Kentucky Gambler
"Kentucky Gambler" | ||||
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Ken Nelson Fuzzy Owen | ||||
Merle Haggard and The Strangers singles chronology | ||||
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"Kentucky Gambler" is a 1974 song written and performed by Dolly Parton. "Kentucky Gambler" was issued as a track from Dolly Parton's The Bargain Store album from 1975.
Content
A classic Dolly Parton story song, "Kentucky Gambler" tells the story of a miner from Kentucky who abandons his wife and children for the bright lights of
Merle Haggard recording
That same year, Merle Haggard and The Strangers covered "Kentucky Gambler" and it was their nineteenth number one song on the country chart. The Merle Haggard and The Strangers version stayed at number one for a single week and spent a total of eleven weeks on the chart.[1]
Coincidentally, Parton's The Bargain Store album featured a cover of a Haggard composition, "You'll Always Be Special to Me". The following year, Haggard would cover another Dolly Parton song, "The Seeker".
Personnel for Merle Haggard version
- Merle Haggard– vocals, guitar
- Roy Nichols – lead guitar
- Norman Hamlet – steel guitar, dobro
- Tiny Moore – mandolin
- Ronnie Reno – guitar
- Mark Yeary – piano
- Johnny Meeks - bass
- Biff Adam – drums
- Don Markham – saxophone
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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References
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 147.
- ^ "Merle Haggard Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "Hot Country Songs – Year-End 1975". Billboard. Retrieved August 7, 2021.