"I Wouldn't Be a Man" is the title of a song written by Mike Reid and Rory Michael Bourke

Rory Michael Bourke

Rory Michael Bourke is a country music songwriter born July 14, 1942 in Cleveland, Ohio.Bourke moved to Nashville in 1964 and worked for a period in the promotional department of Mercury Records....

. Originally recorded by Don Williams

Don Williams

Don Williams , is an American country singer, songwriter and a 2010 inductee to the Country Music Hall of Fame. He grew up in Portland, Texas, and graduated in 1958 from Gregory-Portland High School. After seven years with the folk-pop group Pozo-Seco Singers, he began his solo career in 1971,...

, it has also been released as a single by Billy Dean

Billy Dean

William Harold "Billy" Dean, Jr. is an American country music singer and songwriter. Billy Dean first gained national attention after appearing on the television talent competition Star Search...

, and covered by Josh Turner

Josh Turner

Joshua Otis "Josh" Turner is a country music singer and actor signed to MCA Nashville Records in 2003, Turner has released four studio albums for the label. The first of these was 2003's Long Black Train, whose title track was his breakthrough single release...

. Williams's version of the song was a Top Ten country hit in late 1987–early 1988, while versions by Dean and Turner also charted.

Don Williams version

Williams's version of the song appears on his 1987 album Traces for Capitol Records

Capitol Records

Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...

. It was released as a single in October of that year and his version peaked at number nine on the Hot Country Singles (now Hot Country Songs

Hot 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...

) charts published by Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

, and number seven on the Canadian country music charts published by RPM

RPM (magazine)

RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...

.

Chart positions

Chart (1987–1988)	Peak position
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	7

Billy Dean version

Billy Dean

Billy Dean

William Harold "Billy" Dean, Jr. is an American country music singer and songwriter. Billy Dean first gained national attention after appearing on the television talent competition Star Search...

 recorded the song for his 1996 album It's What I Do

It's What I Do

It's What I Do is the title of the fifth studio album released by American country music artist Billy Dean. It was his first album since Men'll Be Boys two years previous. This was also his first release for Capitol Records Nashville, as the Nashville division of Liberty Records had been merged...

, also released through Capitol Records. His version of the song was the third single from it, spending fourteen weeks on the country charts and peaking at number 45 by year's end.

Background

In October 1996, Dean told Billboard magazine that he chose to cut the song because he thought that it was different from the material that he had cut before; he called it a "one-on-one, man-to-woman song". He recorded the vocals in one take. He also said that he had heard Mike Reid, the original co-writer, sing it and it "knocked [him] out". Richard Murray directed the video for Dean's version.

Critical reception

Deborah Evans Price, of Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

magazine reviewed the song favorably, saying that the tune boasts a "romantic lyric and wistful melody." She goes on to call Dean's rendition "bluesier" than Williams' "straight-ahead country cut." She says that while it is impossible to top Williams' original "sensitive rendering", Dean manages to do a "more-than-adequate job" of bringing the song back to life.

Chart positions

"I Wouldn't Be a Man" debuted at number 69 on the U.S. Billboad Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of November 2, 1996.

Chart (1996–1997)	Peak position
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	32

Josh Turner version

In late September 2010, Universal Music Group Nashville

Universal Music Group Nashville

Universal Music Group Nashville is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. Some of the labels in this group include MCA Nashville Records, Mercury Nashville Records, and Lost Highway Records...

 announced that Josh Turner

Josh Turner

Joshua Otis "Josh" Turner is a country music singer and actor signed to MCA Nashville Records in 2003, Turner has released four studio albums for the label. The first of these was 2003's Long Black Train, whose title track was his breakthrough single release...

's version of the song would be the third single from his album Haywire

Haywire (Josh Turner album)

Upon its release, Haywire received generally positive reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 63, based on 5 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".Thom...

. He began filming the music video for it on September 27, 2010, under the direction of Peter Zavadil

Peter Zavadil

Peter Zavadil is a music video director who works primarily in the field of country music. He has directed many music videos since the late 1990s.-Music videos directed:109 music videos are currently listed here.-References:...

. The song debuted at number 56 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart the week of November 13, 2010.

Critical reception

Juli Thanki of The 9513 thought that Turner's rendition of the song sounded like he was "phoning it in". Bobby Peacock of Roughstock rated it 4 stars out of 5, saying that Turner "finds the right balance of emotions". He also thought that it was better than both Williams' and Dean's versions.

Chart positions

> >

Chart (2010-2011)	Peak position