It Couldn't Have Been Any Better

Last updated • 1 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
"It Couldn't Have Been Any Better"
Single by Johnny Duncan
from the album Johnny Duncan
B-side "Denver Woman"
ReleasedJanuary 1977
RecordedNovember 1976
Genre Country
Length3:04
Label Columbia 10474
Songwriter(s) Ray Griff
Producer(s) Billy Sherrill and Larry Gatlin
Johnny Duncan singles chronology
"Thinkin' of a Rendezvous"
(1976)
"It Couldn't Have Been Any Better"
(1977)
"A Song in the Night"
(1977)

"It Couldn't Have Been Any Better" is a country music song written by Ray Griff, and made famous by Johnny Duncan.

Contents

One of several Duncan singles to feature session vocalist Janie Fricke on harmony vocals, "It Couldn't Have Been Any Better" was his second No. 1 song to top the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, doing so in April 1977. The single week atop the country chart was part of an 11-week run in the top 40. [1]

Although the last Duncan-Fricke duet to top the charts — the previous song, "Thinkin' of a Rendezvous," went No. 1 just before Christmas 1976 — the two enjoyed several more duet hits, most notably "Come a Little Bit Closer" in January 1978 (a cover of the Jay and the Americans).

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1977)Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [2] 1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks1

Year-end charts

Chart (1977)Position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard) [3] 14

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juice Newton</span> American pop and country singer (born 1952)

Judith Kay "Juice" Newton is an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Newton has received five Grammy Award nominations in the Pop and Country Best Female Vocalist categories – winning once in 1983 – as well as an ACM Award for Top New Female Artist and two consecutive Billboard Female Album Artist of the Year awards. Newton's other awards include a People's Choice Award for "Best Female Vocalist" and the Australian Music Media's "Number One International Country Artist".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Duncan (country singer)</span> American singer-songwriter (1938–2006)

John Richard Duncan was an American country music singer-songwriter, best known for a string of hits in the mid- to late 1970s. In his career, he released 14 studio albums, including thirteen on Columbia Records. These albums produced more than 30 chart singles, with three of those reaching number one: "Thinkin' of a Rendezvous", "It Couldn't Have Been Any Better", and "She Can Put Her Shoes Under my Bed (Anytime)" from 1976, 1977, and 1978, respectively. Seven more of his singles were top-10 hits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Lee (singer)</span> American country music singer (born 1946)

Johnny Lee is an American country music singer. His 1980 single "Lookin' for Love" became a crossover hit, spending three weeks at number 1 on the Billboard country singles chart while also appearing in the top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and top 10 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. He racked up 17 top 40 country hits in the early and mid-1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">She's Out of My Life</span> 1980 single by Michael Jackson

"She's Out of My Life" is a song written by American songwriter Tom Bahler and performed by American singer Michael Jackson. The song was released as the fourth single from Jackson's 1979 album Off the Wall released on April 19, 1980. In 2004, the song appeared in The Ultimate Collection. It peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking the first time any solo artist had ever achieved four Top 10 hits from one album. In America, it earned a million-selling Platinum certification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janie Fricke</span> American singer-songwriter

Jane Marie Fricke, known professionally as Janie Fricke, is an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, and clothing designer. She has placed seventeen singles in the top ten of the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Eight of these songs reached the number one spot on the Country music chart. She has also won accolades from the Academy of Country Music, Country Music Association and has been nominated four times from the Grammy Awards.

"Almost Persuaded" is a song written by Glenn Sutton and Epic Records producer Billy Sherrill and first recorded by David Houston in 1966. It is not to be confused with the Christian hymn of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lady (Kenny Rogers song)</span> 1980 single by Kenny Rogers

"Lady" is a song written by Lionel Richie and first recorded by American country music artist Kenny Rogers. It was released in September 1980 on the album Kenny Rogers' Greatest Hits.

"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.

"Don't Worry 'bout Me Baby" is a song written by Deborah Allen, Bruce Channel and Kieran Kane, and recorded by American country music artist Janie Fricke. It was released in April 1982 as the second single from the album Sleeping with Your Memory. The song was the first of Fricke's, seven solo number ones on Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">She's All I Got</span>

"She's All I Got" is a song written by Gary U.S. Bonds and Jerry Williams Jr. It has been recorded by several artists. The first version, released in 1971 by Freddie North, was a Top 40 U.S. pop hit, and a version by Johnny Paycheck was a number 2 U.S. country hit that same year. A second country music version was released on Conway Twitty's 1972 Decca LP I Can't See Me Without You. There was also a version titled "He's All I Got" that was on Tanya Tucker's 1972 album Delta Dawn. Yet another cover titled "Don't Take Her She's All I've Got" was released by Tracy Byrd, whose version reached number 4 on the U.S. and Canadian country singles charts. Co-author Jerry Williams Jr., aka Swamp Dogg, released his own version on his 2020 album Sorry You Couldn’t Make It.

"Funny How Time Slips Away" is a song written by Willie Nelson and first recorded by country singer Billy Walker. Walker's version was issued as a single by Columbia Records in June 1961 and peaked at number 23 on the Hot C&W Sides chart. The song has been featured in several live action films and television shows, such as in the first episode of the second season of AMC’s Better Call Saul and in the 2020 Netflix drama The Devil All the Time.

"Please Help Me, I'm Falling" is a 1960 song written by Don Robertson and Hal Blair and first recorded by Hank Locklin. The single was Locklin's most successful recording and was his second number one on the country charts. "Please Help Me, I'm Falling" spent 14 weeks at the top spot and spent nine months on the country chart and crossed over to the Hot 100 peaking at number eight.

"Thinkin' of a Rendezvous" is a country music song written by Bobby Braddock and Sonny Throckmorton, and recorded by Johnny Duncan.

"We Believe in Happy Endings" is a song written by Bob McDill and recorded by American country music artist Johnny Rodriguez. It was released in September 1978 as the second single from the album Just for You. The single went to number seven on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.

"Making Believe" is a country music song written by Jimmy Work. Kitty Wells recorded a chart-topping version in 1955. The song is on many lists of all-time greatest country music songs and has been covered by scores of artists over the past fifty years, including Thorleifs, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Don Gibson, Roy Acuff, Lefty Frizzell, Wanda Jackson, Connie Francis, Ray Charles, Anita Carter, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Merle Haggard, Ernest Tubb, Skeeter Davis, The Haden Triplets, Social Distortion and Volbeat. The song is occasionally called "Makin' Believe".

"Swayin' to the Music (Slow Dancin')", initially titled "Slow Dancing", is a song written by Jack Tempchin. Under the title "Slow Dancing", the song originally was a minor US hit in 1976 for the band Funky Kings (of which Tempchin was a member). The song became much better known as "Swayin' to the Music (Slow Dancin')" in a 1977 cover version by Johnny Rivers, which became a top ten US hit. It was Rivers' last Top 40 hit in the United States, and became his second Gold record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loving Arms</span>

"Loving Arms" is a song written by Tom Jans and first recorded and released by Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge as a duet in 1973 on their album Full Moon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Song in the Night (song)</span> 1977 single by Johnny Duncan

"A Song in the Night" is a country music song written by Bobby Lee Springfield, recorded by Johnny Duncan. It was the first of two singles from his 1977 LP, Come a Little Bit Closer. Harmony vocals during the last minute of the song were provided by Janie Fricke.

"Pass Me By (If You're Only Passing Through)" is a song written by H.B. Hall that has been recorded multiple times. It was originally recorded and released as a single by American country and Latin singer Johnny Rodriguez. His version of the song became a top ten in North America. In 1980, it was released as a single by American country artist Janie Fricke, whose version reached the top 40 in North America.

<i>Nice n Easy</i> (Johnny Duncan and Janie Fricke album) 1980 studio album by Johnny Duncan and Janie Fricke

Nice 'n' Easy is a duet studio album by American country music artists Johnny Duncan and Janie Fricke. It was released in October 1980 via Columbia Records and featured ten tracks. Five of these tracks were previously released and only credited to Duncan. Five of the remaining tracks were new recordings. It was the first and only collaborative album the pair would record together. It included one single, which was a cover of the pop recording "She's Out of My Life".

References

  1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 112.
  2. "Johnny Duncan Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  3. "Hot Country Songs – Year-End 1977". Billboard. Retrieved August 2, 2021.