"Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" is a song written by

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

. It has since been covered by several artists, notably

La Costa LaCosta Tucker (born December 12, 1951) is an American country music artist who recorded in the 1970s and 1980s as La Costa. The sister of country singer Tanya Tucker, LaCosta charted several singles of her own in the 1970s on the ''Billboard' ...

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...

and

Lynn Anderson Lynn René Anderson (September 26, 1947 – July 30, 2015) was an American country singer and television personality. Her crossover signature recording, " Rose Garden", was a number one hit internationally. She also charted five number one ...

. Crowell claims to have written "Even Cowgirls Get The Blues" about Harris and her pal

Susanna Clark Susanna Talley Clark (March 11, 1939 – June 27, 2012) was an American artist and country/folk songwriter. She was married to Texas singer-songwriter Guy Clark and had a close personal friendship with fellow singer-songwriter Townes Van Zand ...

. The title of the song is taken from the then-popular novel of the same name by author

Tom Robbins Thomas Eugene Robbins (July 22, 1932 – February 9, 2025) was an American novelist. His most notable works are "seriocomedies" (also known as "comedy dramas"). Robbins had lived in La Conner, Washington, since 1970, where he wrote nine of his ...

. The song has been released as a single twice and has also appeared on albums of various artists.

LaCosta version

"Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" was originally a single release by American country artist

in 1978. It was recorded on July 28, 1977, at the United Western Studio, located in

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

. The session was produced by Doug Gilmore, La Costa's producer for her 1977 album of the same name. LaCosta's version was released as a single in January 1978 via Capitol Records. Her version only became a minor hit that year when it reached number 79 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 ...

Hot Country Singles 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. It was the second of three singles spawned from her fourth album for Capitol Records, which was first released in 1977. Additional singles from the same album also reached minor chart positions.

Track listings

;7" vinyl single * "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" – 3:17 * "Alice, Texas" – 3:00

Chart performance

Other notable versions

While it has been released twice as a single, "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" was notably recorded by other music artists as well. Following its first single release in 1978, American actress and singer

Mary Kay Place Mary Kay Place (born September 23, 1947) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Loretta Haggers on the television series '' Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'', a role that won her the 1977 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Suppor ...

recorded a version for her 1977 studio album, ''Aimin' to Please.'' The song was the eighth track featured on Place's record. In 1979, it was featured as a track on American country artist

' '' Blue Kentucky Girl'' with vocal harmonies by

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

and

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music. Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...

(initially recorded during the 1978 sessions for their ''

Trio Trio may refer to: Music Groups * Trio (music), an ensemble of three performers, or a composition for such an ensemble ** Jazz trio, pianist, double bassist, drummer ** Minuet and trio, a form in classical music ** String trio, a group of three ...

'' album). Harris' version was the tenth track on the project. An alternative version of this song with verses performed by Harris, Ronstadt and Parton later appeared on ''

The Complete Trio Collection ''The Complete Trio Collection'' is compilation album by American singer-songwriters Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt. It brings together newly remastered versions of their two award-winning albums, 1987's '' Trio'' and 1999's '' T ...

'' (2016) album. In 1986, the song appeared on the collaborative studio project by

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

and

Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...

. The song was recorded as a duet between both artists and was the sixth track of their album ''

Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

.'' In 1993, it was released on Rodney Crowell's compilation album ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

.'' It was the second track on the compilation.

Lynn Anderson version

"Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" was notably recorded by American country artist

in 1980. It became a minor hit that year in North America. Anderson's version was recorded at the Columbia Studio in April 1980, located in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. The session was produced by Gary Klein and

Charles Koppelman Charles Koppelman (March 30, 1940 – November 25, 2022) was an American musician, music producer, and businessman. He held executive positions at EMI and Steve Madden, and he was Chairman of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. At the time of hi ...

, her first production assignment with the pair. "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" was first released as a single in May 1980. The song spent 13 weeks on the ''

chart before reaching number 26 in September 1980. It also became a top 40 hit on the Canadian RPM Country Songs chart, reaching number 23 the same year. The song was issued on Anderson's 1980 studio album of the

same name ''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first and last name. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after four-ep ...

Track listings

;7" vinyl single * "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" – 2:57 * "See Through Me" – 4:03

Chart performance

References

{{authority control 1978 singles 1978 songs 1980 singles Capitol Records singles Columbia Records singles Emmylou Harris songs Lynn Anderson songs Rodney Crowell songs Songs written by Rodney Crowell