"Set Him Free" is a song written by

Skeeter Davis Skeeter Davis (born Mary Frances Penick; December 30, 1931September 19, 2004) was an American country music singer and songwriter who sang crossover pop music songs including 1962's " The End of the World". She started out as part of the Davis ...

, Helen Moyer, and Marie Wilson. In 1959, Skeeter Davis recorded and released the song as a single for

RCA Victor 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 ...

. "Set Him Free" was recorded in January 1959 at the RCA Victor Studio 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 ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The song was released as a single in February 1959, and it peaked at number five on the ''

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to th ...

'' Hot C&W Sides chart later that year. The single became Davis' highest-charting single to that point and her third solo hit. In November 1959, "Set Him Free" was issued onto Davis' debut studio album entitled, '' I'll Sing You a Song and Harmonize Too''. In 1959, "Set Him Free" became the first song by a female country artist nominated by the

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

. In 1967, Davis re-recorded an updated version of "Set Him Free" and released it as a single in late 1967. The new version peaked at number fifty-two on the ''Billboard''

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 and was issued onto her studio album entitled, ''What Does It Take (To Keep a Man Like You Satisfied)''.

Chart performance

;Original recording ;Re-recording

References

1959 songs Skeeter Davis songs Songs written by Skeeter Davis Song recordings produced by Chet Atkins RCA Victor singles {{1950s-country-song-stub