Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

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One Day at a Time

First recorded by Marilyn Sellars (US #37/C&W #19 1974).
Other hit versions by Gloria Sherry (IRE #1 1978), Lena Martell (UK #1 1979), Cristy Lane (C&W #1/CAN #10/NZ #5 1981).

From the wiki: “‘One Day at a Time’ was written by Marijohn Wilkin and Kris Kristofferson (although Kristofferson was a bit embarrassed with this co-credit; recalls he merely shared the same room while Marijohn wrote it, perhaps helping out with a lyric line one or two). It has been recorded by over 200 artists and has reached #1 in several countries.

“The song was first recorded by Country singer Marilyn Sellars in 1974 and released as a single to modest success. Irish singer Gloria Sherry, performing professionally as ‘Gloria’, recorded ‘One Day at a Time’, releasing it as a single in August 1977. Her recording remained on the Irish charts for the rest of the year, throughout 1978 and well into 1979 – peaking at #1 (over a year after it had first entered the chart) and spent a total of 90 weeks in the Irish Top 30 – the longest run by any song in Irish chart history. Meanwhile, Lena Martell’s 1979 recording topped the UK singles chart.

“But, ‘One Day at a Time’ became best-known among country music fans when recorded by American country gospel singer Cristy Lane in 1980. At first, United Artists Records balked at releasing the song, despite its previous track record of success, but Lane’s husband-manager, Lee Stoller, predicted the song would be successful, and UA relented. For co-songwriter Kristofferson, ‘One Day at a Time’ became his sixth #1 hit as a songwriter.”

Gloria, “One Day at a Time” (1978):

Lena Martell, “One Day at a Time” (1979):

Christy Lane, “One Day at a Time” (1980):

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