"I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in October 1968 as the only single from his album Pride in What I Am. The song peaked at number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.[1] It reached number-one on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks in January 1969. The song was covered by Dean Martin and released as a single in mid-1969. A tape recorder version of this song was played at the funeral of late Lynyrd Skynyrd vocalist, Ronnie Van Zant.
| "I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Merle Haggard and The Strangers | ||||
| from the album Pride in What I Am | ||||
| B-side | "Keep Me from Crying Today" | |||
| Released | October 14, 1968 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 2:47 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Merle Haggard | |||
| Producer(s) | Ken Nelson | |||
| Merle Haggard and The Strangers singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Personnel
edit- Merle Haggard– vocals, guitar
- Roy Nichols – guitar, harmonica
- Norman Hamlet – steel guitar
- George French – piano
- Jerry Ward – bass
- Eddie Burris – drums
Chart performance
edit- Merle Haggard
| Chart (1968–1969) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[2] | 3 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |
- Dean Martin
| Chart (1969) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100[3] | 75 |
| US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[4] | 15 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 62 |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary | 3 |
- Jerry Butler
| Chart (1969) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 86 |
References
edit- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 146.
- ^ "Merle Haggard Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "Dean Martin Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ "Dean Martin Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
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