Background and content
In 1941, following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Redd was drafted into the U.S. Army and sent to the South Pacific. While stationed there with the rank of sergeant, Redd wrote "A Soldier's Last Letter”, which Ernest Tubb worked on and recorded in 1944, making it a No.1 hit staying at the top for four weeks out of a seven-month stay on the Country charts, [2] and crossing over to the Pop chart Top 20. The B-side of the Ernest Tubb recording of "Soldier's Last Letter" a song entitled, "Yesterday's Tears" peaked at number four on the Juke Box Folk chart.
Country singer Johnny Wright recorded Soldier's Last Letter for his 1965 album "Hello Vietnam." [3] The song was also recorded by country music artist Hank Snow. Hank was from Nova Scotia, Canada so the last line in the song was changed to "And dear God keep our Canada free..."
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 1965.
Country USA was a 23-volume series issued by Time-Life Music during the late 1980s and early 1990s, spotlighting country music of the 1950s through early 1970s.
"Sing a Sad Song" is a song written by Wynn Stewart. It was recorded notably by Merle Haggard in 1963, whose version became his first major hit. It was later recorded by Stewart himself. In 1976, Stewart's own version became a major hit as well.
"Movin' On" is a song written and recorded by American country music singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in May 1975 as the third single and partial title track from the album Keep Movin' On. Originally, it was the theme song to the 1974-1976 NBC-TV series of the same name and references the lead characters of the series, Sonny Pruitt and Will Chandler, by name. A full-length version of the song was released as a single in 1975, and it topped the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart that July.
Hag is the twelfth studio album by Merle Haggard and The Strangers released on Capitol Records in 1971. It became his fifth album to top the Billboard country album charts. It also reached number 66 on the pop albums chart.
The Way I Am is the 30th studio album by American country musician Merle Haggard, released in 1980.
"Always Late " is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Lefty Frizzell. It was the fifth single released from his 1951/1952 album Listen to Lefty. It peaked at number one in 1951 and became his fourth release to hit the top.
"Walking the Floor Over You" is a country music song written by Ernest Tubb and released in the United States in 1941.
"Take These Chains from My Heart" is a song by Hank Williams. It was written by Fred Rose and Hy Heath and was recorded at Williams' final recording session on September 23, 1952, in Nashville. The song has been widely praised; Williams' biographer Colin Escott deems it "perhaps the best song [Rose] ever presented to Hank...It was one of the very few songs that sounded somewhat similar to a Hank Williams song." Williams is backed by Tommy Jackson (fiddle), Don Helms, Chet Atkins, Jack Shook, and Floyd "Lightnin'" Chance (bass). In the wake of Williams' death on New Year's Day, 1953, the song shot to No. 1, his final chart-topping hit for MGM Records. Like "Your Cheatin' Heart," the song's theme of despair, so vividly articulated by Williams' typically impassioned singing, reinforced the image of Hank as a tortured, mythic figure.
"It's Been So Long, Darling" is a 1945 song by Ernest Tubb. "It's Been So Long, Darling" was Ernest Tubb's seventh chart entry on the country charts and his second to make it to number one, where it stayed for four weeks and a total of thirteen weeks on the chart.
The Legend and the Legacy is a compilation album by American country singer Ernest Tubb, released in 1979. The initial release was issued on LP as The Legend and the Legacy Volume 1. It was released on First Generation Records, but due to legal issues, was withdrawn and released on Cachet Records.
"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".
"Swinging Doors" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in February 1966 as the first single and title track from the album Swinging Doors. The song peaked at number five on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles.
"Jesus, Take a Hold" is a song written and performed by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in June 1970 as the first single from the album Hag. The song peaked at number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and peaked at number seven on the Bubbling Under Hot 100. It reached three on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks.
"I Can't Be Myself" is a song written and performed by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in October 1970 as the second single from the album Hag. The song peaked at number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and peaked at number six on the Bubbling Under Hot 100. It reached two on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks.
"Someday We'll Look Back" is a song written and performed by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in July 1971 as the first single and title track from the album Someday We'll Look Back. The song peaked at number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and peaked at number nineteen on the Bubbling Under Hot 100. It reached number two on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks.
"A Better Love Next Time" is a song written by Johnny Christopher and Bobby Wood, and recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard backed by The Strangers. It was released in July 1989 as the second single from the album 5:01 Blues. The song reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. It was Haggard's last Top Ten hit. It was co-produced by Mark Yeary, keyboardist of The Strangers.
"Running Kind" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in January 1978 as the second and final single from the album, A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today. The song peaked at number 12 on the U.S. country singles chart and at number 10 on the Canadian country singles chart. The song was later covered by Radney Foster for the Haggard tribute album Mama's Hungry Eyes: A Tribute to Merle Haggard. Foster's version was released as a single in 1994 and peaked at number 64 on the U.S. country singles chart. Johnny Cash also covered the song with Tom Petty on the Unearthed box set.
"Longhaired Redneck" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist David Allan Coe. It was released in January 1976 as the lead single from Coe's album of the same name. The song is notable for its direct reference to the "outlaw" movement in country music during the 1970s, with which Coe was associated, as well as the chorus which features Coe impersonating classic country artists Ernest Tubb, "Whisperin'" Bill Anderson, and Merle Haggard. The song also makes reference to Johnny Rodriguez stealing an Angora goat from a ranch near Utopia, Texas owned by Uvalde County Judge Bob Davis, which ultimately led to Rodriguez being discovered. The song peaked at number 17 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and at number 23 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart. It was written by Coe with Jimmy Rabbitt, who is also a popular radio DJ in Texas.
Seashores of Old Mexico is a studio album by Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson. It is a sequel to their enormously successful 1983 duet album Pancho and Lefty and was released in 1987. They are backed by The Strangers. The only charting single was a cover of a 1979 Blaze Foley song, "If I Could Only Fly", which peaked at number 58 on the 1987 Billboard Hot Country Songs singles chart.
