(Allen Toussaint)
This song was written by Allen Toussaint after using the inspiration he took from memories he had of the stories he was told at night in the backwoods of Louisiana when he went to visit some of his relatives as a youth.
He recorded the song himself in 1975 on the album of the same name and a couple of years later it was written it was brought to the attention of the singer Glen Campbell who completely identified with the lyrics after being raised on a farm in Arkansas. The lyrics were given slight modifications and he recorded it in October 1976.
The single from the album of the same name was released in January 1977 with his recording of “The William Tell Overture” on the B-Side. It became a huge hit for Glen Campbell and topped three Billboard charts in the US and became the last time that he would have a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the Billboard Country Singles chart. It also topped the charts in Canada and made the Top 20 and 40 in several European countries.
The Country Music Association nominated it for “Song of the Year” in 1977 and it achieved a gold certification for more than a million sales.
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