How I Got to Memphis
| "How I Got to Memphis" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Bobby Bare | ||||
| from the album This Is Bare Country | ||||
| B-side | "It's Freezing in El Paso"[1] | |||
| Released | August 1970 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 2:31 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Writer(s) | Tom T. Hall | |||
| Producer(s) | Jerry Kennedy | |||
| Bobby Bare singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"How I Got to Memphis" is the shortened title used by American country music singer Bobby Bare, of a song whose full title is: "That's How I Got to Memphis" written by Tom T. Hall and which appears on his 1969 album: 'Ballad Of Forty Dollars & His Other Great Songs'. Bobby Bare's album This Is Bare Country was released in August 1970 and this track was taken from it as a single. Other performers of this song use the full title: That's How I Got to Memphis.[2]
Critical reception
An uncredited review in Billboard called the song "potent Tom T. Hall material, delivered in one of Bare's finest performances."[3]
Chart performance
Bobby Bare's version spent 16 weeks on the Hot Country Songs charts, peaking at number 3.[1]
| Chart (1970) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[4] | 3 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 22 |
Deryl Dodd version
| "That's How I Got to Memphis" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Deryl Dodd | ||||
| from the album One Ride in Vegas | ||||
| Released | November 9, 1996 | |||
| Format | CD single | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 3:14 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Writer(s) | Tom T. Hall | |||
| Producer(s) | Blake Chancey, Chip Young | |||
| Deryl Dodd singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
In late 1996, Deryl Dodd covered the song for his debut album One Ride in Vegas. The song was the album's second single. In place of a b-side, the single release contained album snippets.[5]
Critical reception
Don Yates of Country Standard Time called Dodd's version of the song "impassioned".[6]
Music video
The music video was directed by Marc Ball and premiered in 1996.
Chart performance
Dodd's version charted on Hot Country Songs for 20 weeks, peaking at number 36 in early 1997.[5]
| Chart (1996–97) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[7] | 38 |
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[8] | 36 |
Other versions
- Bill Haley And The Comets covered the song as a single in 1969 on United Artists.
- Lee Hazlewood covered the song on his 1976 Album 20th Century Lee.[9]
- Scott Walker (singer) covered it on his 1973 album Stretch.
- Eddy Mitchell covered the song in 1976.
- Rosanne Cash covered the song on her 1982 album Somewhere in the Stars.
- Buddy Miller covered the song on his 1995 album Your Love and Other Lies.
- Solomon Burke covered the song on his 2006 album Nashville.
- Joe Pernice covered the song on his 2009 album It Feels So Good When I Stop
- Natural Child covered the song on their 2012 album For the Love of the Game
- The Avett Brothers covered the song in the 2013 concert film Another Day, Another Time: Celebrating the Music of Inside Llewyn Davis
- Jeff Daniels and John Gallagher, Jr. performed the song in the series finale of The Newsroom, titled "What Kind of Day Has It Been."
- Whitey Morgan and the 78's cover this song on their 2015 album Sonic Ranch.
- Voluntary Butler Scheme recorded a version on his 2014 album A Million Ways To Make Gold
- Karl Blau covered the song on his 2016 album Introducing Karl Blau.
References
- 1 2 Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. pp. 42–43. ISBN 0-89820-177-2.
- ↑ "Album reviews". Billboard: 20. August 8, 1970.
- ↑ "Singles". Billboard: 72. July 18, 1970.
- ↑ "Bobby Bare – Chart history" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Bobby Bare.
- 1 2 Whitburn, pp. 127-28
- ↑ Yates, Don. "One Ride in Vegas review". Country Standard Time. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
- ↑ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 9897." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. March 3, 1997. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
- ↑ "Deryl Dodd – Chart history" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Deryl Dodd.
- ↑ "Lee Hazlewood – 20th Century Lee". Discogs.com.
