"(I'd Be) A Legend in My Time" is a song written and recorded by

Don Gibson Donald Eugene Gibson (April 3, 1928 – November 17, 2003) was an American songwriter and country musician. A Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Gibson wrote such country standards as " Sweet Dreams" and " I Can't Stop Loving You", and enjo ...

in 1960. It appeared as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of his hit "Far Far Away", from the album ''Sweet Dreams''. Gibson re-recorded the song on the 1972 album ''Country Green''.

Ronnie Milsap version

The song was recorded by

Ronnie Milsap Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly completely blind from birth, h ...

and released in November 1974 as the lead single from his album '' A Legend in My Time''. This was Milsap's sixth country hit and his third number one. The single stayed at number one for a single week and spent a total of ten weeks within the top 40. Milsap's recording altered the song from its original 3/4

time signature A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...

to a 4/4 time signature.

Charts

Other cover versions

Frequently covered, the song is usually titled without the parenthetical lead. Versions have been recorded by *

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero ( ; born December 12, 1937), known as Connie Francis, is a retired American Pop music, pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She is estimated to have sold more th ...

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...

covered the track for his 1961 album ''

Lonely and Blue ''Lonely and Blue'' is the debut studio album by Roy Orbison, released on Monument Records in January 1961. It entered the UK albums chart two years later, on June 30, 1963 and reached number 14 over the course of eight weeks. The track, "Come ...

'', and recorded a second later version which was featured on his 1967 tribute album to Gibson, ''

Roy Orbison Sings Don Gibson ''Roy Orbison Sings Don Gibson'' is a tribute album recorded by Roy Orbison for MGM Records. Released in January 1967, it is a collection of songs written by Country Music Hall of Fame singer/songwriter Don Gibson who, like Orbison, often wrote a ...

''. *

Frank Ifield Francis Edward Ifield OAM (30 November 1937 – 18 May 2024) was a British-born Australian country music singer and guitarist who often incorporated yodelling into his music. Born in the United Kingdom, Ifield grew up in rural Australia wher ...

1963 *

Dottie West Dottie West (born Dorothy Marie Marsh; October 11, 1932 – September 4, 1991) was an American country singer and songwriter. She also had several credits as an actress. A distinguished figure in the country genre, West was among several people ...

on her 1967 LP, '' I'll Help You Forget Her''. *

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

(on the album '' American V: A Hundred Highways'') *

Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...

* B. B. King * A live version by

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music singer and songwriter, considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Lynn, Wynette helped bring a ...

and the Good Guys on Navy Hoedown NH-21, among others. *A 1973 rendition by

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which t ...

became an Adult Contemporary chart hit, reaching #33 in Canada and #29 U.S.

References

1974 singles Don Gibson songs Roy Orbison songs Dottie West songs Sammy Davis Jr. songs Ronnie Milsap songs Songs written by Don Gibson Song recordings produced by Tom Collins (record producer) RCA Records Nashville singles 1960 songs {{1970s-country-song-stub