"Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray" is a song by 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 ...

singer

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 ...

. It was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in 1957 via

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 ...

. It was composed by Eddie Miller and W.S. Stevenson. Released on the heels of Cline's first hit "

Walkin' After Midnight "Walkin' After Midnight" is a song written by Alan Block and Don Hecht and recorded by American country music artist Patsy Cline. The song was originally given to pop singer Kay Starr, but her label rejected it. The song was left unused until He ...

," the song was not successful but received positive reviews from critics and journalists.

Background and content

Patsy Cline signed with

Four Star Records 4 Star Records was a record label that recorded many well-known country music acts in the 1950s. The label, founded after World War II, was home to singers such as Hank Locklin, Maddox Brothers and Rose, Rose Maddox, Webb Pierce, Cousin Ford Lewi ...

in 1954 and released a variety of singles for the label until the early 1960s. She recorded different selections of material, such as traditional country,

traditional pop Traditional pop (also known as vocal pop or pre-rock and roll pop) is Western culture, Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known ...

and

Rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

music. Yet only one single, "Walkin' After Midnight" (1957), became a major hit. Its crossover success prompted Cline's record company to select more pop material for her to record. Among the songs chosen was "Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray," which was composed by Eddie Miller and W.S. Stevenson (the latter was a pen name for Four Star executive Bill McCall). Unlike previous sessions, Cline was produced by

Paul Cohen Paul Joseph Cohen (April 2, 1934 – March 23, 2007) was an American mathematician, best known for his proofs that the continuum hypothesis and the axiom of choice are independent from Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory, for which he was awarded a F ...

and was recorded at the Decca Records Studio in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The session was held on April 25, 1957, where Cline was backed by the

Anita Kerr Singers Anita Jean Kerr (''née'' Grilli; October 13, 1927 – October 10, 2022) was an American singer, arranger, composer, conductor, pianist, and music producer. She recorded and performed with her vocal harmony groups in Nashville, Los Angeles, and ...

. At the session, she recorded six tracks including "Don't Ever Leave Me Again," "Fingerprints" and "Try Again."

Release and reception

"Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray" was released as a single on August 12, 1957 via Decca Records. It was backed by the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

, "A Stranger in My Arms." It was Cline's fourth single release with the Decca label, which Four Star leased. The song was also included on Cline's self-titled debut album, which was also issued in 1957 through Decca. Shortly after the single's release, Cline promoted the track by performing on the nationally syndicated television program, ''

Ozark Jubilee ''Ozark Jubilee'' is a 1950s American television program that featured country music's top stars of the day. It was produced in Springfield, Missouri. The weekly live stage show premiered on ABC-TV on January 22, 1955, was renamed ''Country Mu ...

.'' A full-page advertisement was also included 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 ...

'' magazine the same month which read, "The 'Walkin' After Midnight' Gal has 2 New Smash Songs!" Despite promotion, the single was not received well by disc jockeys and the record-buying public. Despite not having commercial success, "Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray" received a positive critical response.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

spoke of the song in his review of Cline's compilation, ''Country Great'': "There may not be any huge hits that jump out at the casual listener, but discerning fans will realize that any album containing 'That Wonderful Someone,' 'Too Many Secrets,' 'Then You'll Know,' and 'Three Cigarettes (In an Ashtray)' is essential listening." In 2000, Erlewine named the song again as an "album pick" when reviewing another compilation of Cline's early Four Star material. In 1987, "Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray" was notably covered by Canadian singer

k.d. lang Kathryn Dawn Lang (born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang (stylised in all lowercase), is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical pe ...

for her studio album, '' Angel with a Lariat.'' Mark Deming of AllMusic described lang's version as a "weepy closer" to her album.

Track listing

7" vinyl single * "Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray" – 2:12 * "A Stranger in My Arms" – 2:25

References

Footnotes

Books

* {{Patsy Cline singles 1957 singles Decca Records singles k.d. lang songs Patsy Cline songs Songs written by Eddie Miller (songwriter) 1957 songs Songs written by W.S. Stevenson