"All I Have to Offer You (Is Me)" is a song written by Dallas Frazier and A.L. "Doodle" Owens, 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, ...

artist Charley Pride. It was released in June 1969 as the first single from his compilation album '' The Best of Charley Pride''. The song, released that June, reached the top 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 Singles chart that August, and in doing so it was Charley Pride's first No. 1 song. It also accomplished a feat not done in 25 years: an

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

entertainer having a No. 1 hit on the ''Billboard'' country chart. The last song by a black performer to reach the summit was " Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby" by

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as " the King of the Jukebox", he earned his high ...

, in July

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

. Pride became the third black singer to have a No. 1 country hit (the Nat King Cole-led King Cole Trio had a No. 1 hit earlier in 1944). While Cole would top the charts only once and Jordan twice, "All I Have to Offer You Is Me" would be the first of 29 No. 1 hits for Pride, spanning to 1983's "Night Games."

Content

The narrator speaks to his future wife, and tells her that if she chose to be with him forever, then she won't live a luxurious life every girl dreams about, as he says "All I have to offer you is me".

Chart performance

Cover versions

The song has also been recorded by: *

Conway Twitty Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...

on his 1970 album

To See My Angel Cry "To See My Angel Cry" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Conway Twitty. Recording and Release Twitty recorded the song at Bradley's Barn studio Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, on June 24, 1969, the same day he cut "That's Wh ...

The Statler Brothers The Statler Brothers (sometimes simply referred to as The Statlers) were an American country music, gospel, and vocal group. The quartet was formed in 1955 performing locally, and from 1964 to 1972, they sang as opening act and backup singers fo ...

on their 1970 album

Bed of Rose's "Bed of Rose's" is a song written by Harold Reid, and recorded by American country music group The Statler Brothers. It was released in October 1970 as the first single and title track from the album ''Bed of Rose's''. The song reached its popula ...

McBride & the Ride McBride & the Ride is an American country music band consisting of Terry McBride (musician), Terry McBride (lead vocals, bass guitar), Ray Herndon (background vocals, guitars), and Billy Thomas (background vocals, drums). The group was founded in ...

on their 1992 album '' Sacred Ground'' *The

Kaʻau Crater Boys Kaau Crater Boys were a Hawaiian Contemporary musical duo composed of Ernie Cruz Jr. (vocals, guitar, bass), Troy Fernandez (ukulele, vocals). They recorded and released four popular Hawaiian Contemporary albums along with a "best of" compilation ...

on their 1995 album ''On Fire'' *

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Ly ...

and George Jones on their 1995 album ''

One 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

'' *Aaron Tippin on his 1998 album "The Essential Aaron Tippin" *

Ricky Van Shelton Ricky Van Shelton (born January 12, 1952) is an American retired country music singer. Active between 1986 and 2006, he charted more than 20 singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts. This figure includes 10 Number One hits: "Somebod ...

on his 2000 album ''

Fried Green Tomatoes ''Fried Green Tomatoes'' is a 1991 American comedy-drama film directed by Jon Avnet and based on Fannie Flagg's 1987 novel ''Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe''. Written by Flagg and Carol Sobieski, and starring Kathy Bates, Jessic ...

''.

References

{{authority control 1969 singles Charley Pride songs The Statler Brothers songs Conway Twitty songs McBride & the Ride songs Ricky Van Shelton songs Songs written by Dallas Frazier Songs written by A.L. "Doodle" Owens Song recordings produced by Chet Atkins Song recordings produced by Jack Clement Song recordings produced by Bob Ferguson (musician) Song recordings produced by Felton Jarvis RCA Records singles 1969 songs