"Third Rate Romance" is a song written by Russell Smith, first recorded in Montreal in 1974 by

Jesse Winchester James Ridout "Jesse" Winchester Jr. (May 17, 1944 – April 11, 2014) was an American-Canadian musician and songwriter. He was born and raised in the southern United States. Opposed to the Vietnam War, he moved to Canada in 1967 to avoid ...

and his band the Rhythm Aces, assisted by Smith. It became a hit the following year by the newly re-formed Amazing Rhythm Aces on its 1975 album '' Stacked Deck''. It was the band's debut single, reaching No.11 on the U.S. country singles chart and No.14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, as well as No.1 on the Canadian ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' Country Tracks and Top Singles charts.

Content

The third-person lyrics tell the story of a man and woman who meet at a restaurant and depart together for what presumably will prove to be a

one-night stand A one-night stand is a single sexual encounter in which there is no expectation that there shall be any further relations between the sexual participants. It draws its name from the common practice of a one-night stand, a single night performanc ...

at a motel (the "Family Inn"). At the door of the room, she nervously says, "I've never really done this kind of thing before—have you?" He admits that he has, "but only a time or two."

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sammy Kershaw version

American

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 ...

artist Sammy Kershaw covered the song on his 1994 album '' Feelin' Good Train'', from which it was released as a single in 1994. It peaked at No.2 in the United States country chartsWhitburn, p. 224 and at No.10 in Canada. Russell Smith provided backing vocals on Kershaw's version.

Music video

The music video was directed by Michael Merriman, and premiered in late 1994. It features a woman luring an older man into going to a motel with her. She steals his money and watch and then drives off with another man, as the old man tries to chase them down.

Chart performance

Other versions

- on his 1974 album ''Learn to Love It''. * Ace Spectrum recorded a more funky take on their 1975 album ''Low Rent Rendezvous''. *

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

- as a demo in 1975 on the album known as the "Flip City Demos" * Tom Jones recorded it in 1976. *

Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Cash. Although Cash is often classified as a country artist, her music draws f ...

- on her 1982 album '' Somewhere in the Stars''. * Fabulous Poodles - on their 1978 album '' Unsuitable''. *Another version was performed on The

Earl Scruggs Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-finge ...

Review Anniversary Special (1975).

References

{{Sammy Kershaw 1975 songs Sammy Kershaw songs 1994 singles The Amazing Rhythm Aces songs 1975 debut singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Songs written by Russell Smith (singer) Song recordings produced by Buddy Cannon Song recordings produced by Norro Wilson ABC Records singles Mercury Records singles