My Mother used to play Dolly records when I was little and one of my favourite songs that she played was the B-side of a good ol' "45" record was "Me and Little Andy".
I didn't know how sad and tragic that song actually was until I got older and understood.
I'm not an expert on Country music by any means but I would say that a big part of "real" or classic Country / Folk music (to me at least) passed as well.