liked it. It’s a perfect embodiment of Kelly Willis style- country/folk/Texas twang without the white trash pride found in the music of popular country artists.

2 Santa Baby- If you think a country girl can’t be a downright sexy little vixen, and especially not when singing a Christmas song, take a listen. Marilyn Monroe couldn’t do better.

1 What Did You Think- I can’t speak highly enough of this song. Willis relates to listeners a story of love for a man that isn’t returned. He loves someone else who isn’t right for him and Willis dutifully allows him to cry on her shoulder about it, while she silently breaks down.

Additional info:
Album: Happy Holidays
Label: Rykodisc
Release Date: August 29, 2006
Features the vocals of both Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison. They sing together on some tracks and solo on others. Available on audio CD.

Album: Easy
Label: Rykodisc
Release Date: August 20, 2002
Available on audio CD

Album: What I Deserve
Label: Rykodisc
Release Date: February 23, 1999
Available on audio CD and cassette tape