Little Old Wine Drinker Me
"Little Old Wine Drinker Me" (sometimes rendered with a comma between the final two words) is a country pop song written in the 1960s by Hank Mills and Dick Jennings. The title parodied what was then a well-known catchphrase in TV commercials for Italian Swiss Colony wine company: "The little old winemaker, me!".[1] The song is about a man trying to drink away his romantic troubles.
"Little Old Wine Drinker Me" | |
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Single by Robert Mitchum | |
from the album That Man Robert Mitchum...Sings | |
B-side | "Walker's Woods" |
Released | March 1967 |
Recorded | January 19, 1967 |
Studio | Fred Foster Sound Studio, Nashville, Tennessee |
Genre | Country |
Length | 2:25 |
Label | Monument |
Songwriter(s) | Hank Mills & Dick Jennings |
Producer(s) | Fred Foster |
"Little Ole Wine Drinker, Me" | |
---|---|
Single by Dean Martin | |
from the album Welcome to My World | |
B-side | "I Can't Help Remembering You" |
Released | August 1967 |
Recorded | June 23, 1967 |
Studio | United Recording Corporation Studios, Hollywood, California |
Genre | Country pop |
Length | 2:47 |
Label | Reprise |
Songwriter(s) | Hank Mills & Dick Jennings |
Producer(s) | Jimmy Bowen |
The song was first released by Charlie Walker in 1966, on the album Wine, Woman & Walker.[2] It became a hit when it was released by Robert Mitchum in early 1967, and by Dean Martin later the same year on his album Welcome to My World. Lefty Frizzell also recorded the song on his 1967 album Puttin 'On.
Mitchum's version spent two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 96,[3] while reaching No. 9 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart.[4]
Martin's version spent six weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 38,[5] while reaching No. 5 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart,[6][7] and No. 4 on Australia's Go-Set chart.[8]
In Canada, Martin's version and Mitchum's version reached No. 32 on the RPM 100, in a tandem ranking.[9]
The Martin recording later became popular with the Scottish football club Clydebank and can often be heard being chanted on the terraces with ‘Tennessee’ being replaced with ‘Kilbowie’ in homage to the club's former ground in the town.
References
- "Italian Swiss Colony Wine Commercial Jingle" (video) – via YouTube.
- Charlie Walker - Little Ole Wine Drinker Me, norwegiancharts.com. Accessed September 11, 2016.
- Robert Mitchum - Chart History - The Hot 100, Billboard.com. Accessed September 11, 2016.
- "Hot Country Singles", Billboard, July 29, 1967. p. 44. Accessed September 11, 2016.
- Dean Martin - Chart History - The Hot 100, Billboard.com. Accessed September 11, 2016.
- Dean Martin - Chart History - Adult Contemporary, Billboard.com. Accessed September 11, 2016.
- "Billboard Top 40 Easy Listening", Billboard, September 30, 1967. p. 20. Accessed September 11, 2016.
- Ed Nimmervoll, "GO-SET National Top 40", October 11, 1967. Accessed September 11, 2016.
- "RPM 100", RPM Weekly, Volume 8, No. 3, September 16, 1967. Accessed September 11, 2016.