"It's Just a Matter of Time" is a popular song written by Brook Benton, Clyde Otis, and Belford Hendricks. The original recording by Benton topped the Billboard Hot R&B Sides chart in 1959 and peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100 pop chart, the first in a string of hits for Benton that ran through 1970. [1]
The song later found a second life as a country song, with major hit recordings by three different country music performers during the 1970s and 1980s, two of which hit number one. [2] : 35
"It's Just a Matter of Time" | ||||
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Single by Brook Benton | ||||
from the album It's Just a Matter of Time | ||||
B-side | "Hurtin' Inside" [3] | |||
Released | January 1959 | |||
Recorded | 1958 | |||
Studio | Fine Recording, New York City | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:28 | |||
Label | Mercury | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Belford Hendricks | |||
Brook Benton singles chronology | ||||
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Brook Benton, Belford Hendricks and Clyde Otis established themselves as a songwriting team in the late 1950s, penning hits for Nat King Cole ("Looking Back") and Clyde McPhatter ("A Lover's Question"). During one songwriting session, Benton expressed frustration that they were not hitting on any good ideas, to which Otis replied, "It's just a matter of time, Brook". Those words inspired them to write a love song from the point of view of a man who misses his love, but believes she will come back to him. [4]
Benton and Otis placed the song on a demo tape for Cole, and he agreed to record it. However, Otis became an A&R manager at Mercury Records, and signed Benton to the label. Otis felt that "It's Just A Matter Of Time" would be an ideal single for Benton, and he asked Cole not to record the song so it could be Benton's first release on the label. [4] Belford Hendricks, a classically trained composer, co-wrote and arranged the recording. Benton's version, in a style clearly influenced by Cole, was a quick success, rising to number three on the Billboard pop charts while topping the R&B chart for 9 weeks in the spring of 1959, the longest run atop the chart of any song that year. On April 12, during the song's chart run, Benton made his national television debut, singing the song on The Ed Sullivan Show . [5] While Benton had had one previous minor hit ("A Million Miles From Nowhere"), this success established him to the public, leading to a continuous string of hits through 1962, and occasional success thereafter. [6]
Chart (1959) | Peak position |
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US Billboard Hot 100 [7] | 3 |
Italy (FIMI) [8] | 10 |
U.S. R&B Singles | 1 |
"It's Just a Matter of Time" | ||||
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Single by Sonny James | ||||
from the album It's Just a Matter of Time | ||||
B-side | "This World Of Ours" | |||
Released | January 1970 | |||
Recorded | 1969 | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 2:35 | |||
Label | Capitol Nashville | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | George Richey | |||
Sonny James singles chronology | ||||
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The first cover version that became a country hit was recorded by Sonny James; his version spent four weeks atop the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart in February 1970. [9] The song was James' 10th in a string of 16 consecutive chart-topping single releases, spanning from 1967-1971.
James performed the song on The Ed Sullivan Show on January 11, 1970, just days after the single was released, and Hee Haw on January 21. [2] : 35
Chart (1970) | Peak position |
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US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [10] | 1 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [11] | 87 |
Canadian RPM Country Tracks [12] | 4 |
Canadian RPM Top Singles [13] | 85 |
In 1985, Glen Campbell — at the time on the roster of Atlantic America Records — recorded his version and released it as a single. His version peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in February 1986.
Chart (1985–1986) | Peak position |
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US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [14] | 7 |
Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 7 |
"It's Just a Matter of Time" | ||||
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Single by Randy Travis | ||||
from the album No Holdin' Back | ||||
B-side | "This Day Was Made for You and Me" | |||
Released | August 1989 | |||
Recorded | 1989 | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 3:56 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. Nashville | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Richard Perry | |||
Randy Travis singles chronology | ||||
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Randy Travis became the third country artist to find success with the song. Released in August 1989 as the lead-off single to the album No Holdin' Back , Travis' version became his 10th No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.
Travis' bluesy rendition was initially recorded as part of the album Rock, Rhythm & Blues, a 10-song compilation featuring covers of 1950s-era pop hits by 1980s stars. The song was later included on No Holdin' Back after Travis and others liked what they had just recorded. [2] : 570
Chart (1989) | Peak position |
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Canada Country Tracks ( RPM ) [15] | 1 |
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [16] | 1 |
Chart (1989) | Position |
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Canada Country Tracks ( RPM ) [17] | 35 |
US Country Songs ( Billboard ) [18] | 78 |
Benjamin Franklin Peay, better known as Brook Benton, was an American singer and songwriter who was popular with rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and pop music audiences during the late 1950s and early 1960s, with hits such as "It's Just a Matter of Time" and "Endlessly", many of which he co-wrote.
"I'm Holdin' On to Love (To Save My Life)" is a song co-written and recorded by Canadian country music singer Shania Twain. It was released as the twelfth and final single from her double-Diamond certified third studio album Come on Over. It was written by Robert John "Mutt" Lange and Twain. The song was originally released to North American country radio stations on July 3, 2000.
Clyde Lovern Otis was an American songwriter and record producer, best known for his collaboration with singer Brook Benton, and for being one of the first African-American A&R executives at a major label.
"You Light Up My Life" is a ballad written by Joseph Brooks, and originally recorded by Kasey Cisyk for the soundtrack album to the 1977 film of the same title. The song was lip synced in the film by its lead actress, Didi Conn. The best-known cover version of the song is a cover by Debby Boone, the daughter of singer Pat Boone. It held the No. 1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for ten consecutive weeks in 1977 and topped Record World magazine's Top 100 Singles Chart for a record 13 weeks.
Belford Cabell "Sinky" Hendricks was an American composer, pianist, arranger, conductor and record producer. He used a variety of names, including Belford Hendricks, Belford Cabell Hendricks, Belford Clifford Hendricks, Sinky Hendricks, and Bill Henry.
"Paper Roses" is a popular song written and composed by Fred Spielman and Janice Torre. It first was a top five hit in 1960 for Anita Bryant. Marie Osmond recorded it in 1973 and took her version to number one on the US country chart.
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No Holdin' Back is the fifth studio album by American country music artist Randy Travis. It was released on September 26, 1989 by Warner Records. Three singles were released from it, all of which charted on the Hot Country Songs charts: the Number One hits "It's Just a Matter of Time" and "Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart", as well as the #2 hit "He Walked on Water". "It's Just a Matter of Time" was previously a Number One hit for Brook Benton in 1959 on the R&B charts, and for Sonny James in 1970 on the country charts. Glen Campbell also had a #7-peaking rendition of the song in 1986.
"Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" a duet between American singers Patty Smyth and Don Henley. The rock ballad was written by Smyth and Glen Burtnik and was released as a single in August 1992. It reached No. 1 in Canada, where it was the most successful single of 1992, and peaked at No. 2 in Ireland and on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"He Walked on Water" is a song written by Allen Shamblin, and recorded by American country music singer Randy Travis. It was released in April 1990 as the third single from the album No Holdin' Back. The song peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, and number 1 on Canada's RPM country chart.
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"Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" is a 1950s song written by Clyde Otis and Murray Stein.
"A Lover's Question" is a 1958 Pop, R&B hit for Clyde McPhatter. The single was written by Brook Benton and Jimmy T. Williams and was Clyde McPhatter's most successful Pop and R&B release. The bass singer is Noah Hopkins. "A Lover's Question" made it to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was #1 for one week on the R&B chart.
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"Think Twice" is a song by Brook Benton which reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1961. The song was written by Joe Shapiro, Jimmy Williams, and Benton's regular songwriter Clyde Otis, and was released on Mercury Records with the B-side "For My Baby" also co-written by Clyde Otis, with Willie Dixon.
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"Looking Back" is a song written by Brook Benton, Belford Hendricks, and Clyde Otis and performed by Nat King Cole. It reached number 2 on the U.S. R&B chart and number 5 on the U.S. pop chart in 1958.