"40 Hour Week (For a Livin')" is a song written by
Dave Loggins
David Allen Loggins (born November 10, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician.
Musical career
Loggins is best known for his 1974 song composition "Please Come to Boston", which was a No. 5 popular music success (No. 1 Easy Listen ...
,
Don Schlitz
Donald Alan Schlitz Jr. (born August 29, 1952) is an American country music songwriter. For his songwriting efforts, Schlitz has earned two Grammy Awards, as well as four ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year awards.
In 1993, he was inducted int ...
and Lisa Silver, and recorded by American
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
band
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
. It was released in April 1985 as the second single and title track from Alabama's album ''
40-Hour Week''.
About the song
The song, a salute to
America's blue-collar workers, became Alabama's 17th No. 1 song on August 3, spending one week atop the chart. The end of the song includes a few bars from "
America the Beautiful
"America the Beautiful" is a patriotic American song. Its lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and its music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward at Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, New Jersey. The two neve ...
."
Country music historian Bill Malone, in his liner notes for ''
Classic Country Music: A Smithsonian Collection'', wrote that "40 Hour Week (For a Livin')" "...is a rare country music tribute to American workers. (It) probably owes its popularity as much to its patriotic sentiments as to its social concern." Malone also noted that, with few exceptions, "almost no one in country music has spoken for the industrial laborer," one of the main groups of workers Alabama salutes in this song. "This straightforward homage gives the contemporary worker the respect that the
Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
years denied him," Malone concluded.
The song was used by
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...
over the closing credits during its broadcast of
Super Bowl XX on January 26, 1986. Highlights of the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
,
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
and
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The tea ...
were shown when the refrains mentioning those cities or areas were sung. Highlights of Steelers fans in
Three Rivers Stadium
Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL).
Built ...
were used for the "West Virginia coal miner" refrain, since many residents of West Virginia are Steelers fans.
Music video
music videowas filmed for the song, depicting people working various
blue-collar jobs. It was directed by David Hogan and has aired on
CMT and
Great American Country
Great American Family is an American cable television network. Owned by Great American Media, it broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies.
It was originally established in ...
.
Alabama vs. Sonny James
"40 Hour Week (For a Livin')" is one of the songs central to a point of contention among country music historians. Alabama is frequently billed as having the longest uninterrupted No. 1 streak in the history of the ''
Billboard magazine
''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...
''
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...
chart, with 21 songs peaking atop the chart between 1980 and 1987, "40 Hour Week (For a Livin')" being the song that set the new standard."
[Roland, Tom, "The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits" (Billboard Books, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1991 ()), p. 426-427]
However, the band's 1982 Christmas single, "
Christmas in Dixie," peaked at No. 35, bringing about the point of contention.
Sonny James
Jimmie Hugh Loden (May 1, 1928February 22, 2016), known professionally as Sonny James, was an American country music singer and songwriter best known for his 1957 hit, " Young Love", topping both of the early versions of today's ''Billboard'' ...
, a country music superstar in the 1960s and 1970s, had previously set the standard of most ''Billboard'' No. 1 songs with 16 straight without a miss in any single release.
Some sources, including th
Alabama Music Hall of Fame web site state that the failure of "Christmas in Dixie" snapped Alabama's streak before achieving parity with James. Others — such as
Joel Whitburn
Joel Carver Whitburn (November 29, 1939 – June 14, 2022) was an American author and music historian, responsible for setting up the Record Research, Inc. series of books on record chart placings.
Early life
Joel Carver Whitburn was born in Wau ...
's "Top Country Songs: 1944-2005" — disregard non-No. 1 Christmas singles (such as "Christmas in Dixie") in determining chart-topping streaks and consider Alabama to have surpassed the record.
Several hard-core country fans were quick to point out the discrepancy, but ''Billboard'' magazine writer Paul Grein responded, "Only a Scrooge would count that against them."
James, on the other hand, attended a celebratory gathering for Alabama's accomplishment and graciously conceded the claim of having the most No. 1 songs without a miss.
[Millard, Bob, "Country Music: 70 Years of America's Favorite Music" (HarperCollins, New York, 1993 ()), p. 161]
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
Further reading
*Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs: 1944-2005," 2006.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forty Hour Week (For A Livin')
1985 singles
1985 songs
Alabama (American band) songs
Songs written by Dave Loggins
Songs written by Don Schlitz
Song recordings produced by Harold Shedd
RCA Records singles
Songs written by Lisa Silver