Abilene (song)

"Abilene"
Single by George Hamilton IV
from the album Abilene
B-side	"Oh So Many Years"[1]
Released	May 1963
Genre	Country
Label	RCA
Writer(s)	Bob Gibson John D. Loudermilk
Producer(s)	Chet Atkins
George Hamilton IV singles chronology
"In This Very Same Room" (1963) "Abilene" (1963) "There's More Pretty Girls Than One" (1963)

Abilene is a song written by Bob Gibson, Albert Stanton, Lester Brown and John D. Loudermilk,^[2] and recorded by American country music artist George Hamilton IV. The song reached number one on the U.S. country music chart for four weeks, and peaked at number 15 on the pop music charts. George Hamilton IV performed "Abilene" in the 1963 movie Hootenanny Hoot.

Background and writing

Bob Gibson was inspired to write the song after watching the Randolph Scott film, Abilene Town. The setting for the film is Abilene, Kansas, the railhead town at the end of the Chisholm Trail. Gibson said the song had often been erroneously thought to be about Abilene, Texas, named for the Kansas cowtown that had been established 24 years earlier but a much larger city.

Chart performance

Chart (1963)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [3]	15
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening	4

References

1. Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. ISBN 0-89820-177-2.
2. "Abilene," BMI Repertoire website
3. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 273.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics