We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds
Encyclopedia
"We Must Have Been Out Of Our Minds" is a song made famous as a duet by country music
singers George Jones
and Melba Montgomery
. Originally released in 1963
, the song became a Top 5 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and a country music standard.
chart in July 1963, and spent 23 weeks in the chart's top 40, one of the longer runs of any country single released during the 1960s.
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...
singers George Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
and Melba Montgomery
Melba Montgomery
Melba Montgomery is an American country music singer. She is best known for duet hit recordings in the 1960s with country music singer George Jones....
. Originally released in 1963
1963 in country music
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1963.-Events:*March — The month marks a dark time for country music, as it lost no less than five people in a seemingly endless string of tragedies.-United States:...
, the song became a Top 5 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and a country music standard.
About the song
Duets, featuring the voices of two top stars that usually perform as solo acts, have been a staple of country music since its beginnings, the pairings meeting with varying levels of success. The song "We Must Have Been Out Of Our Minds" paired, in the opinion of genre historian Bill Malone, "two top-flight, hard country singers." It also was "made distinctive by the interplay between the dobro and pedal steel guitar," and became "a modern classic of honky tonk music," continued Malone.Chart success
"We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds" was Montogmery's first national hit, and the most successful recording from the Jones-Montgomery duet pairing. The song reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Country SinglesHot 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...
chart in July 1963, and spent 23 weeks in the chart's top 40, one of the longer runs of any country single released during the 1960s.
The futures of Jones and Montgomery
The future fortunes of Jones and Montgomery would be markedly different:- Jones — already a successful performer in country music with three No. 1 songs and 13 additional Top 10 hits in his nearly three dozen singles charted on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart — went on to enjoy greater success during the next 40-plus years. Jones' career included several duet pairings, the most successful being with Tammy WynetteTammy WynetteVirginia Wynette Pugh, known professionally as Tammy Wynette , was an American country music singer-songwriter and one of the genre's best-known artists and biggest-selling female vocalists....
(to whom he was married from 1969 to 1975).
- Montgomery would continue charting through the late 1970s, including several duets with Jones, Gene PitneyGene PitneyEugene Francis Alan Pitney, known as Gene Pitney , was an American singer-songwriter, musician and sound engineer. Through the mid-1960s, he enjoyed success as a recording artist on both sides of the Atlantic and was among the group of early 1960s American acts who continued to enjoy hits after the...
and Charlie LouvinCharlie LouvinCharles Elzer Loudermilk , known professionally as Charlie Louvin, was an American country music singer and songwriter. He is best known as one of the Louvin Brothers, and was a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1955.-Biography:Born in Henagar, Alabama, Louvin was one of 7 children...
. However, just one song — 1974's "No ChargeNo Charge"No Charge" is a country music song, written by songwriter Harlan Howard, and made famous by country singer Melba Montgomery in 1974.-About the song:...
," an ode to motherhood — would be a major success; that song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart that May.
Chart performance
| Chart (1963) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 3 |