April 22, 2022 —– Chart #140
Hello Music Friends,
Welcome to the 140th edition of Chart of the Week. SongChart is now on FaceBook! CLICK HERE to like our page. I imagine every person who sees this edition will have heard and sung this song probably countless times. Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain was written by songwriter Fred Rose. Originally performed by Roy Acuff, the song has been covered by many artists, including Hank Williams Sr., Johnny Russell, and Charley Pride. Most notably, the song was recorded by Willie Nelson as part of his 1975 album Red Headed Stranger. Both the song and album became iconic in country music history, and revived Nelson’s success as a singer and recording artist.
The song was originally recorded in 1947 by Acuff and by Hank Williams in 1951 for the Mother’s Best Flour Hour. Other early remakes of the song were made by Donn Reynolds (MGM single – June 1957), Ferlin Husky (album Ferlin’s Favorites – November 1959), Slim Whitman (album Country Favorites – 1959), Gene Vincent (recorded October 15, 1958/ album Crazy Times! -1960), Bill Anderson (album …Sings Country Heart Songs – January 15, 1962), John D. Loudermilk (album Country Love Songs Plain and Simply Sung – August 1968), Hank Snow (album Greatest Hits) and Conway Twitty (album Hello Darlin’ – June 1970).
The version by Willie Nelson, recorded for his 1975 concept album Red Headed Stranger, which was about a fugitive preacher on the run from the law after killing his wife, was lauded by country music historian Bill Malone as “a fine example of clean, uncluttered country music, [with] a spare arrangement that could have come straight out of the 1940s.” Rolling Stone noted the song was delivered with his “jazz-style phrasing” and was “the beating heart of Red Headed Stranger.”
Before the success of “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” Nelson had enjoyed widespread success primarily as a songwriter, with such songs as “Crazy” (Patsy Cline) and “Hello Walls” (Faron Young). As a performer, meanwhile, Nelson had hit the top 10 of the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart just twice; it had happened in 1962, once as a solo artist (“Touch Me”) and again as part of a duet with Shirley Collie (“Willingly”). Thereafter, Nelson had approached the top 20 on occasion, but went 13 years without a top 10 hit.
In October 1975, the song became Nelson’s first No. 1 hit as a singer, and at year’s end, was the third-biggest song of 1975 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. In addition, the song gained modest airplay on Top 40 radio, reaching No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” No. 302 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Rolling Stone also ranked “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” No. 48 on its list of the 100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time in June 2004.
Hank Williams: https://youtu.be/6HIKKunL9DY
Olivia Newton-John? https://youtu.be/S1c3L3no-O0
Thank Ya Very Much – Elvis Presley: https://youtu.be/wvh2t8RIsTo
Keep rockin my friends,
Stan