Behind Closed Doors (Charlie Rich Song)
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"Behind Closed Doors" is a country song written by Kenny O'Dell. It was first recorded by
Charlie Rich Charles Allan Rich (December 14, 1932July 25, 1995) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. His eclectic style of music was often difficult to classify, encompassing the rockabilly, jazz, blues, country music, country, sou ...
for his 1973 album '' Behind Closed Doors''. The single was Rich's first No.1 hit on the country charts, spent 20 weeks on this chart, and was also a crossover hit on the pop charts. It was certified Platinum by the
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
for U. S. sales in excess of two million copies. Background vocals were provided by The Nashville Edition. Rich's producer, Billy Sherrill, encouraged O'Dell to write music for the singer. O'Dell recalled the creation of "Behind Closed Doors" to Tom Roland in The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits. "It was just a title I had written down, and I had a little guitar riff that I'd carried with me for a couple of years. The chorus was pretty much a little deviation on that." Sherrill later changed some lines at the end of the second verse, but some radio stations banned the record initially as being racy.Roland, Tom, "The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits" (Billboard Books, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1991 (), p. 87. "Behind Closed Doors" earned awards for Song of the Year for O'Dell and Single of the Year for Rich from both the
Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...
and the Academy of Country Music. Both O'Dell and Rich also received a Grammy Awards for "Behind Closed Doors: Best Country Song for O'Dell and Best Country Vocal Performance, Male for Rich. In 2003, it ranked No.9 in CMT's ''100 Greatest Songs in Country Music''.


Chart performance

;Charlie Rich ;Diana Ross


Cover versions

Numerous other artists have covered the song "Behind Closed Doors", using the original or slightly modified lyrics. For example, Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton sang versions in which the genders were reversed and a few words changed or added, while
Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...
sang a version with both gender change and added lines. Ross's version reached No.14 in South Africa. Other artists who covered this song include
Bettye LaVette Bettye LaVette (born Betty Jo Haskins, January 29, 1946) is an American soul singer-songwriter who made her first record at sixteen, but achieved only intermittent fame until 2005, when her album ''I've Got My Own Hell to Raise'' was released to ...
,
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, ...
, Hank Thompson, Cal Smith,
Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...
, Percy Sledge, Little Milton, Mike Cooley,
Stan Ridgway Stanard "Stan" Ridgway (born April 5, 1954) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and film and television composer known for his distinctive voice, dramatic lyrical narratives, and eclectic solo albums. He was the original le ...
,
Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer * Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in ...
, Bobby Womack, and Buddy Jewell. Joe Diffie covered the song on the 1998 album '' Tribute to Tradition''. His version peaked at No.64 on the ''
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''
Hot Country Singles & Tracks 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. Brett Kissel covered the song on his 2023 release ''
The Compass Project - West Album ''The Compass Project'' is the tenth studio album by Canadian country artist Brett Kissel. It is a four-part box set of albums that Kissel will release in 2023. The first part, ''South Album'' was released on January 27, 2023, via Big Star Record ...
''.


References

{{authority control 1973 songs 1973 singles 1974 singles Charlie Rich songs Diana Ross songs Songs written by Kenny O'Dell Song recordings produced by Billy Sherrill Epic Records singles Joe Diffie songs Brett Kissel songs