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- Duration: 3:03
- Published: 07 Nov 2007
- Uploaded: 01 Aug 2011
- Author: johnnyhorton2
Title | Goodnight, Irene |
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Caption | Sheet music for "Goodnight, Irene", by the Weavers. |
Writer | Huddie Ledbetter |
Published | 1934 |
Written | 1908 |
Language | English |
Form | Waltz, Folk song |
Original artist | Lead Belly (1932; 1949) |
Recorded by | The Weavers (1950) Frank Sinatra (1950) Jerry Lee Lewis (1957) Mississippi John Hurt (1960) The Kingston Trio (1969) Little Richard (1972) Ry Cooder (1976) Meat Puppets (1994) Deer Tick (2009) |
Performed by | Willie Nelson |
"Goodnight, Irene" or "Irene, Goodnight," is a 20th century American folk standard, written in 3/4 time, first recorded by American blues musician Huddie 'Lead Belly' Ledbetter in 1932.
The lyrics tell of the singer's troubled past with his love, Irene, and express his sadness and frustration. Several verses make explicit reference to suicidal fantasies, most famously in the line "sometimes I take a great notion to jump in the river and drown," which was the inspiration for the 1964 Ken Kesey novel Sometimes a Great Notion.
Lead Belly continued performing the song during his various prison terms, and it was while incarcerated at the Louisiana State Penitentiary that he encountered musicologists John and Alan Lomax who would go on to record hours of Lead Belly's performances. A few months prior to his release in 1934, Lead Belly recorded a number of his songs, including Irene, for the Library of Congress.
"Irene" remained a staple of Lead Belly's performances throughout the 1930s and '40s. However, despite popularity within the New York blues community, the song was never commercially successful during his lifetime.
Subsequent to 1950, the song was recorded by numerous artists across several genres. In 2002, Lead Belly's 1936 Library of Congress recording received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award.
Frank Sinatra's cover, released only a month after The Weavers', lasted nine weeks on the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on July 10, peaking at #12. Later that same year, Ernest Tubb & Red Foley had a #1 country music record with the song, and both Dennis Day and Jo Stafford released versions which made the Best Seller chart, peaking at #22 and #26 respectively. Moon Mullican also had a country hit with it in 1950.
On the Cash Box chart, where all available versions were combined in the standings, the song reached a peak position of #1 on September 2, 1950, and lasted at #1 for 10 weeks.
The song was basis for the 1950 parody called "Please Say Goodnight to the Guy, Irene" by Ziggy Talent. It also inspired the 1954 "answer" record "Wake Up, Irene" by Hank Thompson, a top ten hit on Billboard's country chart.Ry Cooder covers the song on his 1976 album, Chicken Skin Music.
Band From TV did a cover of the song, with Hugh Laurie doing piano and vocals.
The Dixie Chicken in College Station plays this song at closing time, 2 a.m. every night of the week.
Category:20th-century songs Category:American folk songs Category:Football songs and chants Category:Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Category:Jo Stafford songs Category:Johnny Cash songs Category:Lead Belly songs Category:Little Richard songs Category:Pop standards Category:Billboard Hot Country Songs number-one singles Category:Moon Mullican songs
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