"Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line" is a song written by Jimmy Bryant. Originally recorded by American country music singer Jim Alley,[3] it was made famous by American country music singer and musician Waylon Jennings.
| "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Waylon Jennings | ||||
| from the album Only the Greatest | ||||
| B-side | "Right Before My Eyes"[1] | |||
| Released | July 13, 1968 | |||
| Recorded | April 16, 1968 | |||
| Studio | RCA Studio B (Nashville, Tennessee)[2] | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 2:23 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor #9561 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Jimmy Bryant | |||
| Producer(s) | Chet Atkins | |||
| Waylon Jennings singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Waylon Jennings version
editJennings recorded the song on April 16, 1968, at RCA Victor Studios in Nashville, with Chet Atkins producing, with Wayne Moss playing the guitar solo.[4] It was released in July 1968 as the second single from Jennings' album Only the Greatest.[5]
Billboard, in a review of the album, said that it and "Walk On Out of My Mind" were "typical of the robust, compelling vocal style."[6] Nathan Brackett and Christian Hoard, in The New Rolling Stone Album Guide, wrote that Jennings began to "really assert his rough-hewn sensibility" on the song.[7]
The song was featured in season seven episode five of Mad Men, and was played briefly in the film Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
Chart positions
editThe song spent eighteen weeks on the Hot Country Singles charts, peaking at #2 and holding that peak for five weeks.[1] In Canada, it reached Number One on the RPM Country Tracks charts for the week ending September 30, 1968.[8]
| Chart (1968) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[9] | 2 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |
Linda Ronstadt version
editLinda Ronstadt included a gender-reversed version of the song (sung as "The Only Mama That'll Walk the Line") on her 1969 album Hand Sown ... Home Grown; The song became a staple of Ronstadt's set lists at her concerts during the late 1960s and early '70s. She performed it on The Johnny Cash Show in June 1969, nearly a year before Jennings performed it on the same show.
Hank Williams Jr. version
editHank Williams Jr. included a version of the song on his album Family Tradition, which was released in 1979.
The Kentucky Headhunters version
edit| "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Kentucky Headhunters | ||||
| from the album Electric Barnyard | ||||
| B-side | "Walk Softly on This Heart of Mine"[10] | |||
| Released | 1991 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 3:10 | |||
| Label | Mercury #866134 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Jimmy Bryant | |||
| Producer(s) | The Kentucky Headhunters | |||
| The Kentucky Headhunters singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
In 1991, The Kentucky Headhunters recorded a cover version for the album Electric Barnyard. Also released as a single that year, this version spent seven weeks on the same chart and peaked at #60.
Chart positions
edit| Chart (1991) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[11] | 60 |
References
edit- ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 207. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
- ^ "Nashville Cat: Wayne Moss". Country Music Hall of Fame. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2005). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2005. Record Research, Inc. p. 23. ISBN 0-89820-165-9.
- ^ Nashville Rebel (liner notes). Waylon Jennings. New York, New York: Sony BMG Music Entertainment/Legacy Recordings. 2006. pp. 132–139. 82876 89640 2.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Jurek, Thom. "Only the Greatest". Allmusic. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- ^ "Album reviews". Billboard. 20 July 1968. p. 73.
- ^ Bracket, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. p. 428. ISBN 0743201698. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
only daddy that'll walk the line.
- ^ "RPM Country Tracks for September 30, 1968". RPM. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- ^ "Waylon Jennings Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ Whitburn, p. 223
- ^ "The Kentucky Headhunters Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.