"On the Other Hand" is a song written by

Paul Overstreet Paul Lester Overstreet (born March 17, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He began his singing career in 1982 with a self-titled album on RCA Records Nashville. From 1986 to 1987, he was a vocalist in the trio S-K-O (Schuy ...

and

Don Schlitz Donald Allen Schlitz Jr. (born August 29, 1952) is an American songwriter who has written more than twenty number one hits on the country music charts. He is best known for his song " The Gambler" (Kenny Rogers), and as the co-writer of " For ...

, and recorded 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 ...

artist

Randy Travis Randy Bruce Traywick (born May 4, 1959), known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country and gospel music singer and songwriter, as well as a film and television actor. Active since 1979, he has recorded over 20 studio albums and ...

. It was first released as a single in July 1985, peaking at number 67 in the United States. It was Travis' first single with Warner Bros. Nashville and was only a minor hit. After the chart successes of Travis' next single, "

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

", the label reissued "On the Other Hand" in April 1986, and it became his first number one hit in both the United States and Canada. "On the Other Hand" and "1982" were both included on Travis' 1986 debut album, '' Storms of Life''.

History

Writer

came up with the idea for the song during a session with

. The two were having difficulty with a song they were working on titled "Greedy Heart" when Schlitz presented a list of ideas to Overstreet. One of the ideas on the list was the phrase "on the other hand", to which Overstreet immediately added "''there's a golden band''." The two writers finished the song and sent a demo to Pat Higdon, a song promoter who recommended it to producer

Kyle Lehning Kyle Lehning is an American record producer whose work is mainly in the field of country music. He has produced virtually every album released by Randy Travis, who described their partnership "an interesting relationship." The only exceptions are ...

with the intention of having

Dan Seals Danny Wayland Seals (February 8, 1948 – March 25, 2009), also known as England Dan, was an American musician. The younger brother of Seals and Crofts member Jim Seals, he first gained fame as one half of the soft rock duo England Dan & ...

recorded it. Lehning did not think the song was suitable for Seals and instead offered it to Randy Travis, who had just signed his first contract with

Warner Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

Nashville in early 1985. Travis recorded the song with Lehning and

Keith Stegall Robert Keith Stegall (born November 1, 1955) is an American country music recording artist and record producer. Active since 1980, Stegall has recorded two major-label studio albums: 1985's ''Keith Stegall'' and 1996's ''Passages'', although he ...

co-producing, as part of a four-song session which comprised his initial Warner contract. The other songs in this session were "Carrying Fire", "Reasons I Cheat", and "Prairie Rose". He performed the song live for the first time on the August 6, 1985, episode of the talk show ''

Nashville Now ''Nashville Now'' is an American talk show that focused on country music performers in the style of ''The Tonight Show''. The show aired live on weeknights on TNN from 1983–1993. The program was hosted by Nashville TV/radio personality Ralph ...

''.

Keith Whitley Jackie Keith Whitley (July 1, 1954 – May 9, 1989) was an American country music and bluegrass singer and songwriter. During his career, he released only two albums, but charted 12 singles on the ''Billboard'' country charts, and seven more af ...

also cut the song on his 1985 album '' L.A. to Miami''.

Composition

"On the Other Hand" is a

neotraditional country Neotraditional country (also known as new traditional country, hardcore country, or traditional country) is a country music style that emphasizes the instrumental background and a traditional country vocal style, as well as often dressing in the f ...

song composed in the key of

F major F major is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat.Music Theory'. (1950). United States: Standards and Curriculum Division, Training, Bureau of Naval Personnel. 28. Its relati ...

with an "easy country swing" tempo. The verses follow the chord pattern F-F7-BF-C-F-F7-B-G-C, with a pattern of B-F-C7-F twice on the chorus. Lyrically, it is about a man who is tempted to commit infidelity, but ultimately declines upon looking at his

wedding ring A wedding ring or wedding band is a finger ring that indicates that its wearer is married. It is usually forged from metal, traditionally gold or another precious metal. Rings were used in ancient Rome during marriage. In western culture, a ...

Chart positions

When first released, "On the Other Hand" spent twelve weeks 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 Songs 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. ...

charts, peaking at number 67. After its release, the label issued "

" as a follow-up, which peaked at number six. Despite its initial failure at radio, Warner executives thought that "On the Other Hand" was suitable for a re-release. Executive Nick Hunter, who at the time promoted singles to country radio for Warner, noted that the song had strong sales indicative of high listener demand. He also thought that Travis did not yet have a song recorded which was "strong enough to be a single" after the success of "1982", so "On the Other Hand" was approved for a re-release by Warner in April 1986. Upon re-release, "On the Other Hand" reached number one on the ''Billboard'' country chart dated for July 26, 1986. Its success upon re-release coincided with the release of Travis's first Warner album, '' Storms of Life''.

Certifications

References

Works cited

* {{Authority control 1985 singles 1986 singles 1985 songs Songs written by Don Schlitz Songs written by Paul Overstreet Randy Travis songs Keith Whitley songs Song recordings produced by Keith Stegall Song recordings produced by Kyle Lehning Warner Records Nashville singles Songs about infidelity