Lucille (Kenny Rogers song)

"Lucille" is a song written by Roger Bowling and Hal Bynum, and recorded by American country music artist Kenny Rogers. It was released in January 1977 as the second and final single from the album Kenny Rogers. It became Rogers' first major hit as a solo artist after leaving the successful country/rock group The First Edition the previous year. An international hit, it reached number 1 on the Billboard Country Singles chart and number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.[2] Overseas, "Lucille" reached the top of the UK Singles Chart in June 1977,[3] the first of Rogers' two number one singles there.[4]

"Lucille"
Single by Kenny Rogers
from the album Kenny Rogers
B-side"Till I Get It Right"[1]
ReleasedJanuary 24, 1977
GenreCountry
Length3:42
LabelUnited Artists
Songwriter(s)Roger Bowling
Hal Bynum
Producer(s)Larry Butler
Kenny Rogers singles chronology
"Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got)"
(1976)		 "Lucille"
(1977)		 "Daytime Friends"
(1977)

Content

The song, told by the narrator (Rogers), tells the story of a man in a bar in Toledo, Ohio, who acquaints himself with a downhearted married woman named Lucille. An inebriated Lucille admits her unhappiness in life and a longing for adventure. Her husband arrives and approaches her and the intimidated narrator. The brokenhearted husband, starting to shake, scorns her for her inconvenient timing in abandoning him "with four hungry children and a crop in the field," leaving him with a "hurtin'" that refuses to heal. After the husband leaves, Lucille and the narrator make their way to a hotel room. The beautiful woman comes to the narrator, but is blindsided by his odd, sudden change of heart. In his mind, he recalls the recurring haunting words of her husband and feels unable to respond to her advances.

Chart performance

Cover versions
  • The band Beat Farmers regularly played this song at their live shows, and a version of it was released on their 1990 live album The Beat Farmers: Loud, Plowed, and...Live.
  • In 1977, Tex Lecor covered this song in French under the same title.
  • A cover version was recorded by Canadian artist Cœur de pirate, for her 2014 fifth-season soundtrack for the Canadian TV show, Trauma.
  • A cover version was recorded by American country music artist Billy Currington on his 2005 Doin' Somethin' Right album.
  • A cover version was recorded by American country music artist Waylon Jennings on his 1977 album Ol' Waylon.
  • A German version, called Musst du jetzt grade gehen, Lucille?, was recorded by Michael Holm on his 1977 album called Poet der Straße.
  • A German version, called John Peel, was recorded by Norwegian singer Wencke Myhre on her 1978 album called Album.
  • South African singer Ray Dylan recorded a cover on his album Goeie Ou Country - Op Aanvraag.[15]
  • The song was recorded in Spanish (as "El Hombre del Norte") by Juan Pardo.
  • Russian poet, singer and composer Yuri Vizbor wrote the song "Lucy" to the music of Kenny Rogers' "Lucille" at 1981
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References
  1. Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. pp. 360–361. ISBN 0-89820-177-2.
  2. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 537.
  3. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 340. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  4. "Kenny Rogers | Artist". Official Charts. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
  5. "Kenny Rogers Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  6. "Kenny Rogers Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  7. Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 203.
  8. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  9. "Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-02. Retrieved 2017-05-07.
  10. "Top 200 Singles of '77 – Volume 28, No. 14, December 31 1977". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  11. "End of Year Charts 1977". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  12. "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1977". Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  13. Hunter, Nigel; Scaping, Peter, eds. (1978). "Top 100 Singles in 1977". BPI Year Book 1978 (3rd ed.). London, England: The British Phonographic Industry Ltd. pp. 216–17. ISBN 0-906154-01-4.
  14. Musicoutfitters.com
  15. Ray Dylan (2009-03-01). "Ray Dylan, Goeie Ou Country - Op Aanvraag, CDs, Musica A World awaits - 6005298026996". Musica.co.za. Archived from the original on 2013-06-06. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
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