"Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" is a song written by songwriter Fred Rose. First recorded by

Elton Britt Elton Britt (born James Elton Baker; June 27, 1913 – June 22, 1972) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Biography Britt was born on a farm near Marshall, Arkansas. His father was James Baker, and he had two si ...

in 1946, then made more popular by

Roy Acuff Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown ...

in 1947, the song has been covered by many artists, including Hank Williams Sr., Johnny Russell, and

Charley Pride Charley Frank Pride (March 18, 1934 – December 12, 2020) was an American singer, guitarist, and professional baseball player. His greatest musical success came in the early to mid-1970s, when he was the best-selling performer for RCA Reco ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. Most notably, the song was recorded by

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

as part of his 1975 album ''

Red Headed Stranger ''Red Headed Stranger'' is the 18th studio album by American outlaw country singer Willie Nelson, released in 1975. Following the success of his recordings with Atlantic Records, coupled with the negotiating skills of his manager, Neil Reshen, ...

''. Both the song and album revived Nelson's success as a singer and recording artist.

Song history

Originally recorded in 1947 by Acuff, "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" was recorded by

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

in 1951 for the ''Mother's Best Flour Hour''. Other early remakes of the song were made by

Donn Reynolds Stanley Beresford "Donn" Reynolds (June 26, 1921 – August 16, 1997) was a Canadian country music singer and yodeler most widely known for his Bavarian style of yodeling. Often referred to as Canada's "king of the yodelers",Ferlin Husky Ferlin Eugene Husky (December 3, 1925 – March 17, 2011) was an early American country music singer who was equally adept at the genres of traditional honky-tonk, ballads, spoken recitations, and rockabilly pop tunes. He had two dozen top-20 hit ...

(album ''Ferlin's Favorites'' - November 1959),

Slim Whitman Ottis Dewey Whitman Jr. (January 20, 1923 – June 19, 2013), known as Slim Whitman, was an American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist known for his yodeling abilities and his use of falsetto. He claimed he had sold in excess of ...

(album ''Country Favorites'' - 1959),

Gene Vincent Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rockabilly and rock and roll. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, " Be-Bop-a-Lula ...

(recorded October 15, 1958/ album ''Crazy Times!'' -1960), Bill Anderson (album ''...Sings Country Heart Songs'' - January 15, 1962),

John D. Loudermilk John Dee Loudermilk Jr. (March 31, 1934 – September 21, 2016) was an American singer and songwriter. Although he had his own recording career during the 1950s and 1960s, he was primarily known as a songwriter. His best-known songs include "I ...

(album ''Country Love Songs Plain and Simply Sung'' - August 1968),

Hank Snow Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow (May 9, 1914 – December 20, 1999) was a Canadian-American country music artist. Most popular in the 1950s, he had a career that spanned more than 50 years, he recorded 140 albums and charted more than 85 singles on t ...

(album ''Greatest Hits'') and

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. ...

(album ''Hello Darlin' '' - June 1970). The version by Willie Nelson, recorded for his 1975 concept album ''

'', which was about a fugitive preacher on the run from the law after killing his wife, was lauded by country music historian Bill Malone as "a fine example of clean, uncluttered country music,

ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...

a spare arrangement that could have come straight out of the 1940s." ''Rolling Stone'' noted the song was delivered with his "jazz-style phrasing" and was "the beating heart of ''Red Headed Stranger''." A music video for the song was created in 1986 to promote the motion picture adaptation of the album.

Chart success and legacy

Before the success of "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain," Nelson had enjoyed widespread success primarily as a songwriter, with such songs as "

Crazy Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or t ...

" (

Patsy Cline Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Among I ...

) and "

Hello Walls "Hello Walls" is an American country music song written by Willie Nelson and first recorded by Faron Young. It became a massive hit in 1961, reaching #1 country and spent 23 weeks on the chart. On other charts, it peaked at #12 pop, and was Youn ...

" (

Faron Young Faron Young (February 25, 1932 – December 10, 1996) was an American country music producer, musician, and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s. Hits including "If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" and " Live Fast, Love Hard, D ...

). As a performer, meanwhile, Nelson had hit the top 10 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 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 just twice; it had happened in 1962, once as a solo artist ("Touch Me") and again as part of a duet with

Shirley Collie Shirley Collie Nelson (born Shirley Angelina Simpson, March 16, 1931 – January 27, 2010) was an American country music and rockabilly singer, yodeler, guitarist and songwriter. From 1963 to 1971, she was the second wife of country star Willie ...

(" Willingly"). Thereafter, Nelson had approached the top 20 on occasion, but went 13 years without a top 10 hit. In October 1975, the song became Nelson's first No. 1 hit as a singer, and at year's end, was the third-biggest song of 1975 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart. In addition, the song gained modest airplay on

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

radio, reaching No. 21 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" No. 302 on its list of the

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

. Rolling Stone also ranked "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" No. 48 on its list of the 100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time in June 2004.

Chart performance

Later versions

recorded "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" (having sung it privately with friends and family for years while accompanying himself on piano) in the Jungle Room at

Graceland Graceland is a mansion on a estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, which was once owned by rock and roll icon Elvis Presley. His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, inherited Graceland after his death in 1977. Graceland is located at 3764 Elv ...

on 7 February 1976. This was the last known song that Elvis Presley sang (at the piano in the rest area of his racquetball court located to the rear of Graceland) before his death on August 16, 1977. *

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

covered the song on her 1976 album ''

Come on Over ''Come On Over'' is the third studio album by Canadian country music singer Shania Twain. It was released on November 4, 1997, by Mercury Records. Produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange, the album became the best-selling country album, the best ...

''. * Maria Tyl's version reached No. 7 in South Africa in 1981. *

Ken Kincaid ''The Mauri Hikitia'' is a various artists album released in 1981. It reached no 4 on the New Zealand charts. It features Rhonda, Ken Kincaid, Deane Waretini, and the Lightwood family. Background The album was represented by various Maori art ...

, a New Zealand singer recorded a version which appears on the B side of his 1982 single "Cindy",

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

BA 222 941. *

Linda Good Linda Good is an American musician, composer, writer, songwriter and producer. She is co-founder, with her twin sister Laura, of the alternative pop band The Twigs. Good has also toured as a keyboardist with Jane's Addiction (2001),The Mars Volt ...

's version of the song was featured on the compilation album ''Sony/ATV Nashville Classic Covers, Vol.1'' (2008). * A live version by

and

Shania Twain Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( , ; née Edwards; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-s ...

was included on Nelson's 2003 live album ''Live & Kickin': Willie Nelson and Friends''. *

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the ...

covered the song in their 2013 album '' Getting Over the Storm''. * In 2017 a posthumously released album of newly found recordings by

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

, '' George Jones & The Smoky Mountain Boys'' included the song. *

Ramblin' Jack Elliot Ramblin' Jack Elliott (born Elliot Charles Adnopoz; August 1, 1931) is an American folk singer and songwriter. Life and career Elliott was born in 1931 in Brooklyn, New York, United States, the son of Florence (Rieger) and Abraham Adnopoz, a ...

recorded the song for his 1981 album Kerouac's Last Dream.

Sources

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain 1945 songs 1975 singles Willie Nelson songs Billy "Crash" Craddock songs Gene Summers songs Hank Williams songs Shania Twain songs Charley Pride songs Olivia Newton-John songs Waylon Jennings songs Vince Gill songs Floyd Cramer songs Songs written by Fred Rose (songwriter) Columbia Records singles Eva Cassidy songs