Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got)

Last updated
"Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got)"
Single by Leon Ashley
from the album Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got)
B-side "With the Help of the Wine" [1]
ReleasedJuly 1967
Recorded1967
Genre Country
Length2:31
Label Ashley
Songwriter(s) Leon Ashley, Margie Singleton
Producer(s) Leon Ashley
Leon Ashley singles chronology
"Before You Were Mine"
(1967)
"Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got)"
(1967)
"Hangin' On"
(1967)

"Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got)" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Leon Ashley. Recorded in 1967 and released on his own Ashley Records label, the song was his only No. 1 single that September. Frankie Laine and Brook Benton took cover versions to the pop and Adult Contemporary charts that year, while Claude King, Marty Robbins and Kenny Rogers charted their own versions on the country charts.

Contents

Background

Ashley had previously released several singles on the Goldband and Imperial record labels, but none of his singles were successful. Then, in 1967, Ashley founded his own label, Ashley Records. That year, he recorded a song he co-wrote with his wife, Margie Singleton: "Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got)." Released that July, "Laura" went on to become a No. 1 smash on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart by the end of September.

Plot

The song is told from the perspective of Laura's husband, and depicts a confrontation the two are having regarding an apparently crumbling marriage.

In the first verse, the husband has Laura touch, hold and caress various parts of his body, such as his lips, ears, hair and hands. Later, he reminds her of the various things he did for her and gave her during their marriage, such as building a home, and buying fancy items such as satin pillows, dresses and curtains; he also demands that she read their names on their checks, which sit in her handbag.

Each refrain calls Laura out, saying he is aware that she is having an affair with another man. The husband demands to know "what's he got that I ain't got," bemoaning the fact that it "must be something I was born without." Just before each refrain, he warns that he has grown angry and gone crazy as a result of this affair and not knowing why she has turned to another man. In the first verse, he warns that "you took an awful chance to be with another man." The warning before the second refrain turns noticeably darker, warning of violence with the lyric "And if there's time before I pull this trigger." It is not known or stated where the barrel of the gun is targeted — at the singer himself, who may be contemplating suicide; at Laura, as a direct consequence for her infidelity; or at the "other man," should the singer have walked in on him and Laura "in flagrante delicto."

Cover versions

Following Ashley's original, the song has been covered several times. Frankie Laine and Brook Benton concurrently released their own versions of the song in September 1967. These versions debuted on the Easy Listening (now Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks) charts in the same week, and both made the lower regions of the Billboard Hot 100.

Three other country music covers charted as well. Claude King sent a version to number 50 on the country singles chart in 1967 shortly after Ashley's version fell from Number One. Marty Robbins also recorded a cover version in 1973, taking it to number 60 on the Hot Country Singles chart, and Kenny Rogers took his 1977 cover to number 19 from his self-titled album. Other covers include Tommy Collins, Tommy Overstreet, David Houston, and Hank Locklin. [2]

Charts

Leon Ashley

Chart (1967)Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles [1] 1
U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 [1] 20
Canadian RPM Country Tracks7

Frankie Laine

Chart (1967)Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100 [3] 63
US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) [4] 23

Brook Benton

Chart (1967)Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100 [5] 78
US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) [6] 37

Claude King

Chart (1967)Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [7] 50

The Newbeats

Chart (1970)Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [8] 115

Marty Robbins

Chart (1973)Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [9] 60
Canadian RPM Country Tracks44

Kenny Rogers

Chart (1976)Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [10] 19
Canadian RPM Country Tracks39

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marty Robbins</span> American singer, songwriter and racing driver (1925–1982)

Martin David Robinson, known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and successful country and western singers for most of his nearly four-decade career, which spanned from the late 1940s to the early 1980s. He was also an early outlaw country pioneer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Singing the Blues</span> 1956 song performed by Marty Robbins

"Singing the Blues" is a popular written by David William Moncrief in 1955, song composed by Melvin Endsley and published in 1956. The song was first recorded by Marty Robbins in November 1955, and released in 1956. It is not related to the 1920 jazz song "Singin' the Blues" recorded by Frank Trumbauer and Bix Beiderbecke in 1927.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hey, Good Lookin' (song)</span> 1951 song written and recorded by Hank Williams

"Hey, Good Lookin'" is a 1951 song written and recorded by Hank Williams, and his version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2003, CMT voted the Hank Williams version No. 19 on CMT's 100 Greatest Songs of Country Music. Since its original 1951 recording it has been covered by a variety of artists.

"Frankie and Johnny" is a traditional American popular song. It tells the story of a woman, Frankie, who finds her man Johnny making love to another woman and shoots him dead. Frankie is then arrested; in some versions of the song she is also executed.

"I'll Get By " is a popular song with music by Fred E. Ahlert and lyrics by Roy Turk. The song was published in 1928. Versions by Nick Lucas, Aileen Stanley and, most successfully, Ruth Etting, all charted in America in 1929.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Light Up My Life (song)</span> 1977 single by Debby Boone

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">My Eyes Adored You</span> 1974 single by Frankie Valli

"My Eyes Adored You" is a 1974 song written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan. It was originally recorded by The Four Seasons in early 1974. After the Motown label balked at the idea of releasing it, the recording was sold to lead singer Frankie Valli for $4000. After rejections by Capitol and Atlantic Records, Valli succeeded in getting the recording released on Private Stock Records, but the owner/founder of the label, Larry Uttal, wanted only Valli's name on the label. The single was released in the US in November 1974 and topped the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1975. "My Eyes Adored You" also went to number 2 on the Easy Listening chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 5 song for 1975.

Margaret Louise Ebey, known professionally as Margie Singleton, is an American country music singer and songwriter. In the 1960s, she was a popular duet and solo recording artist, working with country stars George Jones and Faron Young. Singleton had her biggest hit with Young called "Keeping Up with the Joneses" in 1964. She managed a successful solo career in the 1960s.

"Ain't Misbehavin'" is a 1929 stride jazz/early swing song. Andy Razaf wrote the lyrics to a score by Thomas "Fats" Waller and Harry Brooks for the Broadway musical comedy play Connie's Hot Chocolates.

The Hanging Tree is a western ballad from the 1959 movie The Hanging Tree. It was scored by Max Steiner and written by Mack David and Jerry Livingston, who received nominations for the Laurel Awards and the Academy Awards in 1960. The text is a short reference to the film's story.

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buy Me a Rose</span>

"Buy Me a Rose" is a song written by Jim Funk and Erik Hickenlooper, and recorded by American country music artist Kenny Rogers. It was released in October 1999 as the third single from his album She Rides Wild Horses. Upon reaching Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts in May 2000, the song made Rogers the oldest country singer to have a Number One hit.

"Share Your Love with Me" is a song written by Alfred Braggs and Deadric Malone. It was originally recorded by blues singer Bobby "Blue" Bland. Over the years, the song has been covered by various artists, most notably Aretha Franklin who won a Grammy Award for her 1969 rendition. Other artists who covered the song include The Band in 1973, Kenny Rogers in 1981, and most recently, Van Morrison in 2016.

<i>Kenny Rogers</i> (album) 1977 studio album by Kenny Rogers

Kenny Rogers is the second studio album by Kenny Rogers from United Artists Records, released worldwide in 1977. The album marked his first major solo success following the minor success of Love Lifted Me in 1976.

Leon Walton, better known by his stage name Leon Ashley, was an American country music singer. He is known mainly for his single "Laura ", which topped the country singles charts in 1967. This single was distributed on his own label. Ashley wrote, recorded, released, distributed and published the single on his own. Besides this song, he released several other singles throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

"You Gave Me a Mountain" is a song written by country singer-songwriter Marty Robbins during the 1960s. It has been recorded by many artists, including Robbins himself, but the highest-charting version of the song was by Frankie Laine in 1969. This version was included on Laine's album of the same name.

"Ribbon of Darkness" is a song written by Gordon Lightfoot that was released in 1965 as a single by Marty Robbins. The song was Robbins' eleventh number one on the U.S. country singles chart, where it spent one week at the top and a total of nineteen weeks on the chart.

"In the Misty Moonlight" is a song written by Cindy Walker. One of the first singers to record the song in 1964 was Jim Reeves: it is included on his posthumous album The Jim Reeves Way. There also have been many other artists who have covered the song, but the two most successful versions were recorded by Dean Martin and Jerry Wallace. Wallace's version had a #19 hit on the Billboard Top 100 when his version was released in 1964. Martin's version was released as a single in 1967 and went to number one on the Easy Listening chart and number forty-six on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was Martin's fifth and final number one on the Easy Listening chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crazy in Love (Joe Cocker song)</span>

"Crazy in Love" is a song by songwriters Even Stevens and Randy McCormick; it was first recorded by Joe Cocker on his 1984 album Civilized Man. The song was covered by American pop artist Kim Carnes in 1988 and released as the second single from her album View from the House. Carnes' version peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and number 68 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.

"Looking Back" is a song written by Brook Benton, Belford Hendricks, and Clyde Otis and performed by Nat King Cole. It reached #2 on the U.S. R&B chart and #5 on the U.S. pop chart in 1958.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 33. ISBN   978-0-89820-177-2.
  2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Leon Ashley biography". Allmusic . Retrieved 2009-08-07.
  3. "Frankie Laine Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  4. "Frankie Laine Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  5. "Brook Benton Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  6. "Brook Benton Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  7. "Claude King Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  8. The Newbeats, "Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got" chart position Retrieved April 25, 2015
  9. "Marty Robbins Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  10. "Kenny Rogers Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.