Love for recycling

The AP reports that Dolly Parton’s “‘I Will Always Love You’ tops CMT 100 greatest love songs.” Dolly is a genius and deserves the recognition. I love the duet version of the song that Vince Gill recorded with her; it’s worth seeking out if you haven’t heard it before.
Many of the songs on the list are contemporary and mediocre. (Click here for the complete list.) The list is compiled by CMT staff for the network’s own reasons, centered on programming and spinoffs. Conceding the limitations inherent in the nature of the project, the list still seems incredibly lame to me.
Among the great country love songs that would make my top 10 and that are nowhere on the list, for example, are “Life’s Little Ups and Downs,” “Peace on You,” and “Set Me Free” by Charlie Rich. Where is “You Don’t Know Me” by Eddy Arnold (Emmylou Harris performs a devastating version on “Cowgirl’s Prayer”)? Or Emmylou’s own “Boulder to Birmingham,” for that matter? Or “A-11” by Johnny Paycheck?
The overlap of this CMT list of top 100 country love songs with the CMT list of top 100 country songs is notable. (See Rocket Man’s post on the CMT top 100 from last June.) I’m not sure, but I think the folks at CMT may be more into recycling than country music.