Bobby Russell (19 April 1940,
NashvilleNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is the second most populous city in the state after Memphis. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state...
,
TennesseeTennessee is a state located in the Southeastern United States. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 6,214,888, an increase of nearly 9.5% since 2000. Tennessee is the 14th fastest growing state in the US and is ranked 17th by population. It is ranked 36th by total land area. In...
— 19 november 1992) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
songwriterA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well as the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer.-History and background of songwriters:...
.
Russell wrote several hits, including "
The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia"The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" is a Southern Gothic song written by songwriter Bobby Russell and performed in 1972 by his then-wife Vicki Lawrence; Reba McEntire later covered it in 1991....
," his critique of country justice (a major hit for his then-wife
Vicki LawrenceVicki Lawrence is an American actress, comedian, and singer, who was frequently a game show panelist in the 1970s and 1980s...
, to whom he was married from 1972 to 1974); "Used To Be" (from the movie
The Grasshopper); and "
Little Green Apples"Little Green Apples" is a country song written by Bobby Russell. The version by O. C. Smith, from the album Hickory Holler Revisited, peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and It received a gold record from the RIAA for sales of one million records...
," which won him a Song of the Year
Grammy AwardThe Grammy Awards —or Grammys—are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry...
in 1968 from the
National Academy of Recording Arts and SciencesThe National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. is known variously as The Recording Academy or NARAS. Established in 1957, it is a U.S. organization of musicians, producers, recording engineers and other recording professionals dedicated to improving the quality of life and cultural...
. He wrote the song "
Honey"Honey", also known as "Honey ", is a song written by Bobby Russell for American singer Bobby Goldsboro's tenth album Honey...
", which was a hit for
Bobby GoldsboroBobby Goldsboro is an American Country and Pop singer-songwriter as well as an accomplished painter and television producer. Goldsboro was one of the most popular recording acts of the late 1960s and 1970s.-Early life:...
in 1968, spending five weeks at the top of the
Billboard Pop Singles ChartThe Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
.
Bobby Russell (19 April 1940,
NashvilleNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is the second most populous city in the state after Memphis. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state...
,
TennesseeTennessee is a state located in the Southeastern United States. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 6,214,888, an increase of nearly 9.5% since 2000. Tennessee is the 14th fastest growing state in the US and is ranked 17th by population. It is ranked 36th by total land area. In...
— 19 november 1992) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
songwriterA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well as the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer.-History and background of songwriters:...
.
Career
Russell wrote several hits, including "
The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia"The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" is a Southern Gothic song written by songwriter Bobby Russell and performed in 1972 by his then-wife Vicki Lawrence; Reba McEntire later covered it in 1991....
," his critique of country justice (a major hit for his then-wife
Vicki LawrenceVicki Lawrence is an American actress, comedian, and singer, who was frequently a game show panelist in the 1970s and 1980s...
, to whom he was married from 1972 to 1974); "Used To Be" (from the movie
The Grasshopper); and "
Little Green Apples"Little Green Apples" is a country song written by Bobby Russell. The version by O. C. Smith, from the album Hickory Holler Revisited, peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and It received a gold record from the RIAA for sales of one million records...
," which won him a Song of the Year
Grammy AwardThe Grammy Awards —or Grammys—are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry...
in 1968 from the
National Academy of Recording Arts and SciencesThe National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. is known variously as The Recording Academy or NARAS. Established in 1957, it is a U.S. organization of musicians, producers, recording engineers and other recording professionals dedicated to improving the quality of life and cultural...
. He wrote the song "
Honey"Honey", also known as "Honey ", is a song written by Bobby Russell for American singer Bobby Goldsboro's tenth album Honey...
", which was a hit for
Bobby GoldsboroBobby Goldsboro is an American Country and Pop singer-songwriter as well as an accomplished painter and television producer. Goldsboro was one of the most popular recording acts of the late 1960s and 1970s.-Early life:...
in 1968, spending five weeks at the top of the
Billboard Pop Singles ChartThe Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. He also wrote and performed a major hit in 1971 about a suburban father nursing a hangover while his children raise Cain on a Saturday morning, appropriately called "Saturday Morning Confusion."
Another of his songs, "1432 Franklin Pike Circle Hero," also explored the family life of an everyday man. Other songs that Russell recorded himself were "For a While We Helped Each Other Out" and "Our Love's Gonna Rise Up Again." He also wrote "Summer Sweet," for the Disney live-action,
RascalRascal is a film that was released in 1969 by Walt Disney Pictures.-Synopsis:The movie is based on Sterling North's 1963 "memoir of a better era." North, born near Edgerton, Wisconsin, was a former literary editor for newspapers in Chicago and New York...
(1969). The
B-sideA-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of 7 inch vinyl records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
of "Summer Sweet" was "Better Homes and Gardens," foreshadowing the suburban theme of his later hits.
Contrary to popular belief, he did not write "
He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" is a popular music ballad written by Bobby Scott and Bob Russell. It was a hit single for The Hollies in 1969 and for Neil Diamond in 1970.-Chart performance:...
." That song was co-written by another writer named
Bob RussellSidney Keith Russell, known as Bob Russell was an American songwriter born in Passaic, New Jersey. Although he was primarily a lyricist who collaborated with composers, he was, on occasion, a composer who collaborated with lyricists.In 1968, Russell along with songwriting partner Quincy Jones was...
.
Russell died in 1992 in
NicholasvilleNicholasville is the 11th largest city in state of Kentucky and the county seat of Jessamine County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 19,680 at the 2000 census. 2008 population estimates put Nicholasville at a population of 26,644...
,
KentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. Kentucky is a Southern state situated in the Upland South, although the state is infrequently placed, geographically and culturally, in the Midwest. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a...
of coronary artery disease, aged 52.
Albums
| Year |
Album |
Chart Positions |
Label |
| US Country |
US The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling new music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
|
| 1968 |
Words, Music, Laughter and Tears |
— |
— |
Elf |
| 1971 |
Saturday Morning Confusion |
44 |
183 |
United Artists |
Singles
| Year |
Single |
Chart Positions |
Album |
| US Country Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
|
US The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
|
CAN The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....
|
CAN Country |
CAN AC |
| 1966 |
"Friends and Mirrors" |
— |
— |
22 |
— |
— |
single only |
| 1967 |
"Dusty" |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
Words, Music, Laughter and Tears |
| 1968 |
"1432 Franklin Pike Circle Hero" |
64 |
36 |
35 |
— |
— |
| 1969 |
"Carlie" |
66 |
115 |
— |
— |
— |
singles only |
| "Then She's a Lover" |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| "Better Homes and Gardens" |
34 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 1970 |
"Our Love Will Rise Again" |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 1971 |
"Saturday Morning Confusion" |
24 |
28 |
27 |
13 |
14 |
Saturday Morning Confusion |
| 1973 |
"Mid American Manufacturing Tycoon" |
93 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
single only |