"The Official Historian on Shirley Jean Berrell" is a song recorded by the American country music group The Statler Brothers. The song was released in November 1978 as the third and final single from their album Entertainers... On and Off the Record.
| "The Official Historian on Shirley Jean Berrell" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Statler Brothers | ||||
| from the album Entertainers...On and Off the Record | ||||
| B-side | "The Best That I Can Do"[1] | |||
| Released | November 1978 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 2:15 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) | Jerry Kennedy | |||
| The Statler Brothers singles chronology | ||||
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Content
editWritten by group members Don Reid and Harold Reid, the song is an uptempo recollection on various details in the life of the eponymous Shirley Jean Berrell, a woman whom the narrator knows. At the end of the song, the narrator then reveals the one detail that he does not know about her: "where she is right now".[2]
Critical reception
editCashbox published a positive review of the song, which stated that "This song...is tailor made for the group. The foursome lightheartedly carry a listener down memory lane again and their vocal harmonizing never sounded better."[3]
Chart performance
edit| Chart (1978-1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[4] | 5 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks[5] | 7 |
References
edit- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2017). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2017. Record Research, Inc. pp. 343–344. ISBN 978-0-89820-229-8.
- ^ Ronda Rich (September 13, 2017). "Storytelling songs". Scott County Times. pp. 10A. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
- ^ "Reviews" (PDF). Cashbox: 38. November 18, 1978.
- ^ "The Statler Brothers Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "RPM Country 75 Singles". RPM. 30 (18). January 27, 1979.
