Good Year for the Roses

Last updated
"A Good Year for the Roses"
Single by George Jones
from the album George Jones with Love
B-side "Let a Little Loving Come In"
ReleasedOctober 1970
Format Gramophone record
Genre Country
Length3:12
Label Musicor
Songwriter(s) Jerry Chesnut
Producer(s) Bob Moore
George Jones singles chronology
"Tell Me My Lying Eyes Are Wrong"
(1970)
"A Good Year for the Roses"
(1970)
"Sometimes You Just Can't Win"
(1971)
"Good Year for the Roses"
Single by George Jones and Alan Jackson
from the album The Bradley Barn Sessions
B-side "High-Tech Redneck"
ReleasedNovember 1994
Genre Country
Length3:38
Label MCA Nashville
Songwriter(s) Jerry Chesnut
Producer(s) Brian Ahern
George Jones singles chronology
"Never Bit a Bullet Like This"
(1994)
"Good Year for the Roses"
(1994)
"One"
(1995)
Alan Jackson singles chronology
"Livin' on Love"
(1994)
"Good Year for the Roses"
(1994)
"Gone Country"
(1994)
"A Good Year for the Roses"
Single by George Jones
Released1970
Genre Country
Length3:12
Label Musicor
Songwriter(s) Jerry Chestnut
Producer(s) Pappy Daily
George Jones singles chronology
"Tell Me My Lying Eyes Are Wrong"
(1970)
" A Good Year for the Roses "
(1970)
"Sometimes You Just Can't Win"
(1971)

"A Good Year for the Roses" is a ballad written by Jerry Chesnut and originally recorded by American country singer George Jones. It rose to #2 on the country singles chart in 1970.

George Jones American musician

George Glenn Jones was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best known song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", as well as his distinctive voice and phrasing. For the last twenty years of his life, Jones was frequently referred to as the greatest living country singer. Country music scholar Bill Malone writes, "For the two or three minutes consumed by a song, Jones immerses himself so completely in its lyrics, and in the mood it conveys, that the listener can scarcely avoid becoming similarly involved." Waylon Jennings expressed a similar opinion in his song "It's Alright": "If we all could sound like we wanted to, we'd all sound like George Jones." The shape of his nose and facial features earned Jones the nickname "The Possum".

Contents

Background

"A Good Year for the Roses" describes the thoughts of a man as his wife is preparing to leave him, and is as good an example as any of Jones' ability to deliver an intensely moving vocal, in this case one that conveys both the sadness and profound bitterness that comes with a broken marriage. Although recorded while George was with Musicor, the production is typical of the sound Billy Sherrill would employ when Jones moved to Epic Records the following year. Although supported by a choir of background singers and strings on the chorus, Jones' stunning clenched-teeth vocal is the centerpiece throughout, with Chris Woodstra of AllMusic calling it "one of his all-time greatest performances."[ citation needed ] The lyric, infused by Jones' nuanced delivery, captures the disillusion of the narrator.

Musicor Records was a New York City-based record label, active during the 1960s and 1970s. The label was founded by songwriter Aaron Schroeder and distributed by United Artists Records. In 1965, UA employee and A&R man Art Talmadge started his own Talmadge Productions company and, along with fellow UA employee/A&R man Harold "Pappy" Daily, bought the Musicor label from UA.

Billy Norris Sherrill was an American record producer, songwriter, and arranger best known for his association with country artists, notably Tammy Wynette and George Jones. Sherrill and business partner Glenn Sutton are regarded as the defining influences of the countrypolitan sound, a smooth amalgamation of pop and country music that was popular during the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Sherrill also co-wrote many hit songs, including "Stand by Your Man" and "The Most Beautiful Girl".

Epic Records American record label

Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, Inc., the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was founded predominantly as a jazz and classical music label in 1953, but later expanded its scope to include a more diverse range of genres, including pop, R&B, rock, and hip hop. Epic Records has released music by artists including Glenn Miller, Tammy Wynette, George Michael, The Yardbirds, Donovan, Shakin Stevens, Europe, Cheap Trick, Meat Loaf, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Ted Nugent, Shakira, Sly & the Family Stone, The Hollies, Celine Dion, ABBA, Culture Club, Boston, Dave Clark Five, Gloria Estefan, Pearl Jam, Rage Against the Machine, and Michael Jackson. Along with Arista, Columbia and RCA Records, Epic is one of Sony Music Entertainment's four flagship record labels.

Jones recorded two versions of the song; the second can be heard on the A Good Year for the Roses: The Complete Musicor Recordings 1965-1971. Jones also cut the song with Alan Jackson as a duet in 1994 for the Bradley Barn Sessions , but was disappointed with its reception by country radio, noting in his autobiography, "Alan was white-hot on the radio, and programmers wanted his voice. But some didn't want his if they had to take mine. The vast majority of Alan's other single records have gone to number one. His duet with me was his first not to crack the top 50." [1] It actually peaked at number 57. In June 1995, the song won the Music City News Country Awards "Vocal Collaboration of the Year."[ citation needed ]

Alan Jackson American country singer and songwriter

Alan Eugene Jackson is an American country singer and songwriter. He is known for honoring a “traditional country” musical style, and for penning many of his own songs. Jackson has recorded 16 studio albums, three greatest hits albums, two Christmas albums, and two gospel albums.

Other recordings

Elvis Costello scored a No. 6 hit in the UK Singles Chart with the song in 1981. [2] Berlin-based band Dangerpony with Laura Bruce and Laurent Lavolé made a cover of the song in 2013. Wizex recorded the song in 1982 on the album Nattfjäril , with Kikki Danielsson on lead vocals. [3] Stefan Sundström wrote lyrics in Swedish as Fläder, and the song was recorded as Apache on the album Babyland in 1997. Mona Halldeby wrote other lyrics in Swedish Ännu blommor våra rosor, recorded by among others Stefan Borsch 1982 on the album En liten fågel , and by Lasse Stefanz on the 2010 album Texas . [4] In 2016, Michael Daves released both an acoustic and an electric version of the song on his Orchids and Violence album.

Elvis Costello English singer-songwriter

Declan Patrick MacManus, OBE, better known by his stage name Elvis Costello, is an English pop musician, singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, author, television presenter, and occasional actor.

UK Singles Chart British singles sales chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-selling singles in the United Kingdom, based upon physical sales, paid-for downloads and streaming. The Official Chart, broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and MTV, is the UK music industry's recognised official measure of singles and albums popularity because it is the most comprehensive research panel of its kind, today surveying over 15,000 retailers and digital services daily, capturing 99.9% of all singles consumed in Britain across the week, and over 98% of albums. To be eligible for the chart, a single is currently defined by the Official Charts Company (OCC) as either a 'single bundle' having no more than four tracks and not lasting longer than 25 minutes or one digital audio track not longer than 15 minutes with a minimum sale price of 40 pence. The rules have changed many times as technology has developed, the most notable being the inclusion of digital downloads in 2005 and streaming in July 2014.

Laura Bruce is an American contemporary artist living in Berlin.

Chart performance

George Jones version

Chart (1970–1971)Peak
position
Canada Country Tracks ( RPM ) [5] 4
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles ( Billboard ) [6] 12
US Hot Country Singles ( Billboard )2

Elvis Costello version

Chart (1981–1982)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [7] 34
Belgium (Flanders) [8] 25
Netherlands [9] 11
UK Singles Chart [2] 6

George Jones and Alan Jackson version

Chart (1994)Peak
position
Canada Country Tracks ( RPM ) [10] 65
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [11] 56

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References

  1. Jones, George; Carter, Tom 1995, pp. 330.
  2. 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  3. "Nattfjäril | Svensk mediedatabas". Smdb.kb.sde. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  4. "Texas | Svensk mediedatabas". Smdb.kb.sde. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  5. "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 3738." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. January 16, 1971. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  6. Whitburn, Joel (2005). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs 1944 to 2005. Record Research. p. 195.
  7. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). Sydney: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  8. "Elvis Costello - Good Year For The Roses". Ultratop.be. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  9. Steffen Hung. "Elvis Costello - Good Year For The Roses". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  10. "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 2692." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. December 19, 1994. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  11. "George Jones Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.