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You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me

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This article is about the song written by Jim Weatherly. For the Dean Martin album, see You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me (album).
"You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me"
Song
B-side"What Kind of Love is This"
"You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me"
Song
B-side"Once in a Lifetime Thing"

"You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me" — also known simply as "Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me" — is a song written by Jim Weatherly, and enjoyed two runs of popularity, each by an artist in a different genre.

Weatherly told Tom Roland in The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits that he wrote the song in 1971 and let his father-in-law first record it as a Christmas present for the latter's wife. "I thought it was really strange that nobody'd written a song with that title — possibly somebody had, but I'd never heard it — so I just sat down and let this stream of consciousness happen. I basically wrote it in a very short period of time, probably 30 minutes or an hour."[1]

The versions

Ray Price country version

The song's first run of popularity, as "You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me," came in 1973. That's when country music singer Ray Price took the song to No. 1 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart on October 6, 1973.

For that version, it represented a last and a first. The "last" was Price's seventh and most recent No. 1 single, in a string dating back to his 1956 hit "Crazy Arms." The "first": It was the No. 1 single on the debut program of "American Country Countdown," which used the Billboard chart in its programming. Although it fell short of the top 40 in his native United States, the song was an easy listening hit in Canada, his third such hit there.

Gladys Knight & the Pips pop/R&B version

In the early- to mid-1970s, Gladys Knight & the Pips had covered several of Weatherly-penned tunes, and in 1974, they dipped into his catalog once again with their rendition of the song. Their version, titled "Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me," reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 that spring and topped the Hot Soul Singles for two weeks.[2] The single was certified gold by the RIAA for sales of one million copies. It also reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom.

The Persuaders R&B version

Also, earlier in 1974,the same year that Gladys Knight & The Pips recorded the song, The Persuaders also recorded a version, taken from their album of the same name [3][4][5] Their version was quieter,less brassy, and more introspective than The Pips' version [6] It was released before the Pips' version as ATCO single # 45-6596

Dean Martin pop version

The song was also recorded by Dean Martin in 1973.

Andy Williams version

Andy Williams released a version in 1974 on his album, The Way We Were.

Steve Lawrence version

Steve Lawrence released a version in 1973 under MGM Records label.

Chart performance

Ray Price version

Chart (1973) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles[7] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 82
Canadian RPM Country Tracks 2
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks 37
Preceded by Billboard Hot Country Singles
number-one single
October 6, 1973 		Succeeded by

Gladys Knight & the Pips version

Preceded by Billboard Hot Soul Singles number one single
April 6–13, 1974 		Succeeded by

References

  1. ^ Roland, Tom, "The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits" (Billboard Books, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1991 (ISBN 0-82-307553-2), p. 99.
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 330.
  3. ^ "The Persuaders - Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me (Vinyl, LP, Album)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  4. ^ Jim Weatherly. "The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me - The Persuaders | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  5. ^ [1][permanent dead link‍]
  6. ^ "Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me The Persuaders". YouTube. 2013-11-17. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  7. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 275.
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