Top 5 Aaron Tippin Songs
A purveyor of neo-classical country firmly rooted in tradition, Aaron Tippin has had a busy and successful career. Since his debut single in 1990, the artist has released nine studio albums, earned a trio of No. 1 hits and racked up a total of 30 charting singles.
Below, The Boot counts down Tippin’s five best songs. Yes, his patriotic anthems are here — but there’s more to his catalog than that. Read down the list to see which favorites made it:
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5
“You’ve Got to Stand for Something”
From ‘You’ve Got to Stand for Something’ (1991)
“You’ve Got to Stand for Something” isn’t one of Tippin’s three No. 1 singles, but the song is a special part of Tippin’s discography, as it was his debut single, from his debut album of the same name. The song doles out solid advice: “You’ve got to stand for something or you’ll fall for anything / You’ve got to be your own man / Not a puppet on a string.” The celebration of clean living and hard work made it to No. 6 on the charts, and introduced the world to Tippin.
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4
“Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Fly”
From ‘Stars & Stripes’ (2002)
Tippin is often a political singer, and this firmly pro-America song is no exception. There’s a bigger reason for this particular tune’s success, though: The single was released a week after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It was a crossover hit, too, reaching No. 20 on the pop charts in addition to No. 2 on the country charts (Alan Jackson’s “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” kept it from the No. 1 spot). Tippin sings about loving his country — “I was born by God’s dear grace / In an extraordinary place / Where the stars and stripes and eagle fly” — but he also put his money where his patriotic mouth was: All of the proceeds from the song went to the Red Cross.
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3
“That’s As Close As I’ll Get to Loving You”
From ‘Tool Box’ (1995)
“That’s As Close As I’ll Get to Loving You” is a slightly uptempo ballad, but it succeeds in finding its emotion in its depiction of a love that just isn’t going anywhere. “I can sing this song to everybody and pretend it’s not about you,” Tippin mourns. “That’s as close as I’ll get to loving you.” The lead single from 1995’s Tool Box, this track was a No. 1 hit for Tippin.
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2
“Kiss This”
From ‘People Like Us’ (2000)
“Kiss This” was Tippin’s third No. 1 hit; it came five years after the success of “That’s As Close As I’ll Get to Loving You.” There was something special about this song’s success, too: It was, in part, written by Tippin’s wife Thea, and it helped Tippin’s label at the time (the now-shuttered Lyric Street Records) earn its first ever No. 1 hit. A catchy revenge song, the female protagonist quite enjoyably snarls the chorus: “Why don’t you kiss this / And I don’t mean my rosy red lips.” The song was also nominated for a ACM for Single of the Year.
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1
“There Ain’t Nothing Wrong With the Radio”
From ‘Read Between the Lines’ (1992)
Tippin’s 1992 single “There Ain’t Nothing Wrong With the Radio” was one of the singer’s most successful smashes. It was also his first smash: The lead single from Read Between the Lines, it climbed to the top spot on the charts and stayed there for three weeks. The catchy, mid-tempo tune is a love song to the singer’s car: “She ain’t a a Cadillac, and she ain’t a Rolls,” he sings, “but there ain’t nothing wrong with the radio.“
