Crazy Arms
Encyclopedia
"Crazy Arms" is an American country
song recorded by Ray Price
. The song, released in May 1956, went on to become a hit that year and a honky-tonk standard. It was Price's first number one hit. The song was written by Ralph Mooney and Charles Seals. Mooney, a pedal steel player on many recordings and for Waylon Jennings
and Wynn Stewart
for over 20 years, said he got the idea for the song after his wife left him because of his drinking problem.
music in the genre. Country music historian Bill Malone noted that the genre's producers and promoters were frantically searching for a style to reach America's youth.
The up-and-coming Price, who already had several successful recordings by 1956, used "Crazy Arms" to not only establish himself as a star but to introduce fans to his Texas shuffle sound: fiddle, pedal steel guitar, walking electric bass and swinging 4/4 rhythm
. Those hallmarks became part of many of Price's biggest hits throughout the mid-to-late 1950s and early 1960s, before Price began experimenting with strings and more pop-oriented styles
. But "Crazy Arms" was not in fact anything close to an attempt to nab the youth market. If anything it was a gesture of defiance, an unabashedly traditional country ballad that made no apologies. Even when Jerry Lee Lewis
recorded the song for Sun Records, his rendition made no attempt to add any rockabilly
overtones.
(jukebox, best sellers and radio airplay) in June 1956, and has been credited with spending 20 weeks atop the chart; just three other songs spent longer at No. 1. In addition, Billboard named the song its No. 1 country single of 1956 in its year-end issue.
, Chuck Berry
, Gram Parsons
, Patsy Cline
, Trini Lopez
, Mickey Gilley
, Great Speckled Bird
, Jerry Lee Lewis
, Willie Nelson
, Patty Loveless
, and Jerry Garcia Band
. In addition, Price had a cameo role on a version recorded by Barbara Mandrell
, on her 1990 album Morning Sun. Karen Chandler
and Jimmy Wakely
directly covered the Price version in 1956. In 2000 Van Morrison
and Linda Gail Lewis
performed the song on their 2000 album You Win Again
. Linda Ronstadt
recorded a cover for her album Linda Ronstadt
(1971). Marty Stuart
recorded an instrumental version with Mooney on his 2010 album Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions
.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
song recorded by Ray Price
Ray Price (musician)
Ray Price is an American country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. His wide-ranging baritone has often been praised as among the best male voices of country music...
. The song, released in May 1956, went on to become a hit that year and a honky-tonk standard. It was Price's first number one hit. The song was written by Ralph Mooney and Charles Seals. Mooney, a pedal steel player on many recordings and for Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
and Wynn Stewart
Wynn Stewart
Winford Lindsey Stewart , better known as Wynn Stewart, was an American country music performer. He was one of the progenitors of the Bakersfield sound...
for over 20 years, said he got the idea for the song after his wife left him because of his drinking problem.
Background
"Crazy Arms," in many ways, was country music's answer to the growing influence of rock and rollRock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
music in the genre. Country music historian Bill Malone noted that the genre's producers and promoters were frantically searching for a style to reach America's youth.
The up-and-coming Price, who already had several successful recordings by 1956, used "Crazy Arms" to not only establish himself as a star but to introduce fans to his Texas shuffle sound: fiddle, pedal steel guitar, walking electric bass and swinging 4/4 rhythm
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
. Those hallmarks became part of many of Price's biggest hits throughout the mid-to-late 1950s and early 1960s, before Price began experimenting with strings and more pop-oriented styles
Nashville sound
The Nashville sound originated during the late 1950s as a sub-genre of American country music, replacing the chart dominance of honky tonk music which was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s...
. But "Crazy Arms" was not in fact anything close to an attempt to nab the youth market. If anything it was a gesture of defiance, an unabashedly traditional country ballad that made no apologies. Even when Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
recorded the song for Sun Records, his rendition made no attempt to add any rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
overtones.
Chart performance
"Crazy Arms" reached No. 1 of each of the Billboard magazine country music chartsHot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
(jukebox, best sellers and radio airplay) in June 1956, and has been credited with spending 20 weeks atop the chart; just three other songs spent longer at No. 1. In addition, Billboard named the song its No. 1 country single of 1956 in its year-end issue.
Cover versions
"Crazy Arms" has been covered many times by performers both in country music and other genres. Some of the more notable names include Bing CrosbyBing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
, Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...
, Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...
, Trini Lopez
Trini Lopez
Trini Lopez is an American singer, guitarist and actor.-Career:Lopez was born in Dallas, Texas, on Ashland Street in the Little Mexico neighborhood. He began his entertainment career in Dallas playing at the Vegas Club, a nightclub owned by Jack Ruby...
, Mickey Gilley
Mickey Gilley
Mickey Leroy Gilley is an American country music singer and musician. Although he started out singing straight-up country and western material in the 1970s, he moved towards a more pop-friendly sound in the 1980s, bringing him further success on not just the country charts, but the pop charts as...
, Great Speckled Bird
Great Speckled Bird (album)
Great Speckled Bird is a country rock album by Great Speckled Bird, a band formed in 1969 by Canadian musicians Ian and Sylvia Tyson. The other group members at the time of recording were Buddy Cage, on pedal steel guitar, Amos Garrett, on guitar and backup vocals, and N.D. Smart, on drums...
, Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
, Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
, Patty Loveless
Patty Loveless
Patty Loveless , is an American country music singer.Since her emergence on the country music scene in late 1986 with her first album, Loveless has been one of the most popular female singers of the Neotraditional country movement, although she has also recorded albums in the Country pop and...
, and Jerry Garcia Band
Jerry Garcia Band
The Jerry Garcia Band was a San Francisco Bay Area rock band led by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. Garcia founded the band in 1975; it remained the most important of his various side-projects until his death in 1995...
. In addition, Price had a cameo role on a version recorded by Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Ann Mandrell is an American country music singer best known for a 1970s–1980s series of Top 10 hits and TV shows that helped her become one of country's most successful female vocalists of the 1970s and 1980s...
, on her 1990 album Morning Sun. Karen Chandler
Karen Chandler
Eva Nadauld , known professionally as Karen Chandler, was an American singer of popular music during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, best known for her 1952 hit, "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me".-Biography:...
and Jimmy Wakely
Jimmy Wakely
James Clarence Wakeley , better known as Jimmy Wakely, was an American country-Western singer and actor, one of the last crooning cowpokes following World War II...
directly covered the Price version in 1956. In 2000 Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
and Linda Gail Lewis
Linda Gail Lewis
Linda Gail Lewis is an American singer and pianist. She is the sister of Jerry Lee Lewis.She plays piano and has recorded with Stephen Ackles, Van Morrison, and with her brother. She also has recorded with her two daughtersMaryJean Ferguson, and Annie Marie Dolan in a group called The Lewis 3...
performed the song on their 2000 album You Win Again
You Win Again (album)
You Win Again is the twenty-eighth album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, and Linda Gail Lewis, released in 2000...
. Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
recorded a cover for her album Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt (album)
Linda Ronstadt is the third solo album by Linda Ronstadt, released in 1971 on the Capitol Records label. The album peaked at #163 on Billboard's album chart and is considered to be a front-runner in the country rock music genre.-History:...
(1971). Marty Stuart
Marty Stuart
John Martin "Marty" Stuart is an American country music singer-songwriter, known for both his traditional style, and eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music...
recorded an instrumental version with Mooney on his 2010 album Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions
Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions
Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions is the sixteenth studio album of country music singer Marty Stuart. The album was long-awaited by fans of Stuart, as most of the songs had already featured on The Marty Stuart Show, Stuart's country/bluegrass show on RFD-TV...
.
See also
- Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs 1944-2005 - 6th Edition." 2006.
- Whitburn, Joel, "Top Pop Singles: 1955-2006," 2007.