The Pill (song)
Encyclopedia
"The Pill" is a 1975 country music
song recorded by Loretta Lynn
. It is one of her best known songs as well as the most controversial record of her career
Despite having the same name and similar themes, it is not related to "The Pill," written by Scottish folk musician Matt McGinn
and performed in the United States by Pete Seeger
.
. The song tells a story of a wife who is upset about her husband getting her pregnant year after year, but is now happy because she can control her own reproductive choices because she has "the pill" (which had been introduced in 1960). The song, like many of Lynn's other hits suggested her personal life (she'd had six children, four of whom were born before she had turned 19).
The song's frank discussion of birth control, something that was considered risqué subject matter at the time, especially in country music, led to a number of country radio stations refusing to play it. The song received much publicity and airplay on the stations that would air it but its ban from a number of radio stations caused the record to stall at number five on the charts at a time when a Loretta Lynn record was almost guaranteed to be a top three hit, often a number one record. Nevertheless it earned her more press and attention outside the country market than anything she had ever recorded before and ultimately became her highest-charting pop single, peaking at #70 on the Hot 100.
Recorded in 1972 and held back by her label, the song was finally released in mid-1975, the song was Lynn's first single that year she released as a solo artist, after having a major duet hit with Conway Twitty
earlier that year. The single was released on her 1975, Back to Country and was the only single released from the album.
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 Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn is an American country music singer-songwriter, author and philanthropist. Born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky to a coal miner father, Lynn married at 13 years old, was a mother soon after, and moved to Washington with her husband, Oliver Lynn. Their marriage was sometimes tumultuous; he...
. It is one of her best known songs as well as the most controversial record of her career
Despite having the same name and similar themes, it is not related to "The Pill," written by Scottish folk musician Matt McGinn
Matt McGinn
Matt McGinn was a Scottish folk singer-songwriter and poet.Matthew McGinn was born in Ross Street at the corner of the Gallowgate in Calton, Glasgow in 1928, one of a family of nine. At the age of 12 he was sent to an approved school for two years...
and performed in the United States by Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
.
About the song
"The Pill", written by Lorene Allen, Don McHan, and T. D. Bayless, is a comic-tinged song about birth controlBirth control
Birth control is an umbrella term for several techniques and methods used to prevent fertilization or to interrupt pregnancy at various stages. Birth control techniques and methods include contraception , contragestion and abortion...
. The song tells a story of a wife who is upset about her husband getting her pregnant year after year, but is now happy because she can control her own reproductive choices because she has "the pill" (which had been introduced in 1960). The song, like many of Lynn's other hits suggested her personal life (she'd had six children, four of whom were born before she had turned 19).
The song's frank discussion of birth control, something that was considered risqué subject matter at the time, especially in country music, led to a number of country radio stations refusing to play it. The song received much publicity and airplay on the stations that would air it but its ban from a number of radio stations caused the record to stall at number five on the charts at a time when a Loretta Lynn record was almost guaranteed to be a top three hit, often a number one record. Nevertheless it earned her more press and attention outside the country market than anything she had ever recorded before and ultimately became her highest-charting pop single, peaking at #70 on the Hot 100.
Recorded in 1972 and held back by her label, the song was finally released in mid-1975, the song was Lynn's first single that year she released as a solo artist, after having a major duet hit with Conway Twitty
Conway Twitty
Conway Twitty , born Harold Lloyd Jenkins, was an American country music artist. He also had success in early rock and roll, R&B, and pop music. He held the record for the most number one singles of any act with 55 No. 1 Billboard country hits until George Strait broke the record in 2006...
earlier that year. The single was released on her 1975, Back to Country and was the only single released from the album.
Influence of song
In an interview for Playgirl Magazine, Lynn recounted how she had been congratulated after the song's success by a number of rural physicians, telling her how "The Pill" had done more to highlight the availability of birth control in isolated, rural areas, than all the literature they'd released.Chart performance
| Chart (1975) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 5 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 70 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 49 |