"On the Other Hand" | ||||
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Single by Randy Travis | ||||
from the album Storms of Life | ||||
B-side | "Can't Stop Now" (1985) "1982" (1986) | |||
Released | July 29, 1985 (original release) April 21, 1986 (reissue) | |||
Recorded | January 30, 1985 [1] | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 3:05 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. Nashville | |||
Songwriter(s) | Paul Overstreet, Don Schlitz | |||
Producer(s) | Kyle Lehning, Keith Stegall | |||
Randy Travis singles chronology | ||||
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Randy Travis singles chronology | ||||
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"On the Other Hand" is a song written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz, and recorded by American country music artist Randy Travis. It was first released as a single in July 1985, peaking at number 67 in the United States. It was Travis' first single with Warner Bros. Nashville and was only a minor hit. After the chart successes of Travis' next single, "1982", the label reissued "On the Other Hand" in April 1986, and it became his first number one hit in both the United States and Canada. "On the Other Hand" and "1982" were both included on Travis' 1986 debut album, Storms of Life .
Writer Paul Overstreet came up with the idea for the song during a session with Don Schlitz. The two were having difficulty with a song they were working on titled "Greedy Heart" when Schlitz presented a list of ideas to Overstreet. One of the ideas on the list was the phrase "on the other hand", to which Overstreet immediately added "there's a golden band." The two writers finished the song and sent a demo to Pat Higdon, a song promoter who recommended it to producer Kyle Lehning with the intention of having Dan Seals recorded it. Lehning did not think the song was suitable for Seals and instead offered it to Randy Travis, who had just signed his first contract with Warner Records Nashville in early 1985. [2]
Travis recorded the song with Lehning and Keith Stegall co-producing, as part of a four-song session which comprised his initial Warner contract. The other songs in this session were "Carrying Fire", "Reasons I Cheat", and "Prairie Rose". [3] He performed the song live for the first time on the August 6, 1985, episode of the talk show Nashville Now . [4] Keith Whitley also cut the song on his 1985 album L.A. to Miami . [5]
The song is composed in the key of F major with an "easy country swing" tempo. The verses follow the chord pattern F-F7-B♭F-C-F-F7-B♭-G-C, with a pattern of B♭-F-C7-F twice on the chorus. [6] Lyrically, it is about a man who is tempted to commit infidelity, but ultimately declines upon looking at his wedding ring. [7]
When first released, "On the Other Hand" spent twelve weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, peaking at number 67. [2] After its release, the label issued "1982" as a follow-up, which peaked at number six. [8] Despite its initial failure at radio, Warner executives thought that "On the Other Hand" was suitable for a re-release. Executive Nick Hunter, who at the time promoted singles to country radio for Warner, noted that the song had strong sales indicative of high listener demand. He also thought that Travis did not yet have a song recorded which was "strong enough to be a single" after the success of "1982", so "On the Other Hand" was approved for a re-release by Warner in April 1986. [9] Upon re-release, "On the Other Hand" reached number one on the Billboard country chart dated for July 26, 1986. Its success upon re-release coincided with the release of Travis's first Warner album, Storms of Life . [7]
Chart (1985) | Peak position |
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US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [10] | 67 [2] |
Chart (1986) | Peak position |
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [10] | 1 |
Canadian RPM Country Tracks [11] | 1 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA) [12] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Randy Bruce Traywick, known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country music and gospel music singer and songwriter, as well as a film and television actor. Active since 1979, he has recorded over 20 studio albums and charted over 50 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including sixteen that reached the number-one position.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1986.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1987.
Paul Lester Overstreet is an American country music singer and songwriter. He began his singing career in 1982 with a self-titled album on RCA Records Nashville. From 1986 to 1987, he was a vocalist in the trio S-K-O, in which he had a number-one single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts with "Baby's Got a New Baby". After leaving S-K-O he resumed a solo career, charting a second number-one single alongside Paul Davis and Tanya Tucker on "I Won't Take Less Than Your Love". Between 1989 and 1992, he released the albums Sowin' Love, Heroes, and Love Is Strong. These albums include the number-one single "Daddy's Come Around" and nine other top-40 entries on the country music charts. Subsequent albums have been released independently on the Scarlet Moon label.
Storms of Life is the debut studio album by American country music artist Randy Travis. It was released on June 2, 1986 by Warner Records. Certified 3× Multi-Platinum by the RIAA for American shipments of three million copies. it features the singles "On the Other Hand", "1982", "Diggin' up Bones" and "No Place Like Home". Although "On the Other Hand" charted at number 67 on the Hot Country Songs chart upon its initial release, the song reached number one on the same chart once it was re-released, following "1982" which peaked at number six. "Diggin' up Bones" also reached number one, while "No Place Like Home" peaked at number two.
Old 8×10 is the third studio album by American country music artist Randy Travis. It was released on July 12, 1988 by Warner Records. The album produced the singles "Honky Tonk Moon", "Deeper Than the Holler", "Is It Still Over", and "Promises". All of these except "Promises" reached Number One on the Hot Country Songs charts in the late 1980s. The British and German editions of the album contained the bonus track "Forever and Ever, Amen". In January 1990, Old 8×10 earned Travis three American Music Awards for 'Favorite Country Male Artist', 'Favorite Country Album', and 'Favorite Country Single'.
The McCarters were an American country music trio, composed of sisters Jennifer, Lisa, and Teresa McCarter. They recorded two albums for Warner Records Nashville between 1988 and 1990. These albums accounted for three top-ten singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts: "Timeless and True Love", "The Gift", and "Up and Gone". The trio disbanded in 1990.
"Forever and Ever, Amen" is a song written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz, and recorded by American country music artist Randy Travis. It was released in March 1987 as the first single from the album Always & Forever and became Travis's third No. 1 single on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles charts.
"I Told You So" is a song written and recorded by American country music singer Randy Travis from his 1987 album, Always & Forever. It reached number one on the U.S. Billboard and Canadian RPM country singles charts in June 1988. Travis had first recorded it on his 1983 album Live at the Nashville Palace under his stage name "Randy Ray". It became a local hit and one of his most requested songs at the club. In 2007, the song was covered by Carrie Underwood on her album Carnival Ride. Her version was released in February 2009 and was re-recorded and re-released in March as a duet with Travis. Underwood's and Travis' duet peaked at number two on the U.S. country charts in 2009.
Donald Allen Schlitz Jr. is an American songwriter who has written more than a score of number one hits on the country music charts. He is best known for his song "The Gambler", and as the co-writer of "Forever and Ever, Amen", and "When You Say Nothing at All". For his songwriting efforts, Schlitz has earned two Grammy Awards, and four ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year awards.
Still Restless is the ninth and final studio album by American country music band Restless Heart. Released in 2004, it was considered the band's reunion album, as it was their first release since 1998's Greatest Hits, as well as the first album since Fast Movin' Train (1990) to feature all five original band members. Their first and only album for Koch Records Nashville, it produced the single "Feel My Way to You", which peaked at #29 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts in late 2004.
Heroes & Friends is the sixth studio album by American country music artist Randy Travis. It was released on August 31, 1990 by Warner Records. Except for the title track, every song on this album is a duet with another recording artist. "A Few Ole Country Boys" and the title track were both released as singles from this album, peaking at numbers 8 and 3, respectively, on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts in 1990.
"Deeper Than the Holler" is a song written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz, and recorded by American country music singer Randy Travis. It was released in November 1988 as the second single from the album, Old 8x10. The song was his eighth Number One single, and his sixth consecutive.
I Told You So: The Ultimate Hits of Randy Travis is a compilation album released by country music artist Randy Travis in 2009. It consists of 32 songs overall in a two disc set. Two of the songs were never before released on albums. Travis' numerous number-one hits including "I Told You So", Deeper Than the Holler", "Forever and Ever, Amen" and "Three Wooden Crosses" are included on the album along with duets with country legends Tammy Wynette and George Jones. Travis' cover of Roger Miller's "King of the Road" is also included along with two tracks from his previous studio album Around the Bend.
"1982" is a song written by Buddy Blackmon and Vip Vipperman, and recorded by American country music singer Randy Travis. It was released in December 1985 as the second single from his album Storms of Life. It peaked at number 6 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, and number 5 in Canada. Garth Brooks covered the song for his 2016 box-set The Ultimate Collection.
"Diggin' Up Bones" is a song written by Paul Overstreet, Al Gore, and Nat Stuckey, and recorded by American country music artist Randy Travis. It was released in August 1986 as the third single from his album Storms of Life. It peaked at number-one in both the United States and Canada.
"Point of Light" is a song written by Don Schlitz and Thom Schuyler, and recorded by American country music artist Randy Travis. It was released in May 1991 as the lead-off single from his album High Lonesome. It was his twenty-first single overall. It charted at #3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks and hit #1 on the Canadian RPM country Tracks chart.
"Forever Together" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Randy Travis. It was released in September 1991 as the second single from his album High Lonesome. It peaked at number 1 on both the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks and the Canadian RPM country Tracks chart. It was co-written by Travis with fellow musician, Alan Jackson while they were on tour together.
"Heroes and Friends" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Randy Travis. It was written with Don Schlitz. It was released in January 1991 as the second and final single from his album of duets, Heroes & Friends and his only song on the album that was not a duet. The song opens and closes the album. "Heroes and Friends" peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and reached number 1 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart.
Randy Travis is an American country music singer. His singles discography comprises 70 singles and 36 music videos.