“Soul Song” is a song written by George Richey, Billy Sherrill and Norro Wilson and first recorded by

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature int ...

as a track for her 1972 debut album

Delta Dawn "Delta Dawn" is a song written by musician Larry Collins and country songwriter Alex Harvey. The first notable recording of the song was in 1971 by American singer and actress Bette Midler for her debut album. However it is best known as a 19 ...

Background

The song also represented a first for co-writer Norro Wilson: a No. 1 hit as a producer. Wilson had previously written several songs that topped ''

Billboard magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

''’s

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 from Nielsen BDS along with digital sa ...

chart—notably, David Houston’s “ Baby, Baby (I Know You’re a Lady),” and

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’s “He Loves Me All the Way” and “My Man (Understands).” During the next three decades, Wilson produced numerous No. 1 hits (including two more by Stampley), including

Margo Smith Margo Smith (born Betty Lou Miller; April 9, 1942 in Dayton, Ohio) is an American country and Christian music singer–songwriter. She had several years of country success during the 1970s, which included two number one hits on the ''Billboard' ...

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Janie Fricke Jane Marie Fricke ( ; born December 19, 1947), known professionally as Janie Fricke, is an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, and clothing designer. She has placed seventeen singles in the top ten of the ''Billboard'' ...

Chely Wright Chely Wright (born Richell Rene Wright; October 25, 1970) is an American activist, author and country music artist. She initially rose to fame as a commercial country recording artist with several charting singles, including the number one hit, ...

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has recorded more than 20 albums and has produced more than 40 Top 10 singles on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs and Country ...

and

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...

Joe Stampley recording

The song was later recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

singer

Joe Stampley Joe Stampley (born June 6, 1943) is an American country music singer. He had success as the lead singer of a rock group, in a country duo with Moe Bandy and as a solo performer. Stampley has released over 20 albums and more than 60 singles in ...

. It was released in September 1972 as the first single and title track from the album ''Soul Song'', The song was Stampley's first No. 1 song,

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

Sources

* Allmusic — ''Soul Song''*Roland, Tom, "The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits" (Billboard Books, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1991 ()) 1972 singles Joe Stampley songs Songs written by Billy Sherrill Songs written by Norro Wilson Songs written by George Richey Song recordings produced by Norro Wilson Dot Records singles 1972 songs {{1970s-single-stub