Everybody Loves a Nut (song)

"Everybody Loves a Nut" is a song written by Jack Clement and originally recorded by Johnny Cash on Columbia Records for his 1966 novelty album Everybody Loves a Nut.

"Everybody Loves a Nut"
Single by Johnny Cash
from the album Everybody Loves a Nut
A-side"Everybody Loves a Nut"
"Austin Prison"
ReleasedMay 1966 (1966-05)
Genrecountry, novelty
LabelColumbia 4-43673
Songwriter(s)Jack Clement
Producer(s)Don Law and Frank Jones[1]
Audio
"Everybody Loves a Nut" on YouTube

Released in May 1966[2] as the second single (Columbia 4-43673, with "Austin Prison" on the opposite side) from the yet-to-be-released album,[3][4][5][6] the song became a U.S. country top-20 hit.[2][7][3][8]

Background and critical response

In this song Cash "proclaim[s] that the world likes people a little off center and slightly weird."[9]

The second single [from Everybody Loves a Nut] was the album's title track, also written by Clement. "Everybody Loves a Nut" is the quirky tale of people who have odd habits, like keeping a dead horse in a cave, but are still loved. One of the men, a "Columbia man" named Frank, tries to keep a tiger in a tank, while another is kicked out of the Queen's kingdom for not believing the world to be flat—a nod, perhaps, to producers Frank Jones and Don Law.

— C. Eric Banister. Johnny Cash FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Man in Black[3]

The album opens with Clement's “Everybody Loves a Nut,” and it's clear that he is the driving force behind this collection. Clement always had an ability to creatively find new ways to express his skewed view of life in song. The album's title song depicts a series of vignettes explaining how endearing some folks who might be considered crazy can be. Throughout history we are told, quirky people have made their mark by being labeled nuts and weirdos. There's the hermit named Fred who kept a dead horse in his cave, the Colombian man named Frank who kept a tiger in his tank, and Christopher Columbus who believed the world wasn't flat. Cash slyly makes his point, and this seemingly nonsensical song seems less nonsensical after all. The song made it to number 17 on the country chart and number 96 pop.

— John M. Alexander. The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash[8]

Track listing
7" single (Columbia 4-43673, 1966)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Everybody Loves a Nut"Jack Clement2:04
2."Austin Prison"Johnny Cash2:06

Charts
Chart (1966) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[10] 96
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[11] 17

References
  1. "Johnny Cash - Everybody Loves A Nut (1966, Terre Haute Pressing, Vinyl)". Discogs. 1966. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  2. Peter Lewry (2001). I've Been Everywhere: A Johnny Cash Chronicle. Helter Skelter. pp. 49–50. ISBN 978-1-900924-22-1.
    May
    "Everybody Loves A Nut"/"Austin Prison" (Columbia 4-43673) released. This is the second single to be lifted from the forthcoming Everybody Loves A Nut album and it will spend nine weeks on the charts in July and August, reaching a high of #17.
  3. C. Eric Banister (1 August 2014). Johnny Cash FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Man in Black. Backbeat. pp. 89–. ISBN 978-1-61713-609-2.
  4. Steve Turner (1 November 2005). The man called Cash: the life, love, and faith of an American legend. Thomas Nelson Inc. ISBN 978-0-8499-0815-6. ... and started recording a lighthearted album that appeared to be a deliberate diversion from all the morbidity around him. In the first ...
  5. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (23 May 1970). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 1–. ISSN 0006-2510. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
    Standard Catalog of American Records, 1950-1975. Krause Publications. 2000. ISBN 978-0-87341-934-5.
    Tim Neely (31 August 2006). Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records: 1950-1975. Krause Publications. ISBN 9780896893078.
    The Johnny Cash Record Catalog. Greenwood Publishing Group. 1994. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-313-29506-5.
  6. George Albert (1984-01-01). The Cash Box Country Singles Charts, 1958-1982. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-1685-5.
  7. Joel Whitburn (2002). Top Country Singles, 1944 to 2001: Chart Data Compiled from Billboard's Country Singles Charts, 1944-2001. Record Research. ISBN 978-0-89820-151-2.
    Joel Whitburn (2005). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs: 1944-2005, Billboard. Record Research. ISBN 978-0-89820-165-9.
  8. John M. Alexander (16 April 2018). The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash. University of Arkansas Press. pp. 167–. ISBN 978-1-61075-628-0.
  9. Johnny Cash (2004). Johnny Cash, the Songs. Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 9781560256298. This song was followed by "Everybody Loves a Nut," also written by Clement, which has Cash proclaim that the world likes people a little off center and slightly weird.
  10. "Johnny Cash Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
  11. "Johnny Cash Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
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