"Slowly" is a
1954
Events
January
* January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany.
* January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting.
* January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...
song by
Webb Pierce, written by Pierce and Nashville songwriter Tommy Hill (brother of singer
Goldie Hill).
Background
Beyond its success as a song, "Slowly" was hugely influential in the history of country music, in that it was among the first (and certainly the most successful to date) songs to feature a
pedal steel guitar
The pedal steel guitar is a Console steel guitar, console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all s ...
. The song's iconic intro, played by
Bud Isaacs, was said to have sent legions of lap steel guitar players scurrying to their closets for wire coat hangers, with which they attempted to modify their existing instruments to get the pitch shifting effect achieved by Isaacs.
Chart performance
The song was one of Pierce's more successful singles, spending seventeen weeks at the top of the
Country and Western
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
Best Sellers lists and a total of thirty-six weeks in the chart.
Cover versions
*On August 23, 1966,
Connie Smith recorded the song which appeared on her album
Connie in the Country
''Connie in the Country'' is the seventh studio album by American country singer Connie Smith. It was released in February 1967 via the RCA Camden label and contained ten of tracks of material. It was her first to be released on RCA's budget Camden ...
(1967)
*In 1968,
Jimmy Martin
James Henry Martin (August 10, 1927 – May 14, 2005) was an American bluegrass musician, known as the "King of Bluegrass".
Early years
Martin was born in Sneedville, Tennessee, United States, and was raised in the hard farming life of rural ...
recorded the song which appeared in the album “Free-born Man” (1969)
*In 1971,
Jimmy Dean and
Dottie West recorded a duet of the song, which hit the
Top 40 on the country charts
*In 1981,
Kippi Brannon
Kippi Brannon (born Kippi Rolynn Binkley, 1966) is an American country music singer. She made her debut on the country music scene as a teenager, releasing four singles on MCA Records in the early 1980s before leaving her career in favor of a col ...
had her sole hit on the country charts with her version of the song
*In 2014,
The Haden Triplets
The Haden Triplets, Petra Haden, Petra, Tanya Haden, Tanya, and Rachel Haden, Rachel (born October 11, 1971 in New York City), are musicians who have performed individually in bands and together. They are the daughters of jazz double-bassist Char ...
(
Petra
Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to t ...
,
Tanya and
Rachel), daughters of jazz double-bassist
Charlie Haden, recorded the song for their debut album on
Jack White's
Third Man Records.
[Mazor, Barry. (January 29, 2014)]
Sister Act
" ''The Wall Street Journal.''
References
1954 songs
Webb Pierce songs
Songs written by Webb Pierce
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