"Husbands and Wives" is a song written and first recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer

Roger Miller Roger Dean Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping country hits " King of the Road", "Dang Me", and " England Swing ...

. Miller's original, from his album '' Words and Music'', was released in February 1966 and was a crossover hit for him, reaching Top Ten on the U.S. country and Adult Contemporary charts, as well as Top 40 on the pop charts. Since the release of Miller's original, the song has been covered by several other artists, including

The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close-harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, ...

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling musicians of all time. He has written and ...

, a duet between

David Frizzell David Frizzell (born September 26, 1941) is an American country music singer. He is the younger brother of country musician, Lefty Frizzell. His career started in the late 1950s, but his biggest success came in the 1980s. Biography Frizzell wa ...

and

Shelly West Shelly West (born May 23, 1956) is an United States, American country music singing, singer. Her mother was the country music star Dottie West, whose career spanned three decades. The younger West reached her peak in popularity during the 1980s ...

Jules Shear Jules Mark Shear (born March 7, 1952) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He wrote the Cyndi Lauper hit single " All Through the Night", the Bangles' hit " If She Knew What She Wants", and the Ignatius Jones and Allison Moyet ...

, and

Brooks & Dunn Brooks & Dunn are an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1988 through the suggestion of songwriter and record producer, Tim DuBois. Before thei ...

, whose version was a number-one country hit in 1998.

Content

"Husbands and Wives" is a mid-tempo waltz in the key of

C major C major is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and its parallel min ...

. In it, the narrator makes observations on a couple who is breaking up ("Two broken hearts, lonely, looking like houses / Where nobody lives"). He then suggests that the relationship is strained because those involved have too much pride in themselves ("It's my belief pride is the chief cause in the decline / In the number of husbands and wives").

Roger Miller version

Roger Miller recorded the song in 1966 for his album ''Words and Music'', releasing it as the album's first single. It was a crossover hit for him, reaching Top 5 on the country and Adult Contemporary charts, as well as Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its

b-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

, "I've Been a Long Time Leavin' (But I'll Be a Long Time Gone)," peaked at #13 on the country charts.

Wayne Newton cover

Wayne Newton recorded "Husbands and Wives" in 1968. It was a minor hit for him, reaching #28 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart, as well as #97 on ''Cash Box''.

Chart history

;Peter Lotis ;Roger Miller ;Wayne Newton

David Frizzell and Shelly West version

and

covered the song on their 1981 duets album ''Carryin' On the Family Names'', and released it as the album's third and final single. Their version reached the Top 20 on the country singles chart.

Chart history

Brooks & Dunn version

Country music duo

covered the song on their 1998 album ''

If You See Her ''If You See Her'' is the fifth studio album by American country music duo Brooks & Dunn, released in 1998 on Arista Nashville. The album featured five chart singles: "If You See Him/If You See Her", "How Long Gone", and "Husbands and Wives" (a c ...

''. Featuring lead vocals from

Ronnie Dunn Ronald Gene Dunn (born June 1, 1953) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record executive. Starting in 2011, Dunn has worked as a solo artist following the temporary dissolution of Brooks & Dunn. He released his Ronnie Dunn (alb ...

, their version was the album's third single, reaching the top of the country singles chart in December 1998. It was also their first Top 40 hit on the pop charts, peaking at No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Chart history

"Husbands and Wives" debuted at number 64 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart for the week of September 26, 1998.

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1966 songs 1966 singles 1981 singles 1998 singles Number-one singles in South Africa Roger Miller songs David Frizzell songs Shelly West songs Brooks & Dunn songs Male–female vocal duets Songs written by Roger Miller Song recordings produced by Don Cook Song recordings produced by Snuff Garrett Warner Records singles Arista Nashville singles Smash Records singles Song recordings produced by Jerry Kennedy Songs about marriage