Soldier's Last Letter
Soldier's Last Letter was a country music song written by Redd Stewart and Ernest Tubb and recorded by Ernest Tubb. It was released in the United States in 1944.[1]
Background and content
In 1941, following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Redd was drafted into the U.S. Army and sent to the South Pacific. While stationed there with the rank of sergeant, Redd wrote "A Soldier's Last Letter”, which Ernest Tubb worked on and recorded in 1944, making it a No.1 hit staying at the top for four weeks out of a seven month stay on the Country charts,[2] and crossing over to the Pop chart Top 20. The B-side of the Ernest Tubb recording of "Soldiers Last Letter" a song entitled, "Yesterday's Tears" peaked at number four on the Juke Box Folk chart.
Merle Haggard version
| "Soldier's Last Letter" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Merle Haggard | ||||
| from the album Hag | ||||
| B-side | "Farmer's Daughter" | |||
| Released | January 27, 1971 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Writer(s) |
Redd Stewart Ernest Tubb | |||
| Producer(s) | Ken Nelson | |||
| Merle Haggard singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Merle Haggard later had a hit single with the song in 1970. His version reached number three on the U.S. country chart and number four on the Canadian country chart. It also peaked at number ninety on the Hot 100.
Chart performance (Merle Haggard)
| Chart (1971) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 90 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 4 |
Notes
- ↑ Redd Stewart
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 354.
External links
| Preceded by "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby" by Louis Jordan |
Most Played Juke Box Folk Records number one single by Ernest Tubb September 2, 1944 - September 16, 1944 (four weeks) |
Succeeded by "Smoke on the Water" by Red Foley |