"She Called Me Baby" is a

country song Country (also called country and western) is a music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is primarily focused on singing stori ...

written in 1961 by

Harlan Howard Harlan Perry Howard (September 8, 1927 – March 3, 2002) was an American songwriter, principally in country music. In a career spanning six decades, Howard is credited with writing more than 4,000 songs, over 100 of which reached country mus ...

Background

The song was first recorded by Howard for his September 1961 album release ''Harlan Howard Sings Harlan Howard''. The track was released as a single in January 1962 and became a breakout hit in Texas where, according to his widow Melanie Howard, Harlan Howard spent two weeks doing promotion before returning home to Nashville and refusing to do further promotion re his singing career as it interfered with his primary musical focus: songwriting.

Charlie Rich Recording

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 ...

recorded "She Called Me Baby" at one of a series of sessions 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 ...

at RCA Victor Studio in Nashville which occurred between March 1964 and February 1965. Like many Atkins-produced tracks of this era, "She Called Me Baby" featured choral backing and strings, a style prominent on other Rich recordings of the time. Despite a number of recorded versions, "She Called Me Baby" did not appear in the Top 20 of the C&W chart in ''

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 ...

'' until 1974 when a mid-60s recording by Rich was belatedly released to reach No. 1 C&W. Rich's version of "She Called Me Baby" went unreleased as an album cut or single until after Rich had his star breakout in 1973, when he scored million-sellers with "Behind Closed Doors" and "

The Most Beautiful Girl "The Most Beautiful Girl" is a song recorded by Charlie Rich and written by Billy Sherrill, Norro Wilson, and Rory Bourke. The countrypolitan ballad reached No. 1 in the United States in 1973 on three '' Billboard'' music charts: the pop cha ...

." That run of success continued into 1974, when several of his older recordings made during his tenures at RCA, Mercury and

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee on February 1, 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Jo ...

— "She Called Me Baby" included – were released as singles to C&W radio. Released in September 1974 – around the time his Epic single " I Love My Friend" was peaking in popularity — "She Called Me Baby" reached No. 1 on the ''

'' C&W chart dated December 7, 1974. "She Called Me Baby" was Rich's fifth No. 1 C&W hit in 1974 alone and his seventh No. 1 C&W hit overall.

C&W versions

Jan Howard Jan Howard (born Lula Grace Johnson; March 13, 1929 – March 28, 2020) was an American author and country music singer and songwriter. As a singer, she placed 30 singles on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Hot Country Songs, country song ...

– then married to Harlan Howard – recorded the first female version of the song: "He Called Me Baby" in an April 30, 1962, session at Columbia Recording Studio (Nashville); the track was featured on Jan Howard's ''Sweet and Sentimental'' album released that October.

Patsy Cline Patsy Cline (born Virginia Patterson Hensley; September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963) was an American singer. One of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century, she was known as one of the first country music artists to successfully Cross ...

recorded the song as "He Called Me Baby" in a February 1963 session at Columbia Recording Studio (Nashville). Cline had begun recording tracks for an album to be entitled ''Faded Love'' on February 4, 1963; "He Called Me Baby" was one of four tracks cut on February 7, 1963 in what would prove to be Cline's final recording session. After Cline's death on March 5, 1963

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 ...

elected not to release the ''Faded Love'' album instead including Cline's final tracks on two 1964 album releases, the second of which: the November 2, 1964, release ''That's How a Heartache Begins'', featured "He Called Me Baby" which track had been given single release that September 19, to reach #23 on the C&W charts in December 1964, becoming Cline's final C&W Top 40 hit until 1980. Three months after Cline's "He Called Me Baby" ended its run in the C&W Top 50 Carl Smith brought "She Called Me Baby" onto that chart for the first time; Smith's version – cut December 14, 1964, at Columbia Recording Studio (Nashville) – rose as high as No. 32. "She Called Me Baby" next charted in November and December 1972 when Dick Curless took his version to No. 54 C&W. The song has also been recorded – as "She Called Me Baby" – by

Eddy Arnold Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer. He was a Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the ''Billboard'' country music charts, second onl ...

Bobby Bare Robert Joseph Bare Sr. (born April 7, 1935) is an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for the songs "Marie Laveau", " Detroit City", and " 500 Miles Away from Home". He is the father of Bobby Bare Jr., also a musician. Earl ...

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 ...

Tennessee Ernie Ford Ernest Jennings Ford (February 13, 1919 – October 17, 1991), known professionally as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American singer and television host who enjoyed success in the country and western, pop, and gospel musical genres. Noted for ...

Mickey Gilley Mickey Leroy Gilley (March 9, 1936 – May 7, 2022) was an American country music singer, businessman, actor, and musician. Among his hits are " Room Full of Roses", " Don't the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time", and “ Lonely Nights”. ...

Ferlin Husky Ferlin Eugene Husky (December 3, 1925 – March 17, 2011) was an American country music singer who was equally adept at honky-tonk, ballads, spoken recitations, rockabilly and pop tunes. From 1948 to 1953, he recorded under the stage name Terry ...

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 ...

John D. Loudermilk John Dee Loudermilk Jr. (March 31, 1934 – September 21, 2016) was an American singer and songwriter. Although he had his own recording career during the 1950s and 1960s, he was primarily known as a songwriter. His best-known songs include "In ...

Ernest Tubb Ernest Dale Tubb (February 9, 1914 – September 6, 1984), nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" (1941), marked ...

and

Sheb Wooley Shelby Fredrick Wooley (April 10, 1921 – September 16, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He recorded a series of novelty songs, including the 1958 hit rock-and-roll comedy single "The Purple People Eater", and under the name ...

; and as "He Called Me Baby" by

Jessi Colter Mirriam Johnson (born May 25, 1943), known professionally as Jessi Colter, is an American country singer who is best known for her collaborations with her second husband, country musician Waylon Jennings, and for her 1975 crossover hit " I'm Not ...

('' A Country Star is Born''),

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 ...

Bobbi Martin Barbara Ann "Bobbi" Martin (November 29, 1938 – May 2, 2000) was an American country music, country and pop music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She grew up in Oslo, Minnesota and began her singing career in Baltimore, working her way up f ...

Melba Montgomery Melba Joyce Montgomery (October 14, 1938 – January 15, 2025) was an American country music singer and songwriter. She was known for a series of duet recordings made with George Jones, Gene Pitney, and Charlie Louvin. She was also a solo artis ...

and

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, television personality, and the chart-topping female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during the ...

and

Lee Ann Womack Lee Ann Womack (; born August 19, 1966) is an American singer and songwriter. She has charted 23 times on the American ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts; her highest peaking single there is her crossover signature song, " I Hope You Dance" ...

in 2017.

R&B versions

"He Called Me Baby" entered the

R&B charts The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 po ...

for the first time in December 1968 via a recording by Ella Washington made for Nashville-based R&B label

Sound Stage 7 Sound Stage 7 was an American, Nashville, Tennessee based record label of the 1960s and 1970s, noted mainly for its soul music releases. The label's biggest star was Joe Simon, who placed numerous singles on the US R&B and pop charts during his 1 ...

. Recorded at

FAME Studios FAME (Florence Alabama Music Enterprises) Studios is a recording studio located at 603 East Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States, an area of northern Alabama known as the Shoals. Though small and distant from the main recording l ...

Muscle Shoals Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located on the left bank of the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 census, its population was 13,146. The estimated popula ...

, Washington's "He Called Me Baby" was only a moderate R&B hit (#38) but crossed-over to the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (#77) and earned Washington a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance – Female. In its female version, "He Called Me Baby", the song was a Top Ten R&B hit for

Candi Staton Canzetta Maria "Candi" Staton (, ) (born March 13, 1940) is an American singer–songwriter, best known in the United States for her 1970 cover of Tammy Wynette's " Stand by Your Man" and her 1976 disco chart-topper " Young Hearts Run Free". In E ...

in 1971. The track was includes in Staton's ''Stand By Your Man'' album and was cut at FAME Studios with studio owner

Rick Hall Roe Erister "Rick" Hall (January 31, 1932 – January 2, 2018) was an American record producer, songwriter, and musician who became known as the owner of FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. As the "Father of Muscle Shoals Music", he was ...

producing – included a version of "He Called Me Baby" issued as a single concurrently with the album's release in December 1970. Staton's version of "He Called Me Baby" – which Harlan Howard's widow says the composer "loved" – reached No. 9 R&B in February 1971, and also crossed over to the

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), o ...

peaking at No. 52. Nancy Wilson remade "He Called Me Baby" for her 1975 album ''Come Get to This''; released as a single the track reached No. 74 R&B.

Chart performance

Patsy Cline

Carl Smith

Dick Curless

Charlie Rich

Samples

*Indie band

One Eskimo Kristian Leontiou (born February 1982) is an English singer. Formerly a solo artist, he is the lead singer of indie rock band One eskimO. Early life Kristian Leontiou was born in London, England and is of Greek Cypriot descent. He went to Hatc ...

sampled the Candi Staton version for their 2009 song "Kandi".

References

{{Authority control 1964 singles 1965 singles 1972 singles 1974 singles Patsy Cline songs Carl Smith (musician) songs Dick Curless songs Charlie Rich songs Glen Campbell songs Songs written by Harlan Howard Song recordings produced by Chet Atkins Nancy Wilson (jazz singer) songs Song recordings produced by Owen Bradley Decca Records singles 1961 songs