Take These Chains from My Heart

"Take These Chains from My Heart" is a song by Hank Williams. It was written by Fred Rose and Hy Heath and was recorded at Williams' final recording session on September 23, 1952, in Nashville. The song has been widely praised; Williams' biographer Colin Escott deems it "perhaps the best song [Rose] ever presented to Hank...It was one of the very few songs that sounded somewhat similar to a Hank Williams song."[2] Williams is backed by Tommy Jackson (fiddle), Don Helms (steel guitar), Chet Atkins (lead guitar), Jack Shook (rhythm guitar), and Floyd "Lightnin'" Chance (bass).[3] In the wake of Williams' death on New Year's Day, 1953, the song shot to No. 1, his final chart-topping hit for MGM Records. Like "Your Cheatin' Heart," the song's theme of despair, so vividly articulated by Williams' typically impassioned singing, reinforced the image of Hank as a tortured, mythic figure.

"Take These Chains from My Heart"
Single by Hank Williams With His Drifting Cowboys
A-side"Ramblin' Man"
PublishedOctober 31, 1952 (1952-10-31) Acuff-Rose Publications[1]
ReleasedApril 1953 (1953-04)
RecordedSeptember 23, 1952 (1952-09-23)
StudioCastle Studio, Nashville
GenreCountry & Western, Honky-tonk, Country blues
Length2:35
LabelMGM 11479
Songwriter(s)Hy Heath, Fred Rose
Producer(s)Fred Rose
Hank Williams With His Drifting Cowboys singles chronology
"Kaw-Liga"
(1953)		 "Take These Chains from My Heart"
(1953)		 "I Won't Be Home No More"
(1953)
"Take These Chains from My Heart"
Single by Ray Charles
from the album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, Volume Two
B-side"No Letter Today"
ReleasedMarch 25, 1963
Recorded1963
GenreRhythm and blues
Length2:51
LabelMGM
Songwriter(s)Hy Heath, Fred Rose
Producer(s)Sid Feller
Ray Charles singles chronology
"The Brightest Smile in Town"
(1963)		 "Take These Chains from My Heart"
(1963)		 "No Letter Today"
(1963)
"Take These Chains from My Heart"
Single by Lee Roy Parnell
from the album On the Road
B-side"Straight Shooter"
ReleasedMay 21, 1994
GenreCountry
Length3:22
LabelArista Nashville
Songwriter(s)Hy Heath, Fred Rose
Producer(s)Scott Hendricks
Lee Roy Parnell singles chronology
"I'm Holding My Own"
(1994)		 "Take These Chains from My Heart"
(1994)		 "The Power of Love"
(1994)

Cover versions

Chart performance

Lee Roy Parnell
Chart (1994) Peak
position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[7] 21
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[8] 17

References
  1. "U.S. Copyright Office Virtual Card Catalog". vcc.copyright.gov. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
  2. Escott, Merritt & MacEwen 2004, p. 237.
  3. Escott, Merritt & MacEwen 2004, p. 347.
  4. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 113.
  5. "Ray Charles". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  6. Whitburn, p. 315
  7. "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 2562." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. August 15, 1994. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  8. "Lee Roy Parnell Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.

Bibliography
  • Escott, Colin; Merritt, George; MacEwen, William (2004). Hank Williams: The Biography. New York: Little, Brown.
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