Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line

"Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line" is a song written by Jimmy Bryant. Originally recorded by American country music singer Jim Alley,[2] it was made famous by American country music singer and musician Waylon Jennings.

"Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line"
Single by Waylon Jennings
from the album Only the Greatest
B-side"Right Before My Eyes"[1]
ReleasedJuly 13, 1968
RecordedApril 16, 1968
RCA Victor studios, Nashville, Tennessee
GenreCountry
Length2:23
LabelRCA Victor #9561
Songwriter(s)Jimmy Bryant
Producer(s)Chet Atkins
Waylon Jennings singles chronology
"I Got You"
(1968)		 "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line"
(1968)		 "Yours Love"
(1968)

Waylon Jennings version

Jennings recorded the song on April 16, 1968, at RCA Victor Studios in Nashville, with Chet Atkins producing, with Wayne Moss playing the guitar solo.[3] It was released in July 1968 as the second single from Jennings' album Only the Greatest.[4]

Billboard, in a review of the album, said that it and "Walk On Out of My Mind" were "typical of the robust, compelling vocal style."[5] Nathan Brackett and Christian Hoard, in The New Rolling Stone Album Guide, wrote that Jennings began to "really assert his rough-hewn sensibility" on the song.[6]

The song was featured in season seven episode five of Mad Men, and was played briefly in the film Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.

Chart positions

The song spent eighteen weeks on the Hot Country Singles charts, peaking at #2 and holding that peak for five weeks.[1] In Canada, it reached Number One on the RPM Country Tracks charts for the week ending September 30, 1968.[7]

Chart (1968) Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[8] 2
Canadian RPM Country Tracks 1

Linda Ronstadt version

Linda Ronstadt included a gender-reversed version of the song (sung as "The Only Mama That'll Walk the Line") on her 1969 album Hand Sown ... Home Grown; The song became a staple of Ronstadt's set lists at her concerts during the late 1960s and early '70s. She performed it on The Johnny Cash Show in June 1969, nearly a year before Jennings performed it on the same show.

Hank Williams Jr. version

Hank Williams Jr. included a version of the song on his album Family Tradition, which was released in 1979.

The Kentucky Headhunters version
"Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line"
Single by The Kentucky Headhunters
from the album Electric Barnyard
B-side"Walk Softly on This Heart of Mine"[9]
Released1991
GenreCountry
Length3:10
LabelMercury #866134
Songwriter(s)Jimmy Bryant
Producer(s)The Kentucky Headhunters
The Kentucky Headhunters singles chronology
"It's Chitlin' Time"
(1991)		 "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line"
(1991)		 "Let's Work Together"
(1992)

In 1991, The Kentucky Headhunters recorded a cover version for the album Electric Barnyard. Also released as a single that year, this version spent seven weeks on the same chart and peaked at #60.

Chart positions
Chart (1991) Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[10] 60

References
  1. Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 207. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  2. Whitburn, Joel (2005). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2005. Record Research, Inc. p. 23. ISBN 0-89820-165-9.
  3. Nashville Rebel (liner notes). Waylon Jennings. New York, New York: Sony BMG Music Entertainment/Legacy Recordings. 2006. pp. 132–139. 82876 89640 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. Jurek, Thom. "Only the Greatest". Allmusic. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
  5. "Album reviews". Billboard. 20 July 1968. p. 73.
  6. Bracket, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. p. 428. ISBN 0743201698. Retrieved 8 September 2010. only daddy that'll walk the line.
  7. "RPM Country Tracks for September 30, 1968". RPM. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
  8. "Waylon Jennings Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  9. Whitburn, p. 223
  10. "The Kentucky Headhunters Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
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