Crazy Arms

"Crazy Arms"
Single by Ray Price
Released	May 1956 (U.S.)
Format	7"
Recorded	March 1, 1956
Genre	country
Length	2:35
Label	Columbia Records 21510
Writer(s)	Ralph Mooney and Charles Seals

"Crazy Arms" is an American country song recorded by Ray Price. The song, released in May 1956, went on to become a hit that year and a honky-tonk standard. It was Price's first number one hit. The song was written by Ralph Mooney and Charles Seals. Mooney, a pedal steel player on many recordings and for Waylon Jennings and Wynn Stewart for over 20 years, said he got the idea for the song after his wife left him because of his drinking problem.

Background

"Crazy Arms," in many ways, was country music's answer to the growing influence of rock and roll music in the genre. Country music historian Bill Malone noted that the genre's producers and promoters were frantically searching for a style to reach America's youth.^[1]

The up-and-coming Price, who already had several successful recordings by 1956, used "Crazy Arms" to not only establish himself as a star but to introduce fans to his Texas shuffle sound: fiddle, pedal steel guitar, walking electric bass and swinging 4/4 rhythm.^[1] Those hallmarks became part of many of Price's biggest hits throughout the mid-to-late 1950s and early 1960s, before Price began experimenting with strings and more pop-oriented styles. But "Crazy Arms" was not in fact anything close to an attempt to nab the youth market. If anything it was a gesture of defiance, an unabashedly traditional country ballad that made no apologies. Even when Jerry Lee Lewis recorded the song for Sun Records, his rendition made no attempt to add any rockabilly overtones.

Chart performance

"Crazy Arms" reached No. 1 of each of the Billboard magazine country music charts (jukebox, best sellers and radio airplay) in June 1956, and has been credited with spending 20 weeks atop the chart; just three other songs spent longer at No. 1. In addition, Billboard named the song its No. 1 country single of 1956 in its year-end issue.^[2]

Cover versions

"Crazy Arms" has been covered many times by performers both in country music and other genres. Some of the more notable names include Bing Crosby, Chuck Berry, Gram Parsons, Patsy Cline, Trini Lopez, Mickey Gilley, Great Speckled Bird, Jerry Lee Lewis, Willie Nelson, Patty Loveless, and Jerry Garcia Band. In addition, Price had a cameo role on a version recorded by Barbara Mandrell, on her 1990 album Morning Sun.^[3] Karen Chandler and Jimmy Wakely directly covered the Price version in 1956. In 2000 Van Morrison and Linda Gail Lewis performed the song on their 2000 album You Win Again. Linda Ronstadt recorded a cover for her album Linda Ronstadt (1971). Marty Stuart recorded an instrumental version with Mooney on his 2010 album Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions.

Sources

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Malone, Bill, "Classic Country Music: A Smithsonian Collection" ((booklet included with Classic Country Music: A Smithsonian Collection 4-disc set). Smithsonian Institution, 1990), p.51.
2. ^ [1] Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles year-end chart - 1956.
3. ^ [2]^{[dead link]} "Crazy Arms" at Allmusic.

See also

• Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs 1944-2005 - 6th Edition." 2006.
• Whitburn, Joel, "Top Pop Singles: 1955-2006," 2007.

Succession

Preceded by "Heartbreak Hotel" by Elvis Presley	C&W Best Sellers in Stores number one single by Ray Price June 23 -July 7, 1956 July 28 - September 8, 1956	Succeeded by "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You" by Elvis Presley "Don't Be Cruel"/"Hound Dog" by Elvis Presley
Preceded by "In the Jailhouse Now" by Webb Pierce	Billboard HotCountry Singles number-one single of the year 1956	Succeeded by "Gone" by Ferlin Husky