Co-written and first recorded by Johnny Bush (C&W #14 1972).
Other hit version by Willie Nelson (1973 |C&W #12 1979), Johnny Bush (C&W #92 1981).
From the wiki: “‘Whiskey River’ was co-written by American country music singer Johnny Bush and Paul Stroud, and was first recorded by Bush in 1972.
“Bush released the song in 1972 through RCA Victor and included it on his album Whiskey River. Released as a single, it peaked in 1973 at #14 on the Billboard Country Singles chart. Bush later re-recorded the song in 1981 and released it again, this time on the Delta label, with ‘When My Conscience Hurts the Most’ on the B-side, charting again at #92 on the Country Singles chart.
First recorded by A.A. Gray (1924).
Also recorded by Crockett’s Kentucky Mountaineers (1927), William Hamilton Stepp (1937).
Hit versions by Pee Wee King & His Golden Western Cowboys (C&W #10 1949), Kay Starr (US #4 1950), Billy Grammer (US #50 1959), Glen Campbell (C&W #3/CAN #1 1974).
From the wiki: “‘Bonaparte’s Retreat’ is the name of two related songs. The original was a wordless melody that existed as various fiddle tunes dating back to at least the late 19th century and probably well before that. In 1950, American country music artist Pee Wee King recorded a modified version of the song, with lyrics added. The song has become associated with American old-time and bluegrass music, and is considered to be a staple in the traditional American songbook. The title originates from Napoleon Bonaparte’s famous retreat from Russia in 1812, and the song is believed to have first been written in the aftermath of that event.
“Fiddler A. A. Gray recorded the song in 1924. In 1937, American ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, while traveling through Kentucky, recorded violinist William Hamilton Stepp playing ‘Bonaparte’s Retreat’. This recording was inducted in 2016 into the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry.
Written and first recorded (as “Love is a Highway”) by Tom Cochrane (ca. 1980s, released 1991).
Hit version by Tom Cochrane (CAN #1 1991 |US #6/UK #62/AUS #2/NZ #2 1992).
Other hit versions by Chris LeDoux (C&W #64 1998), Rascal Flatts (US #7/C&W #18/CAN #10 2006).
From the wiki: “‘Life Is a Highway’ was written by Canadian musician Tom Cochrane. Cochrane recalls “Life Is a Highway” was originally conceived in the 1980s and demo recorded as ‘Love is a Highway’ while he was still a member of the band Red Rider, but was shelved at that time because he felt the unfinished song was unusable. However, following a trip with his family to Eastern Africa with the World Vision famine relief organization, Cochrane revisited the song on the advice of his friend, John Webster.
“In a 2017 interview with The Canadian Press to mark the song’s 25th anniversary, Cochrane said Webster encouraged him to revisit the demo recording, which at that point only had mumbled vocals and improvised lyrics, but not the song’s well-known chorus. ‘(The song) became a pep talk to myself… saying you can’t really control all of this stuff, you just do the best you can,’ he says. Cochrane says he was trying to make sense of the poverty he witnessed on his trip, which he found ‘shocking and traumatic.’
First recorded by Hugh Cross (1929).
Also recorded by The Carter Family (1929, released 1932).
Hit version by Roy Acuff & His Crazy Tennesseeans (1936).
Also performed by Woody Guthrie (1944).
Also recorded by Roy Acuff & His Smoky Mountain Boys (1947), Bill Haley (as “Jukebox Cannonball” 1952), Lonnie Donegan (as “Grand Coulee Dam” UK #6 1956).
From the wiki: “J.A. Roff’s 19th-century train song ‘The Great Rock Island Route’ was rewritten in 1904 by William Kindt as ‘Wabash Cannon Ball’, and though the famed Carter Family is sometimes cited as the first to record it (with A.B. Carter credited as composer), an arrangement by Hugh Cross & his guitar was put to wax more than seven months before theirs … and which was released three years prior to the release of the Carter Family recording.
“The artist most commonly associated with the song is Roy Acuff & His Crazy Tennesseeans whose first recording of ‘Wabash Cannonball’ was made in 1936 and released in December 1938. Crazy Tennesseean member Sam ‘Dynamite’ Hatcher was the actual vocalist on the recording, but it was Acuff’s imitation of a train whistle, something he said he learned while working for the L & N Railroad, that made the recording so iconic. Acuff would himself record a vocal version of ‘Wabash Cannonball’ in 1947.
Written and first recorded by Hank Williams (B-side C&W #4 1949 |A-side C&W #43 1966).
Other hit versions by B.J. Thomas & the Triumphs (US #8/CAN #2 1966), Charlie McCoy (C&W #23/CAN #21 1972), Terry Bradshaw (C&W #17 1976).
From the wiki: “According to Colin Escott’s 2004 book Hank Williams: A Biography, Williams was inspired to write the song when he saw the title (to a different song) on a schedule of upcoming MGM record releases.
“However, music journalist Chet Flippo and Kentucky historian W. Lynn Nickell have each claimed how 19-year-old Kentuckian, Paul Gilley, wrote the lyrics, then sold the song to Williams along with the rights, allowing Williams to take credit for it. They stated that Gilley also wrote the lyrics to ‘Cold, Cold Heart’ and other songs before drowning at the age of 27. However, Williams has stated he wrote the song originally intending that the words be spoken, rather than sung, as he had done on several of his ‘Luke the Drifter’ recordings.
First recorded by The Sons of the Pioneers (US #25 1941).
Other hit versions by Vaughn Monroe & the Sons of the Pioneers (US #9 1948), Frankie Laine & the Mellomen (UK #2 1955).
Also recorded by Bob Dylan & The Band (1967, released 2014), Fleetwood Mac (B-side 1982), The Replacements (B-side 1987).
From the wiki: “‘Cool Water’ was written in 1936 by Bob Nolan, a founding member of the Sons of the Pioneer, and was first recorded by his group in 1941. It briefly charted, peaking at #25 on the Hit Parade. Seven years later, the Sons of the Pioneers would re-record the song with big-band crooner Vaughn Monroe, and it would go on to become the best-selling version charting for 13 weeks on the Billboard chart, peaking at #9.
Written and first recorded by Jerry Reed (1968).
Hit versions by Jimmy Dean (C&W #21 1968), Johnny Cash (C&W #2/MOR #37/UK #4/CAN #1/IRE #1 1972).
From the wiki: “‘A Thing Called Love’ was written and first recorded by Jerry Reed in 1968.
“Jimmy Dean was the first artist to chart the song, peaking at #21 on the Country Singles chart in 1968. In 1971, the song was recorded by Johnny Cash and it became an international hit – peaking at #1 in Canada and Ireland, and also charting high in the UK and the Netherlands, becoming Cash’s biggest hit ever in Europe.”
Written and first recorded by Dick Feller (1975).
Hit version by John Denver (US #36/C&W #6 1981).
From the wiki: “‘Some Days Are Diamonds (Some Days Are Stone)’ was written by singer-songwriter Dick Feller, and was quite different from the humorous and novelty songs he was best known for writing (e.g., ‘The Night Miss Nancy Ann’s Hotel for Single Girls Burned Down’, ‘Lord, Mr. Ford’, ‘Makin’ the Best of a Bad Situation’). Feller was first to record and release the song, in 1976, but his version failed to chart.
“‘Some Days are Diamonds …’ was later covered by John Denver, on his 1981 album Some Days Are Diamonds. Released in May 1981 as the album’s first promotional single, Denver’s version peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and #36 on the Billboard Hot 100.”
First recorded by Ray Stevens (US #81/C&W #55 1969).
Other hit version by Johnny Cash (C&W #1 1970).
Also recorded by Kris Kristofferson (1970).
From the wiki: “‘Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down’ was written by Kris Kristofferson and was first recorded in 1969 by Ray Stevens, for his album Kristofferson, whose production reached #55 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and #81 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.
“The most successful version of the song originated from a Johnny Cash performance, taped live at the Grand Ole Opry’s Ryman Auditorium during a July 1970 recording his CBS TV variety show, The Johnny Cash Show, as part of a ‘Ride This Train’ segment, which was broadcast as the first episode of the Season Two. A companion album was then released by CBS Records in October 1970, with ‘Sunday Morning Coming Down’ issued as the promotional single. Both the album and the single topped the Country music charts, and won the Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year in 1970.
First recorded (as a demo) by Eddie Reeves & Alex Harvey (1971).
First released by Lonnie Mack (1971).
Hit versions by Cymarron (US #17/MOR #6/CAN #41/AUS #46 1971), Tompall & the Glaser Brothers (C&W #7 1972), Reuben Howell (US #86 1974), Lobo (US #43/CAN #30 1974), Twiggy (UK#35 1977).
Also recorded by Alex Harvey (co-writer 1972), Leo Kottke (1983).
From the wiki: “‘Rings’ was composed by Eddie Reeves, an executive at the West Coast office of United Artists Music, and Alex Harvey, who was contracted as a songwriter to United Artists, and was written for the wedding of a friend of Reeves named Bob Hamilton who – as the song’s lyrics indicate – had experienced an estrangement and reconciliation with his fiancée: the song concludes with the couple ‘hand in hand…upon the sand with the preacher man’ – a reference to Hamilton and his bride’s exchanging vows on the Venice beachfront. The lyric ‘Got James Taylor on the stereo’ was a reference to James Taylor’s ‘Fire and Rain‘ being the couple’s favorite song – while the ‘Tony and Mario’ mentioned in the song were the owners of a Hollywood restaurant the couple frequented.
Based on “Hot Rod Race” by Arkie Shibley & His Mountain Dew Boys (C&W #5 1951).
Also recorded (as “Hot Rod Race”) by Tiny Hill (US #29/C&W #7 1951).
First recorded as “Hot Rod Lincoln” by Charlie Ryan & the Livingston Brothers (1955).
Also recorded by Charlie Ryan & the Timberline Riders (1960).
Hit versions (as “Hot Rod Lincoln”) by Johnny Bond (US #26 1960), Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen (US #9/MOR #28/CAN #7 1972), Asleep at the Wheel (C&W #65 1988).
From the wiki: “‘Hot Rod Lincoln’ was written by singer-songwriter Charlie Ryan in 1955 as an answer song to the 1951 hit ‘Hot Rod Race’ which describes a race in San Pedro, Los Angeles between two hot rod cars, a Ford and a Mercury, which stay neck-and-neck until both are overtaken by ‘a kid in a hopped-up Model A.’ The importance of ‘Hot Rod Race’, according to Jim Dawson and Steve Propes (in What Was the First Rock ‘n’ Roll Record?), lies in the fact that ‘it introduced automobile racing into popular music and underscored the car’s relevance to American culture.’
“Written by George Wilson, ‘Hot Rod Race’ became a major hit for Arkie Shibley and his Mountain Dew Boys, staying on the Country & Western chart for seven weeks, peaking at #5 in 1951. Tiny Hill also released a cover version in 1951 that not only charted C&W but crossed over to the Billboard pop music chart where it peaked at #29.
“The song ‘Hot Rod Race’ ends with:
When it flew by us, I turned the other way.
The guy in Mercury had nothing to say.
For it was a kid,
in a hopped-up Model A.
“These lyrics set the stage for ‘Hot Rod Lincoln’, an ‘answer song’ written in 1955 by Charlie Ryan. ‘Hot Rod Lincoln’ is sung from the perspective of this third driver, whose own hot rod is a Ford Model A with ‘… eight cylinders; uses them all [and] overdrive, just won’t stall / With a 4-barrel carb and a dual exhaust, with 4.11 gears you can really get lost / It’s got safety tubes, but I ain’t scared / The brakes are good, tires fair.’
“Ryan’s original rockabilly version of the song was released in 1955 by his group, Charley Ryan & the Livingston Bros. Ryan recorded a second version in 1959, credited this time to Charlie Ryan & the Timberline Riders. Neither of Ryan’s recordings charted. He based the description of the eponymous car on his own hot rod – a 1948 Lincoln chassis with a 1930 Ford Model A body fitted to it, which he had raced against a Cadillac sedan in Lewiston, ID, driven by a friend but changing the locale to Grapevine Hill to fit it within the narrative of ‘Hot Rod Race’.
“Another cover of ‘Hot Rod Lincoln’, recorded by country musician Johnny Bond in 1960, was the first charting version of the song. The 1971 version by country-rock band Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen, released as the second promotional single from the album Lost in the Ozone, became the most successful version of ‘Hot Rod Lincoln’, peaking at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, #28 Adult Contemporary, #7 in Canada, and was ranked #69 on the U.S. Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1972.”
Tiny Hill, “Hot Rod Race” (1951):
Charlie Ryan & the Livingston Brothers, “Hot Rod Lincoln” (1955):
Charlie Ryan & the Timberline Riders, “Hot Rod Lincoln” (1960):
Johnny Bond, “Hot Rod Lincoln” (1960):
Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen, “Hot Rod Lincoln” (1972):
Written and first recorded by Merle Travis (1946).
Other hit versions by Johnny Desmond (US #17 1955),Tennessee Ernie Ford (US #1/C&W #1/UK #1 1955), Frankie Laine (UK #10 1956).
Also recorded by The Weavers (1955), B.B. “Blues Boy” King and His Orchestra (B-side 1956).
From the wiki: “‘Sixteen Tons’ was written in 1946 by Merle Travis about a coal miner, based on life in the coal mines of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. First recorded in Hollywood, CA, in 1946, ‘Sixteen Tons’ was released in July 1947 by Capitol on Travis’s album Folk Songs of the Hills, widely regarded as one of Travis’ finest achievements. The album became a gold record.
“According to Travis, the lyric from the chorus, ‘another day older and deeper in debt’, was a phrase often used by his coal miner father. This, and the line ‘I owe my soul to the company store’, are a reference to the truck system and to debt bondage. Under this scrip system, workers were not paid cash; rather they were paid with non-transferable credit vouchers that could be exchanged only for goods sold at the company store. This made it impossible for workers to store up cash savings. Workers also usually lived in company-owned dormitories or houses, the rent for which was automatically deducted from their pay. In the United States the truck system and associated debt bondage persisted until the strikes of the newly formed United Mine Workers and affiliated unions forced an end to such practices in the 1960s.
First recorded by Henson Cargill (recorded 1973, C&W #29 1974).
Other hit version by co-writer Mac Davis (US #9/MOR #1/C&W #40/CAN #3 1974).
From the wiki: “‘Stop and Smell the Roses’ was written by songwriter Mac Davis (he wrote ‘In the Ghetto’ for Elvis Presley) and the noted bandleader-trumpeter Doc Severinsen. It was first recorded by Henson Cargill (best known for the socially controversial 1968 Country #1 hit ‘Skip a Rope’) in late 1973 on his album This Is Henson Cargill Country, and then released in May 1974 as something of a come-back single for the performer, peaking at #29 on the Country singles chart.
“Co-writer Davis released his arrangement in March 1974 as the title track for the album Stop and Smell the Roses. Promoted as a single beginning in August 1974, ‘Stop and Smell the Roses’ peaked at #40 on the Country singles chart but went Top-10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Canadian RPM music charts and topped the MOR chart in the US.”
Co-written and first recorded by Willie Nelson (1972).
Hit versions by Waylon Jennings (C&W #3 1973), Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson (US #25/MOR #16/C&W #1 1976).
Also recorded by Tina Turner (recorded 1974, released 1979).
From the wiki: “Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson wrote ‘Good Hearted Woman’ in a room at the Fort Worther Motel in Forth Worth, TX, in 1969, inspired by an ad for an Ike & Tina Turner show saying: ‘Tina Turner singing songs about good-hearted women loving good-timing men.’ Jennings started writing the song and asked Nelson to help him finish it during a late-night poker game. By all accounts, Nelson’s contribution was minimal, with his third wife Connie recalling, ‘The only part Willie came up with was ‘Through teardrops and laughter they walk through this world hand in hand.’ Waylon said, ‘That’s it! That’s what’s missing’ and gave Willie half the song.’
“‘Good Hearted Woman’ was first recorded by Willie Nelson in 1972 for his album The Words Don’t Fit the Picture. Later the same year, Jennings recorded the song as the title track of his album Good Hearted Woman. Released as a single in 1973, Jenning’s recording peaked at #3 on Billboard magazine’s Hot Country Singles chart.
First recorded by Billy Brown (1959).
Hit versions by Jim Reeves (US #2/C&W #1/R&B #13/UK #12/CAN #1/AUS #1/NOR #1 1959), Solomon Burke (US #51/R&B #17 1964).
Also recorded by Elvis Presley (1976).
From the wiki: “‘He’ll Have to Go’ was written by Joe Allison and Audrey Allison.
“Joe first worked in the early 1940s as a commercial artist before embarking on a career in the entertainment industry, first as a disc jockey on a Paris, Texas radio station. In 1945, after a few years on radio, Allison took a job as the emcee for the North American tour of country music singing star Tex Ritter. While working on tour, he offered Ritter a song he had written called ‘When You Leave, Don’t Slam the Door’, which the singer turned into a #1 hit on the Country music charts. This success ultimately led to Allison moving to a radio station in Nashville, Tennessee where he remained until accepting an offer from a radio station in Pasadena, California.
“In 1959, Joe and Audrey co-wrote their most famous song, ‘He’ll Have to Go’, which was initially recorded by Billy Brown. A subsequent version by Jim Reeves become a platinum record, and the song would be recorded successfully by more than one hundred other artists including Elvis Presley, Bing Crosby, Tom Jones, Eddy Arnold, and even big band leader Guy Lombardo. That same year, Allison was hired by Liberty Records to create their Country music department. It was at Liberty that Joe signed Willie Nelson to his first recording contract.
Based on “Crescent City Blues” by Beverly Mahr (1953).
Hit versions by Johnny Cash (C&W #4 1956), Johnny Cash (US #32/C&W #1/CAN #1 1968).
From the wiki: “Although ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ is still widely thought to have been a Johnny Cash original, he based its melody and many of the lyrics on Gordon Jenkins’s ‘Crescent City Blues’ (which itself borrowed heavily from the 1930s instrumental ‘Crescent City Blues’ by Little Brother Montgomery) from Jenkins’ 1953 Seven Dreams concept album. Jenkins was not credited on the original ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ release. But, by the early 1970s, after the song had become popular, Cash paid Jenkins a settlement of approximately US$75,000 following a lawsuit.
“Cash heard ‘Crescent City Blues’ during his stint with the U.S. Air Force in Germany. He said ‘At the time, I really had no idea I would be a professional recording artist; I wasn’t trying to rip anybody off.’ One very distinct and memorable lyric of ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ that Cash can claim as being wholly original is the line ‘But I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die’. Cash later recalled: ‘I sat with my pen in my hand, trying to think up the worst reason a person could have for killing another person, and that’s what came to mind.’
First recorded (as “The Last Thing I Needed (The First Thing This Morning)”) by Bill & Bonnie Hearne (1976).
Hit version by Willie Nelson (C&W #2/CAN #1 1982).
Also recorded by Lost Gonzo Band (1976), Gary P. Nunn (1984).
From the wiki: “‘Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning” was written by Gary P. Nunn (‘London Homesick Blues’ aka Austin City Limits theme song) and Donna Farar, and was first recorded in 1976 by then-Austin, TX, musicians Bill & Bonnie Hearne. Willie Nelson recorded the song in 1982 for his album Always On My Mind. ‘Last Thing I Needed …’ was released as the third single from the album, and peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and #1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.
First recorded (as “I Wanna Go Home”) by Billy Grammar (C&W #18 1962).
Other hit versions by Bobby Bare (US #16/C&W #4/MOR #4 1963), Tom Jones (US #27/UK #8/IRE #4 1967), Dean Martin (US #101/MOR #36/CAN #96 1970).
Also recorded by Arthur Alexander (1965), co-writer Mel Tillis (1968), George Jones (2005).
From the wiki: “‘Detroit City’, a ‘citybilly’ lament about the struggles and loneliness of a rural Southerner migrating north to industrial Detroit, was written by Danny Dill and Mel Tillis. It was first offered to singer George Jones, who turned it down (but who would later record it in 2005 for his album Hits I Missed … and One I Didn’t), and so ‘Detroit City’ was first recorded and made famous (as ‘I Wanna Go Home’) by Billy Grammer in 1962.
“In 1963, country singer Bobby Bare covered the song, releasing it as ‘Detroit City’, scoring a Top-5 hit on both the Country and MOR music charts, and making it the title track from Bare’s debut album ‘Detroit City’ and Other Hits. It would win for Bare a Grammy award for the Best Country & Western Recording in 1963.
First recorded by The Everly Brothers (US #8/UK #4 1960).
Other hit versions by Johnny Young & Kompany (AUS #3 1967), Linda Ronstadt (US #2/C&W #1/CAN #1 1975).
Also recorded by John Denver (1966, released 2011), The Bunch (1972), Dave Edmunds & Keith Moon (1974), Tanya Tucker & Phil Everly (1975), Rockpile (1980), John Fogerty & Bruce Springsteen (2009).
From the wiki: “‘When Will I Be Loved’ was written by Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers, who had a US Top-10 hit with it in the summer of 1960. The track was recorded (with Chet Atkins also on guitar) while the duo were contracted to Cadence Records; by 1960 they had moved to Warner Brothers and recording songs in a more mainstream pop/rock style than previously. The belated release by Cadence of ‘When Will I Be Loved’ provided the Everly Brothers with a final rockabilly-style hit.
First recorded by Linda Ronstadt (1989).
Hit album version by Glen Campbell (2017).
Also recorded by Jimmy Webb (1993).
From the wiki: “‘Adiós’ was written by hit songwriter Jimmy Webb (‘Up, Up and Away‘,’By the Time I Get to Phoenix‘), and was first recorded by Linda Ronstadt in 1989 for her album Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind. Webb recorded his own arrangement in 1993 for his album Suspending Disbelief.
“The song became more widely, and poignantly, known, in 2017 when Glen Campbell’s recording was released two months before his death in August, 2017, and also used as the title song of his final album, Adiós. Featuring twelve songs Campbell had long loved but never recorded, the album was made with the help of producer and longtime collaborator Carl Jackson. Singers Willie Nelson, Vince Gill and Campbell’s children Ashley, Shannon and Cal also make guest appearances.
Written and first recorded by Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys (1950).
Also recorded by Manassas (1971, released 2009), Goose Creek Symphony (1971), Michael Nesmith (1973), Phish (1997)
Hit versions by Porter Wagoner (C&W #14 1956), Ricky Skaggs (C&W #1/CAN #1 1984).
From the wiki: “James Pendleton Vandiver was a Kentucky fiddler, born there shortly after the American Civil War. He was uncle to Bluegrass legend Bill Monroe, who immortalized him in a song, ‘Uncle Pen’, first recording in 1950.
“Monroe’s parents had both died by the time he was 16, and he lived part of the time with his Uncle Pen. Monroe used to hear his uncle playing fiddle on the hilltop where he lived, while Monroe put away his mules at night. He later said that Vandiver was ‘the fellow that I learned how to play from.’ Bill Monroe’s biographer, Richard D. Smith writes, ‘Pen gave Bill more: a repertoire of tunes that sank into Bill’s aurally-trained memory and a sense of rhythm that seeped into his bones. Sometimes Bill played guitar behind his uncle, sometimes the mandolin.’
First recorded (as “Lonesome Fiddle Blues”) by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (1972).
Hit version by The Charlie Daniels Band (US #3/C&W #1 1979).
Also recorded (as “Lonesome Fiddle Blues”) by Old and in the The Way (recorded 1973, released 1975), Vassar Clements (1975).
From the wiki: “‘The Devil Went Down to Georgia’ was written by the Charlie Daniels Band but was based on a bluegrass instrumental fiddler Vassar Clements originally wrote titled ‘Lonesome Fiddle Blues’ that he first recorded in 1972 with The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band for the album Will The Circle Be Unbroken.
“In 1973, Clements joined and toured with the bluegrass supergroup Old and in the Way with Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, and Peter Rowan. The group recorded ‘Lonesome Fiddle Blues’ in 1973 but it would not be released until February 1975. Clements also recorded a version in 1975 for his self-titled solo album on which Charlie Daniels played guitar.”
First recorded by Alvino Rey & His Orchestra (US #1 Feb 1942).
Also performed by Gene Autry (1942).
Other hit versions by Ted Weems & His Orchestra with Perry Como (US #23 Feb 1942), Bing Crosby with Woody Herman & His Woodchoppers (US #3 March 1942), Horace Heidt & His Musical Knights (US #7 March 1942), The Merry Macs (US #11 March 1942), Duane Eddy (US #78/UK #19 1962).
Also recorded by Gene Autry (1944), Bob Wills (1955), Ray Charles (1960).
From the wiki: “‘Deep in the Heart of Texas’ was written by June Hershey with music by Don Swander, with a title taken from a movie Western of the same name starring Tex Ritter. (The song was not performed in that particular movie, but would make an appearance in the Western movie Heart of the Rio Grande, released in 1942, sung by movie cowboy Gene Autry.)
“The first recording was by Alvino Rey and his orchestra, on November 21, 1941. It first charted in early 1942, eventually spending five weeks at #1 on the Hit Parade. The song was covered by Ted Weems & His Orchestra (with Perry Como on vocals) on December 9, 1941 for Decca Records, also released in early 1942 as the flip-side to ‘Ollie Ollie Out’s in Free’.
First recorded by David Frizzell (C&W 67 1970).
Other hit version by Susan Raye (US #54/C&W #9/CAN #26/NZ #1/AUS #2 1971)
Also recorded by Shirley Myers (2003).
From the wiki: “‘L.A. International Airport’ was written by Leanne Scott and was first recorded by David Frizzell in 1970. Buck Owens’ duet partner and protegé Susan Raye recorded her international hit cover in 1971. Raye’s arrangement, produced by Ken Nelson, enjoyed much greater success outside of America and was a major pop hit in many countries, including New Zealand and Australia.
“The song was rerecorded with updated lyrics in 2003 by Shirley Myers for the 75th Anniversary of LAX.”
