Bobbie Sue

Album: Bobbie Sue (1982)
Charted: 12
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Songfacts®:

  • This song about a teenage couple who elope to get married was written by Wood Newton, whose other credits include Razzy Bailey's country chart-topper "Midnight Hauler." Married couple Dan and Adele Tyler were the other writers.

    "Bobbie Sue" became The Oak Ridge Boys second Top 20 hit on the Hot 100, following "Elvira."
  • Newton recalled the story of the song to The Boot: "I wrote 'Bobbie Sue' with my good friends Dan and Adele Tyler. Dan had a little boy at the time, and one of the first words for a baby is 'ba,' like 'bottle.' So his son was saying 'ba-ba,' and it sparked this idea to write a song about 'ba ba ba ba Bobbie Sue.'

    We both come from that era when Memphis was home to Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry and rock 'n' roll: Dan is from McComb, Mississippi, and I'm from Hampton, Arkansas, so you grow up with the same kids in those small towns, and when someone is dating a girl from the county over, it's an exciting thing."
  • The song was The Oak Ridge Boys sixth #1 single on the Country chart. Newton said: "I'd never dreamed that the Oaks would be interested in something like this, but then they released 'Elvira.' We finished the demo, and it got pitched to them and just clicked. They were at a perfect place in their career, and they made this wonderful, exciting record."
  • The three songwriters got a Music City News award for Song of the Year for "Bobbie Sue." Wood Newton recalled: "At the awards show, which fans could attend, we ended up sitting by a woman named Bobbie Sue, who had eloped with her husband, just like in the song. We never did figure out how we ended up sitting by each other, but I can't believe it was by total coincidence!"

Comments: 1

  • Jennifur Sun from RamonaLoved this song, especially their bass singer.
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