"Waterloo" was a number-one hit (country chart) for country singer

Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general and military officer who served during the American Civil War. He played a prominent role in nearly all military engagements in the eastern the ...

in 1959. It was written by

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 ...

and

Marijohn Wilkin Marijohn Wilkin ( Melson, formerly Russell, later Selman; July 14, 1920 – October 28, 2006) was an American songwriter, famous in country music for writing a number of hits such as " One Day At a Time" and "The Long Black Veil". Wilkin won ...

Background

The song tells of three famous people who, because of their actions, "met their Waterloo" –

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

(who ate the "apple"),

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

(at the namesake

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

), and Tom Dooley (who was hanged for murder).

Chart performance

The single was the most successful of Jackson's career, spending five weeks at #1 on the ''

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 ...

'' Hot Country & Western chart. The B-side of "Waterloo", "Smoke Along the Track", reached #24 on the country chart. "Waterloo" was also Jackson's only top 40 pop hit, peaking at #4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and at #3 on the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' Top 100 chart.''Billboard'' Hot 100 (July 13, 1959)
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References

Columbia Records singles 1959 singles Stonewall Jackson (musician) songs Songs written by John D. Loudermilk Songs written by Marijohn Wilkin 1959 songs Songs about Napoleon Songs about soldiers Songs about criminals Songs about Belgium Songs about North Carolina Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve Song recordings produced by Don Law {{1950s-country-song-stub