75 years ago: Vernon Dalhart’s “The Prisoner’s Song” hit #1 for first of 12 weeks

The Prisoner’s Song Vernon Dalhart

Writer(s): Guy Massey (see lyrics here) Recorded: August 13, 1924 Released: November 1924 First Charted: March 21, 1925 Peak: 112 US, 12 GA (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 7.0 US, 1.0 sheet music, 8.0 (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.16 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “The Prisoner’s Song” is a sad ballad about a prisoner being transferred between jails and pondering his sweetheart and ‘a pillow of stone.’” RCG It was hugely important to the world of country music. As the genre’s first million-seller CM it opened record companies’ eyes to the possibilities of the genre’s marketability. CL By some estimates, the song went on to sell 7 million copies, making it one of the ten best sellers of the first half of the century, the biggest-selling non-holiday record of the pre-1955 era PM and the biggest hit of 1925. WHC The song originally charted in March 1925 and went to the top for 5 weeks. In December it re-charted and hit the pinnacle for another 7 weeks. PM As one of the pioneers of early country music, it is fitting that Dalhart (born Marion Try Slaughter) had actually worked as a cowboy, but it is comical that he first studied and recorded as an opera singer. He’d charted half a dozen top ten hits PM before Victor Records tapped him to record a version of “The Wreck of the Old 97.” Dalhart suggested “The Prisoner’s Song” for the B-side. Dalhart would go on to sing the song for at least twenty-eight record labels under seventy different names. TY There is some debate over the song’s authorship. Dalhart copyrighted the song in Guy Massey’s name, giving Massey 5% of the songwriting royalties and taking the other 95% himself. WK Dalhart heard the song from his cousin Guy Massey, who sang it while staying at Dalhart’s home. However, Guy reportedly heard it from his brother Robert Massey, who may have heard the song while doing time in prison. WK It has even been suggested that Robert F. Taylor carved the lyrics into a county jail cell wall in Blakely, Georgia. WK In any event, the publishers tried to generate interest by saying that the songwriter was a jailbird. RCG Nat Shilkret fought for authorship as well. He was the A&R man over the country division of Victor Records and claimed he had to rewrite the music because what Dalhart brought in was unusuable. WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Vernon Dalhart CL Ace Collins (1996). The Stories Behind Country Music’s All-Time Greatest 100 Songs. New York, NY; The Berkley Publishing Group. Pages 6-7. CM Country Music Hall of Fame Vernon Dalhart entry RCG RimChiGuy.com The Old Songs (1900-1929) TY Don Tyler. (1985). Hit Parade 1920-1955. New York, NY: Quill. Page 33. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Menomonee Falls, WI; Record Research, Inc. Pages 118, 631. WHC Joel Whitburn. (1999). A Century of Pop Music. Menomonee Falls, WI; Record Research, Inc. Page 40. WK Wikipedia First posted 8/12/2011; last updated 8/26/2022.

Eagles released “Take It Easy” as debut single

Take It Easy Eagles

Writer(s): Jackson Browne, Glenn Frey (see lyrics here) Released: May 1, 1972 First Charted: May 19, 1972 Peak: 12 US, 9 CB, 6 GR, 6 HR, 12 AC, 1 CL, 12 UK, 8 CN, 49 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.6 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 4.0 radio, 90.80 video, 627.15 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Glenn Frey and Jackson Browne were friends before either made it as a big name. Frey was performing with J.D. Southern in a duo known as Longbranch Pennywhistle when Browne met him and introduced him to David Geffen, who signed Frey’s next group – the Eagles – to Asylum Records. SS Frey and Browne kept crossing paths at clubs and open-mic nights and even lived in the same Echo Park, California apartment building. WK According to Browne, he was working on the song in the studio when Frey dropped by. Browne shared an unfinished version of “Take It Easy,” playing the beginning of the second verse: “Well, I’m a-standin’ on a corner in Winslow, Arizona,” a line inspired by a road trip he took through Winslow on Route 40. SF Frey completed it with the lines “Such a fine sight to see / It’s a girl, my lord / In a flatbed Ford / Slowin’ down to take a look at me.” WK Browne said, “he finished it in spectacular fashion. And, what’s more, arranged it in a way that was far superior to what I had written.” WK With Frey singing lead, the Eagles recorded the song for their self-titled, debut album. It ended up being the first single. Browne recorded it in 1973 for his sophomore album, For Everyman. Frey said Browne did most of the work and was generous to share the writing credit. SF Meanwhile, Browne said that Frey “arranged it in a way that was far superior to what I had written.” RC The “happy, easy-flowing rocker about hitting the road in search of peace of mind and maybe a little romance” SS was significant in the development of the country-rock movement. “A George Jones fan would probably not considere the record to be anything other than straightahead rock, but there was a noticeable ‘twanginess’ to it that would have surprised the average rock-radio listener.” TB Music historian Dominic Priore called it the “‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ for the next decade.” SS Years later the song would also be significant for its role in reuniting the Eagles. In 1993, some of country music’s biggest names recorded an Eagles’ tribute album called Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles. Travis Tritt tackled “Take It Easy.” When he filmed a video for the song, he persuaded all five members from the Eagles last 1980 lineup to join him. The next year, the Eagles released Hell Freezes Over, a mostly live album which also featured the band’s first new recordings in fourteen years. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Eagles DMDB encyclopedia entry for Jackson Browne DMDB encyclopedia entry for Travis Tritt RC Rod Couch (2015). The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era: 1955-2015. Pages 260-1. SF Songfacts SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Pages 789-90. TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 134. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 7/2/2022; last updated 4/25/2024.