"My Maria" is a song co-written by B. W. Stevenson and Daniel Moore

Daniel Moore (Musician)

Daniel Moore is an American musician, singer and songwriter.He co-wrote the song "My Maria" with B. W. Stevenson. Recorded by the latter, the song was a pop hit in 1973. Moore also wrote the song "Shambala", a song which was a hit for both B. W. Stevenson and Three Dog Night that same year...

. Stevenson released "My Maria" as a single in August 1973, and the song became a Top 10 hit, peaking at #9 on the US pop chart

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

. It remained in the Top 40 for twelve weeks. In addition, "My Maria" spent one week at #1 on the US adult contemporary chart

Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks

The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...

. The guitar portion of the track was played by Larry Carlton

Larry Carlton

Larry Carlton is an American jazz, smooth jazz, jazz fusion, pop, and rock guitarist and singer. He has divided his recording time between solo recordings and session appearances with various well-known bands...

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Content

A gypsy woman liberates a square man's soul, chasing away the blues that won't let the rambler alone. The man has moral vision problems but Maria cures those as well.

Chart positions

Chart (1973)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard East Listening Singles	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	9
Canada RPM Top Singles	7
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks	1

Brooks & Dunn version

When country

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...

 duo Brooks & Dunn

Brooks & Dunn

Brooks & Dunn was an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, who were both vocalists and songwriters. They were paired by record producer Tim DuBois in 1990. Before the duo's foundation, both members of the duo were solo recording artists...

 released a cover version

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 of "My Maria" in 1996, the song reached #1 on the US country chart

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...

. Their version of the song appears on their album Borderline

Borderline (Brooks & Dunn album)

Borderline is the fourth studio album by country music duo Brooks & Dunn. Released in 1996 on Arista Records, the album produced five singles on the Hot Country Songs charts for the duo: the Number One hit "My Maria" Borderline (1996) is the fourth studio album by country music duo Brooks & Dunn....

, released in 1996 on Arista Records

Arista Records

Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...

. In addition, their version was the number one country song of the year 1996 according to Billboard, and won the duo its second Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Vocal Group or Duo. The song's b-side, "Mama Don't Get Dressed Up for Nothing," would later be released as the album's third single.

In addition, this song was performed as their last performance as a duo at the 2010 ACM Awards

Academy of Country Music

The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the...

 on April 18th, 2010.

Chart positions

"My Maria" debuted at #30 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of April 6, 1996.

Chart (1996)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	79
Canada RPM Country Tracks	1

Gear Daddies version

Gear Daddies

Gear Daddies

The Gear Daddies are a band from Austin, Minnesota that enjoyed moderate success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Its members were Randy Broughten , Nick Ciola , Billy Dankert , and Martin Zellar...

 released a version of the song on their 1992 album Can't Have Nothin' Nice

Can't Have Nothin' Nice

Can't Have Nothin' Nice is the third and final album recorded by Austin, Minnesota band the Gear Daddies. It is a collection of new and live versions of previously released songs as well as new songs that had never been released on an album...

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