Good Hearted Woman 2/5/20

Today: A lesson in how to take a "Great Song of the '70s" and make it even "Greater."

In 1969, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson were staying at a hotel in Fort Worth, Texas, when Waylon read a newspaper article about Tina Turner and how she was a "Good Hearted Woman" in love with a two-timin' man (an obvious reference to Ike Turner).

A little while later, while playing poker with Willie, he mentioned the article, and right then and there, they started working on a song, with Connie Nelson, Willie's wife at the time, writing it all down so they wouldn't forget what they came up with. (There may have been some "substances" involved.)

Waylon made it the title song of his 1972 album and released it as a single (without Willie). It quickly went to #1 and #3 on the Canadian and U.S. Country Charts, respectively.

But Waylon wasn't finished. In 1975, he remixed the song with vocals by Willie and fake crowd noise to

give it a "live" feel, added it to the album, "Wanted: The Outlaws," and released it as a single AGAIN!

In February of 1976, the new version went to #1 on the U.S. Country chart...and #5 in Canada. It even made the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart at #16. It was also the Country Music Association's "Song of the Year!" For good measure, "Wanted: The Outlaws" became the first platinum-selling album (1 million copies) in country music history!

And that's how a "Great Song of 1972" became a "Greater Song of 1976!"