"Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" is a song written by Mel Tillis about a paralyzed veteran who lies helplessly as his wife "paints up" to go out for the evening without him; he believes that she is going in search of a lover. As he hears the door slam behind her, he claims that he would murder her if he could move to get his gun, and pleads for her to reconsider. A line in the song about a "crazy Asian war" and the time of the song's release led to the assumption that the song was about a veteran of the Vietnam War, though this was never stated in the lyrics. However, Tillis stated that the song was about a veteran of World War II.[3]
| "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Johnny Darrell | ||||
| from the album Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town | ||||
| B-side | "The Little Things I Love"[1] | |||
| Released | 1967 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 2:16 | |||
| Label | United Artists | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Mel Tillis | |||
| Producer(s) | Bob Montgomery[2] | |||
| Johnny Darrell singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Official audio | ||||
| "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" on YouTube | ||||
"Ruby" was first recorded by Waylon Jennings in 1966. Johnny Darrell reached number nine on the country charts with the song in 1967,[1] and Kenny Rogers and the First Edition released it in 1969.
The First Edition version
edit| "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover of the 1969 single | ||||
| Single by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition | ||||
| from the album Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town | ||||
| B-side | "Girl Get Ahold Of Yourself" | |||
| Released | 1969 | |||
| Recorded | June 1968 [4] | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 2:57 | |||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Mel Tillis | |||
| Producer(s) | Jimmy Bowen[5] | |||
| Kenny Rogers and the First Edition singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Official audio | ||||
| "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" on YouTube | ||||
Kenny Rogers and the First Edition enjoyed success with the hits "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" and "But You Know I Love You," and Rogers wanted to take his group more into a country music direction in 1969. They recorded their version of the song in a single take in June 1968, with Kenny Rogers singing the lead. The record became an international hit for them in 1969, reaching number two in the UK Singles Chart and staying in the top ten for 12 weeks. In the United States, it reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 39 on the country chart.[6]
In 1977, Rogers was performing solo after the First Edition disbanded in early 1976. He made re-recordings of this and a number of other First Edition hits for his greatest hits package Ten Years of Gold. It was later issued in the UK as The Kenny Rogers Singles Album. Ten Years of Gold topped the US country charts under that title, and it was just as successful in the United Kingdom.
Chart performance
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Weekly chartsedit
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Year-end chartsedit
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Answer songs
editGeraldine Stevens released an answer song entitled "Billy, I've Got to Go to Town" in 1969. She had previously recorded successfully under the name Dodie Stevens. It is sung to the same melody with an arrangement quite similar to the First Edition version. "Billy" peaked at number 117 pop, number 57 country. It reached number 83 in Canada.[13] In Stevens's song, Ruby affirms her love for her disabled husband. She pleads in turn for her man to have faith in her fidelity and her commitment to him even in his paralyzed condition.
In 1972, Bobby Womack released the album Understanding, which included the song "Ruby Dean." The lyrics and melody are similar to "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" but the story is told from the perspective of Ruby's son. The son urges his mother to respect his father and to stop seeing other men.
Video
editA "social commentary" video consisting solely of a camera panning back and forth in a bedroom while the First Edition recording of the song played was shown at the end of a Huntley-Brinkley Report during 1969. Chet Huntley set up the video by linking it to the controversial Vietnam War and the sacrifices made by U.S. servicemen and their families. Chet Huntley and David Brinkley paused after the video and then signed off in their usual fashion.[14][15]
References
edit- ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
- ^ "Johnny Darrell - Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town / The Little Things I Love - United Artists - USA - UA 50126". 45cat. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
- ^ "Behind The Song". americansongwriter.com. 21 March 2020.
- ^ Praguefrank
- ^ "Kenny Rogers And the First Edition* - Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town (Vinyl)". Discogs.com. 1969. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
- ^ Whitburn,p. 360
- ^ "Go-Set Australian charts - 13 September 1969". Poparchives.com.au.
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100 8/30/69". Tropicalglen.com.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2017-11-30.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Top 100 1969 - UK Music Charts". Uk-charts.top-source.info.
- ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1969/Top 100 Songs of 1969". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
- ^ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1969". Tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on 2019-01-25. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
- ^ Canada, Library and Archives (July 17, 2013). "Image : RPM Weekly". Bac-lac.gc.ca.
- ^ Lieutenant Colonel Marc D. Felman. "School of Advanced Airpower Studies : The Military/Media Clash and the New Principle of War : Media Spin" (PDF). Au.af.mil. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
- ^ "» The Rise and Fall of Kenny Rogers". July 25, 2013. Archived from the original on July 25, 2013.
