"Dear John" is a song written by

Tex Ritter Woodward Maurice "Tex" Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a singer, and an actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s. He was the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John Ritter, grandso ...

and Aubrey Gass. It is best remembered for being the A-side to

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

' number one hit "

Cold, Cold Heart "Cold, Cold Heart" is a country music and pop song written and first recorded by Hank Williams. This blues ballad is both a classic of honky-tonk and an entry in the '' Great American Songbook''. Hank Williams version Williams adapted the mel ...

" in 1951 for

MGM Records MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...

Background

According to

Colin Escott Colin Escott (born 31 August 1949) is a British music historian and author specializing in early U.S. rock and roll and country music. His works include a biography of Hank Williams, histories of Sun Records and The Grand Ole Opry, liner notes ...

's 2004 biography of Hank Williams, producer Fred Rose initially saw "Cold, Cold Heart" as a B-side and regarded "Dear John" a more appropriate A-side, since jukeboxes preferred up-tempo singles. The song was originally recorded by Jim Boyd, younger brother of

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

-based

western swing Western swing, country jazz or smooth country is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which att ...

artist Bill Boyd. Eventually Tex Ritter got a credit on the song likely after promising songwriter Aubrey Gass he would get the song cut by a big name or get Gass a contract with his label Capitol if he got a piece of the composition. Williams recorded the song at the same session that he cut "Cold, Cold Heart," with Fred Rose producing and backing from

Jerry Rivers Jerry Rivers (August 25, 1928 – October 4, 1996) was an American fiddle player. Biography Jerry Rivers was born in Miami, Florida. He played fiddle with the Drifting Cowboys, a band who will be forever associated with their "frontman", the le ...

(fiddle),

Don Helms Donald Hugh Helms (February 28, 1927 – August 11, 2008) was an American musician who was the steel guitar player of Hank Williams's Drifting Cowboys group. He was a member of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame (1984). Biography Helms was a featu ...

(steel guitar), Sammy Pruett (electric guitar),

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...

(rhythm guitar), and Ernie Newton or "Cedric Rainwater," aka Howard Watts (bass). As Escott observes: "When Hank and the band hollered the tag line, 'Dear John, I've sent your saddle home,' it invited everyone in the bar, the auditorium, or even the car to holler right along. Once again, the upfront rhythm guitar carried the recording. Hank cruised at the brisk tempo, never once straining." "Cold, Cold Heart" shot to number one in early 1951, and "Dear John" rode on its coattails to number 8 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' country singles chart. In 1996, "Dear John" was referenced by

Tracy Lawrence Tracy Lee Lawrence (born January 27, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Atlanta, Texas, and raised in Foreman, Arkansas, Lawrence began performing at age 15 and moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 19 ...

's single "

Time Marches On ''Time Marches On'' is the fourth studio album by American country music artist Tracy Lawrence. It was released on January 23, 1996, by Atlantic Records. The title track spent three weeks at Number One on the ''Billboard'' country charts in 1996, ...

", featuring the lyrics "Hank Williams sings '

Kaw-Liga "Kaw-Liga" ( ) is a country music song written by Hank Williams and Fred Rose. Background Hank Williams was from Alabama, and would vacation on Lake Martin. The Lake Martin-area was once the home of Kowaliga, a former unincorporated town and ...

' and 'Dear John' and time marches on." "Time Marches On" held the number one spot on ''Billboard''’s

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart for three weeks. In 1999,

John Prine John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. Widely cited as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation, Prine was known for his signature blend of humoro ...

covered "Dear John" on his 1999 album ''

In Spite of Ourselves ''In Spite of Ourselves'' is the 13th studio album of John Prine, featuring duets of classic country songs with various well-known female folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk h ...

.''

References

{{authority control Year of song missing Song recordings produced by Fred Rose (songwriter) Hank Williams songs 1951 songs 1951 singles