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I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
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Wikipedia article
"'I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry'" is a song written and recorded by American country music singer-songwriter Hank Williams in 1949. The song has been covered by a wide range of musicians.
Authorship and production
For many years, Hank Williams was assumed the writer of the song. In 2012, a new narrative appeared, crediting the song to 19-year-old Kentuckian Paul Gilley. Gilley sold Williams several of his songs outright, taking a one-time payment so that Williams could claim the song as his own. Music journalist Chet Flippo and Kentucky historian W. Lynn Nickell wrote about how Gilley also wrote the lyrics to "Cold, Cold Heart" and other songs before drowning at age 27.
Prior to 2012, various writers quoted Williams as saying he wrote the song originally intending the words be spoken rather than sung, as he had done on several of his Luke the Drifter recordings. According to Colin Escotts 2004 book: 'Hank Williams: A Biography', the inspiration for the song came from the title to a different song Williams spotted on a list of forthcoming MGM record releases. The song was recorded on August 30, 1949, at Herzog Studio in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Williams was backed by members of the Pleasant Valley Boys: Zeke Turner (lead guitar), Jerry Byrd (steel guitar) and Louis Innis (rhythm guitar), as well as Tommy Jackson (fiddle) and Ernie Newton (bass).
Release and reception
The song was released as the B-side to the blues "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It", because up-tempo numbers were deemed more appropriate for the jukebox trade than melancholy ballads. The single reached number four on the country chart in 1949.[http://www.musicvf.com/song.php?title=My+Bucket%27s+Got+a+Hole+in+it+by+Hank+Williams&id=99955 Hank Williams, "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" Chart Positions], Musicvf.com, Retrieved March 31, 2014
"I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" has been identified with Williams's musical legacy, and has been widely praised. In the 2003 documentary 'The Road to Nashville', singer k.d. lang stated: "I think 'I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry' is one of the most classic American songs ever written, truly. Beautiful song." In his autobiography, Bob Dylan recalled: "Even at a young age, I identified with him. I didn't have to experience anything that Hank did to know what he was singing about. I'd never heard a robin weep, but could imagine it and it made me sad." In its online biography of Williams, 'Rolling Stone' notes:
In tracks like "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry", Williams expressed intense, personal emotions with country's traditional plainspoken directness, a then-revolutionary approach that has come to define the genre through the works of subsequent artists from George Jones and Willie Nelson to Gram Parsons and Dwight Yoakam.
'Rolling Stone' ranked it number 111 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, the oldest song on the list, and number 3 on its 100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time.
Notable cover versions
Many musical artists have covered the song:
* Among the most notable is a version by B. J. Thomas and the Triumphs, who took the song to number 8 on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 in 1966.
* In 1972, Charlie McCoy's version charted at number 23 on 'Billboard' Hot Country Songs chart.
* Leon Russell released a version in 1973, which brought him a modest hit at number 78 on the Hot 100.
* Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw recorded the song in 1975 and released it in 1976, advancing to number 17 on the country singles chart for two weeks. It broke into the Hot 100 at number 91.
* Jerry Lee Lewis released a cover in 1982, charting at number 43 on the Hot Country Songs chart.
* Volbeat released a cover in 2014 on Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood
Chart performance
Hank Williams version
Williams' version ranked No. 29 in 'CMT's 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music' in 2003.
References
Sources
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Category:1949 singles
Category:1966 singles
Category:1972 singles
Category:1976 singles
Category:Songs written by Hank Williams
Category:Hank Williams songs
Category:B. J. Thomas songs
Category:Charlie McCoy songs
Category:Jerry Lee Lewis songs
Category:Terry Bradshaw songs
Category:Leon Russell songs
Category:Glen Campbell songs
Category:Elvis Presley songs
Category:Tommy James and the Shondells songs
Category:Andy Williams songs
Category:Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
Category:Songs about loneliness
Category:1949 songs
Category:MGM Records singles
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