Long Gone Lonesome Blues

"Long Gone Lonesome Blues" is a 1950 song by Hank Williams. The song was Hank Williams' second number one on the Country & Western chart. "Long Gone Lonesome Blues" stayed on the charts for twenty-one weeks, with five weeks at the top of the Country & Western chart. The B-side of the song, entitled "My Son Calls Another Man Daddy," peaked at number nine on the Country and Western chart.[1]

"Long Gone Lonesome Blues"
Single by Hank Williams
B-side"My Son Calls Another Man Daddy"
Released1950
RecordedJanuary 9, 1950
StudioCastle Studios, Nashville
GenreCountry, blues
Length2:40
LabelMGM
Songwriter(s)Hank Williams
Producer(s)Fred Rose
Hank Williams singles chronology
"I Just Don't Like This Kind of Living"
(1950)		 "Long Gone Lonesome Blues"
(1950)		 "Why Don't You Love Me"
(1950)

Background

"Long Gone Lonesome Blues" is quite similar in form and style to Williams' previous #1 hit "Lovesick Blues." Biographer Colin Escott speculates that Hank deliberately utilized the similar title, tempo, and yodels because, although he had scored five Top 5 hits since "Lovesick Blues" had topped the charts, he had not had another #1.[2] Williams had been carrying the title around in his head for a while but it was not until he went on a fishing trip with songwriter Vic McAlpin that the inspiration to write the song took hold:

"They left early to drive out to the Tennessee River where it broadens into Kentucky Lake, but Hank had been unable to sleep on the trip, and was noodling around with the title all the way. As McAlpin told journalist Roger Williams, he and Hank were already out on the lake when McAlpin became frustrated with Hank's preoccupation. 'You come here to fish or watch the fish swim by?' he said, and suddenly Hank had the key that unlocked the song for him. 'Hey!' he said. 'That's the first line!'[3]

As he sometimes did, Williams bought out McAlpin's meager share in the song and took sole credit. The tune was recorded in Nashville at Castle Studio with Fred Rose producing on January 9, 1950 and featured Jerry Rivers (fiddle), Don Helms (steel guitar), Bob McNett (lead guitar), Jack Shook (rhythm guitar), and Ernie Newton (bass).[4] The song's bluesy guitar intro, high falsettos, and Hank's suicidal yet irresistibly catchy lyrics, sent it soaring to the top of the country charts on March 25, 1950.

Cover versions
  • Mack Vickery recorded a rockabilly version of the song under the name Hollis Champion.
  • In 1964, Hank Williams Jr. made his debut on the country chart with his own version of the song, which peaked at number five on the country chart.[5]
  • Dennis Robbins covered the song in 1987 for MCA Records. His version went to number 63 on the same chart.
  • A live BBC performance of the song is available on the Collector's Edition of the Proclaimers 1987 album This Is the Story.
  • Leon Redbone recorded it for his 1988 album No Regrets.
  • The song was parodied in the 2000 SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Texas", renamed "Texas Song" and sung by the character Sandy Cheeks which featured Junior Brown at the end.
  • In 2001, Sheryl Crow recorded the song for Timeless: Hank Williams Tribute.
  • In 2013 the band Told Slant recorded a version for indie label Birdtapes.

Charts
Chart (1950) Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[6] 1
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References
  1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944–2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 387.
  2. Escott, Merritt & MacEwen 2004, p. 134.
  3. Escott, Merritt & MacEwen 2004, p. 135.
  4. Escott, Merritt & MacEwen 2004.
  5. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944–2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 388.
  6. "Hank Williams Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.

Source
  • Escott, Colin; Merritt, George; MacEwen, William (2004). Hank Williams: The Biography. New York: Little, Brown.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)


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