Written by veteran country scribe Bill Anderson, this twangy tune finds Nashville newcomer Connie Smith attempting to mend her broken heart. The good news is, she's only crying once a day over her ex-beau; the bad news is, it's "once a day, all day long, and once a night from dusk 'til dawn." It remained Smith's signature song throughout her lengthy career as a country and gospel singer.
Featured on her self-titled debut album, this was also Smith's first single. When it peaked at #1 on the Country chart, it made her the first female solo artist to ever top the chart with a debut single (a record that went unmatched until 1991 when Trisha Yearwood hit #1 with "
She's In Love With the Boy"). The song held the top spot for eight consecutive weeks, the longest run of any country songstress. That feat remained unsurpassed for nearly 50 years until Taylor Swift broke the record with "
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," which held on for nine weeks in 2012.
Anderson wrote this during a flash of inspiration at the wheel of his car. He told American Songwriter in 2018: "I was driving in my car, where I get a lot of my song ideas. I was in Nashville driving through a residential neighborhood and coming to a four-way stop. I remember grabbing for a pencil and paper and writing the chorus. As best as I recall, I came home and finished it."
Anderson didn't write this with Smith or any other female singer in mind. He envisioned it as a male song and recorded the demo but gladly gave it to Smith when she expressed interest in recording it.
Anderson discovered Smith when he heard her prize-winning performance of Jean Shepard's "I Thought Of You" at a talent contest near Columbus, Ohio, in 1963. He eventually helped her land a contract with RCA Records and assembled a first-class lineup of musicians to back her on her first album. "Naturally, I wanted her records to sound different from so many of the others coming off Music Row and I thought the best place to start was with fresh sounds from young pickers like Weldon [Myrick], guitarist Jimmy Lance, and drummer Snuffy Miller, all of whom were playing in my band at the time," Anderson recalled on
his website.
This was also the debut single for Weldon Myrick, who played the distinct steel-guitar intro on the tune. Myrick went on to play on a number of Smith's records and helped her put her touring band together. The singer credited Myrick as "the guy who was responsible for creating the Connie Smith sound."
Chet Atkins, the legendary guitarist who managed RCA's Nashville operations, had a full roster when he signed Smith to the label, so he tapped "
Wings Of A Dove" songwriter Bob Ferguson to produce her debut album. The session took place on July 16, 1964 at RCA's famed Studio B, where Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, and The Everly Brothers also laid down hit tracks. "It was great," Smith told
Country Stars Central of the session. "I remember when I was in the recording studio for the first time; the producers stopped the tape and told me to do a 'turnaround.' I didn't know what that meant at the time. I didn't know anything about recording; I had to play for myself when I was in the talent contest that I had won. What little I've learned, I've learned from coming to Nashville."
Hearing the song on the radio for the first time was a big moment for Smith. She recalled: "I just always wanted to be on the radio. I remember driving with my husband at the time in the car - my song came on and I remember hanging my head out the window and pulling up the antenna to hear myself sing on the radio. Back then the antennas weren't automatic like they are now. I was just so happy to be on the radio. That was then when Chet called to tell me that it was a hit. What a blessing!"
This was nominated for Best Country Song at the Grammy Awards in 1965 but lost to Roger Miller's "
Dang Me." Smith was also nominated for Best Female Country Vocal Performance, but the award went to Dottie West for "Here Comes My Baby."
Smith also recorded a French version, titled "Pas Souvent," which was included on her 1973 compilation, Love Is The Look You're Looking For. She re-recorded it again (in English) for her 1976 album, The Song We Fell In Love To.
Martina McBride recorded this for her #1 country covers album,
Timeless, in 2005. Smith and McBride
sang it together on the Opry stage in 2008.
Several other artists covered this, including Loretta Lynn, Lynn Anderson, David Houston, Trini Lopez, Dean Martin, Van Morrison, and punk-rock singer Mike Ness (of Social Distortion). A 1966 rendition by R&B artist Tim Yuro peaked at #68 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 2021, this was inducted into the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress. Anderson said of the honor: "I saw songwriter names like George Gershwin and Irving Berlin, and now to think that my name will be there alongside those legendary composers is mind-boggling. I am thrilled that Connie Smith's record and my little three-chord country song... written in the front seat of my car at a four-way stop sign in the Nashville suburbs...is being honored in such a remarkable fashion."
