I'm Just a Country Boy

"I'm Just a Country Boy" is a song written by Fred Hellerman and Marshall Baker. In 1954, the song was recorded by Harry Belafonte accompanied by Hugo Winterhalter And His Orchestra (RCA Victor) and released on 78 rpm and 45 rpm record. It was the B-side of the record, "Hold 'Em Joe" (Calypso) being the A-side. The print on the record informs us that the song was written by Fred Brooks and Marshall Barer, noting that Fred Brooks was a pseudonym for Fred Hellerman (of The Weavers fame) who was blacklisted in the McCarthy era for his socialist ideals.

Cover Versions

In 1962 Steve Camacho released the song on the album "Folk and other songs" with the title "Turtle Dove".^[1]
In 1967, Julie Felix' version "I'm Just A Country Girl" appeared on EP "Songs from the Frost Report, Part 2" (Fontana). Also in this case Fred Brooks and Marshall Barer were identified as the creators of the song.
Richard Manuel of The Band recorded the song in 1985. It was one of his last recordings before his death, and was released posthumously as "Country Boy" on The Band's 1993 album Jericho.^[2]
American country music artist Don Williams released his version in July 1977 as the first single from the album Country Boy. "I'm Just a Country Boy" was Don Williams' seventh number one on the country chart. The single stayed at number one for one week and spent a total of eleven weeks on the country chart.^[3]
In 2008, the song was included in Alison Krauss' CD A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection (Decca) as "You're Just a Country Boy". In the booklet that comes with the CD, Fred Hellerman and Marshall Barer are given the credits for the song. The text of the booklet indicates unawareness of recorded versions before Don Williams'.
Other known versions are: George McCurn - March 16^[4] 1963, Sam Cooke - 1964, Jim Ed Brown - 1965, Ronnie Laine - 1974; Jimmie Rodgers; Jim Croce (demo); Jimmy Witherspoon; Roger Whittaker; David Ball; John Holt; The Brothers Four; Bobby Vinton.

Chart performance

Chart (1977)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1
U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100	10
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1

Footnotes

↑ http://www.folkways.si.edu/steve-camacho/turtle-dove/american-folk/music/track/smithsonian
↑ Helm 2000, pp. 307
↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 386.
↑ march 16th, Vancouver CFUN radio

References

This Wheel's on Fire – Levon Helm and the Story of The Band by Levon Helm with Stephen Davis (ISBN 1-55652-405-6)

Preceded by "Heaven's Just a Sin Away" by The Kendalls	Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single November 5, 1977	Succeeded by "More to Me" by Charley Pride
Preceded by "The Morning After Baby Let Me Down" by Carroll Baker	RPM Country Tracks number-one single November 12, 1977	Succeeded by "We Can't Go On Living Like This" by Eddie Rabbitt

Don Williams

Studio albums	Don Williams Vol. 3 Harmony Especially for You Cafe Carolina And So It Goes

Singles	"I Wouldn't Want to Live If You Didn't Love Me" "The Ties That Bind" "You're My Best Friend" "(Turn Out the Light And) Love Me Tonight" "'Til the Rivers All Run Dry" "Say It Again" "I Recall a Gypsy Woman" "She Never Knew Me" "Some Broken Hearts Never Mend" "I'm Just a Country Boy" "I've Got a Winner in You" "Rake and Ramblin' Man" "Tulsa Time" "Lay Down Beside Me" "It Must Be Love" "Love Me Over Again" "Good Ole Boys Like Me" "I Believe In You" "Falling Again" "Miracles" "If I Needed You" (with Emmylou Harris) "Lord, I Hope This Day Is Good" "Listen to the Radio" "Mistakes" "If Hollywood Don't Need You (Honey I Still Do)" "Love Is on a Roll" "Nobody but You" "Stay Young" "That's the Thing About Love" "Maggie's Dream" "Walkin' a Broken Heart" "It's Time for Love" "We've Got a Good Fire Goin''" "Heartbeat in the Darkness" "Then It's Love" "Señorita" "I'll Never Be in Love Again" "I Wouldn't Be a Man" "Another Place, Another Time" "Desperately" "Old Coyote Town" "One Good Well" "I've Been Loved by the Best" "Just as Long as I Have You" "Maybe That's All It Takes" "Back in My Younger Days" "True Love" "Lord Have Mercy on a Country Boy"

Related articles	Discography ABC Records Dot Records MCA Records Capitol Records RCA Records "Amanda"

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, April 02, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.