"Pretty Paper" is a song written by

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-songwriter

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

in 1963. After being signed to

Monument Records Monument Records is an American record label co-founded in 1958 by Fred Foster. Originally founded in Washington, D.C., the label moved to Nashville in 1960, and experienced success over the next two decades with a number of artists including ...

, Nelson played the song for producer Fred Foster. Foster pitched the song to

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...

, who turned it into a hit. Nelson later recorded his own version of the song in November 1964.

Content

The song tells the story of a street vendor who, during the Christmas season, sells pencils and paper on the streets. In October 1963, while walking in his farm in

Ridgetop, Tennessee Ridgetop is a city in Davidson and Robertson counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The population was 1,874 at the 2010 census. Demographics 2020 census As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,155 people, 803 households, and 6 ...

, Nelson was inspired to write the song after he remembered a man he often saw while he lived in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

. The man moved with rollers, selling paper and pencils in front of Leonard's Department Store. In 2013, the ''

Fort Worth Star-Telegram The ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' is an American daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and Tarrant County, the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. It is owned by The McClatchy Company. History In May 1905, Amon G. Car ...

'' identified the man as Frankie Brierton, of

Santo, Texas Santo is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) in Palo Pinto County, Texas, United States. It lies on Farm to Market Road 4, 14 miles south of Palo Pinto, and has an estimated population of 315. Education The Santo Indep ...

. Both of Brierton's legs were atrophied below the knee due to childhood meningitis.

Background and recording

Early in 1963, Nelson was signed by Fred Foster to the label

. In October 1963, Nelson sang "Pretty Paper" for Foster, who was impressed and decided to forward the song to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Bill Justis William Everett Justis Jr. (October 14, 1926 – July 16, 1982) was an American pioneer rock and roll musician, composer, and arrangement, musical arranger, best known for his 1957 Grammy Hall of Fame song, "Raunchy (instrumental), Raunchy". As a ...

worked the arrangements and the demo tape was sent to Orbison in England. According to the official Roy Orbison biography, ''The Authorized Roy Orbison'', "Pretty Paper" was recorded at Decca Studio 2 in London with music director

Ivor Raymonde Ivor Raymonde (born Ivor Pomerance; 22 October 1926 – 4 June 1990) was a British musician, songwriter, arranger and actor, best known for his distinctive rock-orchestral arrangements for Dusty Springfield and others in the 1960s. Life and ca ...

, who made last-minute arrangements with his orchestra. Each musician was provided with microphones newly designed by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

' engineers. The microphones were worn around the neck to amplify the strings. Orbison attended the session with a 102-degree fever. According to the biography, Orbison recorded the song in 12 takes. The B-side, "Almost," was also done that day.

Release

The record by Orbison was released in November 1963. The song peaked at number 10 on '' Billboard's'' Adult Contemporary Chart, 15 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

and 27 on the Christmas Singles Chart. The record was released in the UK in November 1964 and peaked at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was included on '' More of Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits'' in 1964, and has appeared on numerous compilations through the years.

Other recordings

After moving to

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

in November 1964, Willie Nelson recorded his own version, produced by

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 ...

. The musicians for the session were Hargus "Pig" Robbins (piano),

Pete Drake Roddis Franklin "Pete" Drake (October 8, 1932 – July 29, 1988) was a Nashville-based American record producer and pedal steel guitar player. One of the most sought-after backup musicians of the 1960s, Drake played on such hits as Lynn Anders ...

(pedal steel), Henry Strzelecki (bass), Kenneth Buttrey (drums),

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(guitar) and Velma Smith (guitar). Nelson recorded for the B-side "What a Merry Christmas This Could Be". Nelson returned to the studio in December and recorded with the melody of the song in phonetic German the song "Little Darling". Nelson re-recorded the song for his 1979 album '' Pretty Paper'', and once more with his sister Bobbie Nelson for their 1997 album ''Hill Country Christmas''. There have been numerous cover versions of the song, by artists including

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

(1968),

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(1976),

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(1991),

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(2004),

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(2005),

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(2018),

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(2020), Eilen Jewell (2021) and dozens of others.

Footnotes

References

* * * * * * * * {{Authority control 1963 singles 1963 songs American Christmas songs Glen Campbell songs Monument Records singles Roy Orbison songs Song recordings produced by Fred Foster Songs written by Willie Nelson Willie Nelson songs