"My Elusive Dreams" is a country music song written by

Billy Sherrill Billy Norris Sherrill (November 5, 1936 – August 4, 2015) was an American record producer, songwriter, and arranger associated with country artists, notably Tammy Wynette and George Jones. Sherrill and business partner Glenn Sutton are regar ...

and

Curly Putman Claude "Curly" Putman Jr. (November 20, 1930 – October 30, 2016) was an American songwriter. Born in Princeton, Alabama, his greatest success was "Green, Green Grass of Home" (1964, sung by Porter Wagoner), which was covered by Roger Miller, E ...

. Putman recorded his song in March 1967 and released it on

ABC Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels bef ...

in June 1967, peaking at #41 on the

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. ...

charts and #34 on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

.Whitburn, p. 478 The song was later recorded by several artists. The best-known version was recorded as a duet by David Houston and

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music singer and songwriter, considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Lynn, Wynette helped bring a ...

, and was a No. 1 country hit in October 1967; the song also peaked at No. 89 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Wynette recorded a second duet version of My Elusive Dreams in 1973 with

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...

; this version was included on the '' Let's Build a World Together'' album. A 1975 Irish version by Philomena Begley and Ray Lynam is referenced in

The Pogues The Pogues are an English Celtic punk band founded in King's Cross, London, in 1982, by Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy and Jem Finer. Originally named Pogue Mahone—an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish phrase :wikt:póg mo thóin, ''p� ...

’s A Pair of Brown Eyes.

Song background

The song follows a restless man and his wife, as he attempts to find an ever-elusive and lasting happiness pursuing various dreams and schemes, all which are ill-fated. The man's attempts at making something work include stops in at least six states: Texas, Utah, Alabama (specifically, Birmingham), Tennessee (specifically, Memphis - where the wife gave birth to their child - and later Nashville), Nebraska and finally Alaska (it is implied that during their stint there, their child died and was buried there). The man finally admits to his resigned wife that he recognizes she's tired of following him around the country and that his dreams are fleeting.

Other versions

*Immediately after the Putman release, it was recorded by three different acts, a duet by David Houston & Tammy Wynette, one by Rusty Draper and another by

Johnny Darrell Johnny Darrell (July 23, 1940 – October 7, 1997) was an American country music artist. Darrell was born in Hopewell, Cleburne County, Alabama, Hopewell, Alabama but grew up in Marietta, Georgia. After a stint in the army, he moved to Nashville ...

. All four of the versions charted in 1967. Putman's version of the song made its chart debut on the chart dated for July 8, 1967, one week before the Houston-Wynette version, which went to #1 in October 1967. Draper's version peaked at #70 and Darrell's version peaked at #73 *The song has been recorded by countless numbers of acts over the years, but there were two more charting versions released. In 1970,

Bobby Vinton Stanley Robert Vinton (born April 16, 1935) is an American singer and actor, who hosted his own self-titled TV show in the late 1970s. As a teen idol, he became known as "The Polish Prince", as his music paid tribute to his Polish heritage. One ...

took his version of "My Elusive Dreams", which was also the title to his album of the same name, to #27 on the country charts and #46 on the pop charts. *In 1975,

Charlie Rich Charles Allan Rich (December 14, 1932July 25, 1995) was an American country singer. His eclectic style of music also blended influences from rockabilly, jazz, blues, soul, and gospel. In the later part of his life, Rich acquired the nickname t ...

took the song again onto the country and pop charts, this time taking it to #3 on the country charts and #49 on the pop chart. *Roger Miller recorded a cover in 1968, and in 1970,

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

released a version in 1974 on his album, '' You Lay So Easy on My Mind''. *

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer, actress, film producer and author. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato) and is known for her 1965 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walki ...

and

Lee Hazlewood Barton Lee Hazlewood (July 9, 1929 – August 4, 2007) was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s ...

recorded one version, and so did

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, ...

. *A 1974 version by Irish singers Ray Lynam and Philomena Begley is referenced in ' A Pair of Brown Eyes', a 1985 single by

: "While Ray and Philomena sang of my elusive dreams".

Chart performance

Curly Putman

David Houston and Tammy Wynette

Johnny Darrell

Bobby Vinton

Frankie Stevens

Charlie Rich

References

External links

Alabama Music Hall of Fame page on Billy Sherrill
* Allmusic.com page on David Houston 1967 singles 1970 singles 1975 singles Songs written by Billy Sherrill Songs written by Curly Putman David Houston (singer) songs Tammy Wynette songs Bobby Vinton songs Charlie Rich songs Johnny Darrell songs Andy Williams songs Glen Campbell songs Song recordings produced by Billy Sherrill Epic Records singles Country ballads Male–female vocal duets 1967 songs {{1960s-country-song-stub