"With Pen in Hand" is a song written by

Bobby Goldsboro Robert Charles Goldsboro (born January 18, 1941) is an American pop and country singer and songwriter. He had a string of pop and country hits in the 1960s and 1970s, including his signature No. 1 hit "Honey", which sold over 1 million copies i ...

and first released on his March 1968 album, ''

Honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

''. The song's lyrics address the subjects of divorce and losing custody of one's child, and are sung from the perspective of the parent who expects to be losing custody of their child, as they make a final plea to their spouse to reconcile before the divorce is finalized. "With Pen in Hand" has been a hit for multiple artists in the late 1960s and 1970s.

Johnny Darrell version

The first single release of "With Pen in Hand" was by

Johnny Darrell Johnny Darrell (July 23, 1940 – October 7, 1997) was an American country music artist. Darrell was born in Hopewell, Cleburne County, Alabama, Hopewell, Alabama but grew up in Marietta, Georgia. After a stint in the army, he moved to Nashville ...

on April 13, 1968. Darrell's version reached No. 3 on ''Billboard''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 along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart, No. 2 on ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

''s "Top C&W Singles", No. 4 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 ...

'' Country Top 50, No. 126 on ''

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 ...

''s

Bubbling Under the Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart, and No. 12 on ''Cash Box''s "Looking Ahead" chart of singles with potential of entering the ''Cash Box'' Top 100. He also released it on his August 1968 album also called ''With Pen in Hand''.

Billy Vera version

In June 1968,

Billy Vera Billy Vera (born William Patrick McCord; May 28, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, and music historian. He has been a singer and songwriter since the 1960s, his most successful record being " At This Moment", a US number 1 ...

released a version of the song, which was his first solo single. Vera's version spent 6 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching No. 43, while reaching No. 25 on ''Billboard''s

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

chart, No. 25 on the ''Cash Box'' Top 100, No. 29 on ''Record World''s "100 Top Pops", No. 21 on ''Record World''s "Top Non-Rock" chart,Record World's Top Non-Rock
, ''

'', July 20, 1968. p. 14. Retrieved March 4, 2018. No. 12 on

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

's ''

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 ...

'' 100, and No. 20 on ''Record World''s "Juke Box Top 25".

Vikki Carr version

Vikki Carr Florencia Vicenta de Casillas-Martínez Cardona (born July 19, 1940), known by her stage name Vikki Carr, is an American vocalist. She has a singing career that spans more than five decades. Born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican parents, she has ...

, who has said: "I had to fight for 'With Pen in Hand', had a 15 November 1968 UK single release with a cover of the song. Carr, herself in London at the time recording a TV show, promoted the single on British television and radio, facilitating its charting at No. 39 on the UK Singles Chart.Vikki Carr - Full Official Chart History

Official Charts Company The Official UK Charts Company Limited (formerly Music Industry Chart Services Limited), trading as the Official Charts Company (OCC) or the Official Charts (formerly the Chart Information Network), is a British inter-professional organisation ...

. Retrieved March 4, 2018. Also in November 1968, Carr played the

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

nightclub Persian Room, with her engagement being recorded as the live album ''For Once in My Life'', from which her performance of "With Pen In Hand" was issued as a single in February 1969. It spent 13 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at No. 35,Hot 100 - Vikki Carr With Pen in Hand Chart History
''Billboard.com''. Retrieved March 31, 2018. becoming Carr's third and final

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

hit on that chart. It also reached No. 6 on ''Billboard''s Easy Listening chart, and was ranked No. 5 on ''Billboard''s year-end ranking of 1969's "Top Easy Listening Singles". In Canada, Carr's live version reached No. 38 on the ''

'' 100,The RPM 100
, ''RPM Weekly'', Vol 11, No. 20. July 14, 1969. p. 5. Retrieved March 30, 2018. and No. 4 on ''RPM''s Adult Contemporary chart.Adult
, ''RPM Weekly'', Vol 11, No. 20. July 14, 1969. Retrieved March 30, 2018. 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 ...

of both the UK and US single versions of "With Pen in Hand" featured Carr's version of "

Can't Take My Eyes Off You "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" is a 1967 song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio, and first recorded and released as a single by Gaudio's Four Seasons bandmate Frankie Valli. The song was among his biggest hits, earning a gold record and rea ...

", from the album '' It Must Be Him''. In 1970, Carr was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The awar ...

for her live rendition of "With Pen in Hand".

Chart performance

Bobby Goldsboro version

Goldsboro first recorded the song February 26, 1968 and released the song on his March 1968 album, ''

'', but he didn't release it as a single until August 1, 1972. Goldsboro's version spent 5 weeks on the 1972 ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching No. 94, while reaching No. 28 on ''Billboard''s Easy Listening chart, No. 87 on the ''Cash Box'' Top 100, and No. 92 on ''Record World''s "The Singles Chart".

Other versions

In 1968,

Jerry Vale Jerry Vale (born Gennaro Louis Vitaliano; July 8, 1930 – May 18, 2014) was an American traditional pop singer. During the 1950s and 1960s, he reached the top of the pop charts with his interpretations of romantic ballads, including a cover of E ...

released a version of the song as a single and on the album ''This Guy's In Love With You''. Vale's version reached No. 30 on ''Billboard''s Easy Listening chart and No. 23 on ''Record World''s "Top Non-Rock" chart.

Conway Twitty Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...

released the song on the album ''Next in Line'' in 1968.

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

released the song on the album '' Let Me in Your Life'' in 1974. In 1977, Dorothy Moore released a version of the song as a single and on her eponymous album. Moore's version reached No. 12 on ''Billboard''s

Hot Soul Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 po ...

chart, No. 101 on ''Billboard''s Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart, No. 92 on ''Record World''s "The Singles Chart", and No. 11 on ''Record World''s "The R&B Singles Chart", No. 103 on ''Cash Box''s "Looking Ahead" chart, and No. 15 on "''Cash Box'' Top 100 R&B".Cash Box Top 100 R&B
, ''

'', January 28, 1978. p. 51. Retrieved March 11, 2018.

References

{{Authority control 1968 songs 1968 singles 1972 singles 1977 singles Billy Vera songs Bobby Goldsboro songs Jerry Vale songs Johnny Darrell songs Vikki Carr songs Dorothy Moore songs United Artists Records singles Atlantic Records singles Liberty Records singles Songs written by Bobby Goldsboro Song recordings produced by Bob Montgomery (songwriter) Songs about divorce Songs about children