"Bloody Mary Morning" is a song written 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, ...

singer

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 ...

. Nelson wrote the song inspired by his struggles to become a "better parent". It was originally released in the 1970

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

release ''

Both Sides Now "Both Sides, Now" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. First recorded by Judy Collins, it appeared on the US singles chart during the fall of 1968. The next year it was included on Mitchell's album '' Clouds'', and became one ...

'' with the title "Bloody Merry Morning". During a party in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, in 1972, Nelson performed the song along with others he planned to include on an upcoming

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

. Nelson impressed another guest at the party,

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

vice-president

Jerry Wexler Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...

. Wexler offered him a contract to be a part of the new country music division of Atlantic, which Nelson accepted after ending his unsuccessful run with RCA. "Bloody Mary Morning" was included in Nelson's concept album ''

Phases and Stages ''Phases and Stages'' is the 17th studio album by Willie Nelson, which followed the moderate success of his first Atlantic Records release, ''Shotgun Willie''. Nelson met producer Jerry Wexler at a party where Nelson sang songs from an album he ...

'', where the meaning of the song was shifted by the context of the album, changing the theme to a man who is left by his wife. Released as a single, it peaked at number 17 in ''Billboard''s Country singles in 1974, later becoming an essential part of Nelson's live performances repertoire.

Background

Written by Nelson during his tenure with

, the song was first released by the label on his record ''

'', in 1970. As other releases by Nelson at the time on RCA, the song failed to meet success. In 1972, during a trip to

, Nelson attended a party in

Harlan Howard Harlan Perry Howard (September 8, 1927 – March 3, 2002) was an American songwriter, principally in country music. In a career spanning six decades, Howard wrote many popular and enduring songs, recorded by a variety of different artists. C ...

's house, where he sang the song along with others that he planned to include in a concept album. Another guest was

vice-president

, who previously had produced works for artists such as

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

and

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

. Wexler was interested in Nelson's music. In light of the opening of a country music division on Atlantic, he proceeded to offer him a contract that gave him more creative control than his deal with RCA. When Nelson was released from his RCA contract, he signed with Atlantic for US$25,000 per year, becoming the label's first country artist.

Re-recording and Release

The song was originally written by Nelson in 1970, inspired by his struggles to be a "good parent". For its inclusion in the concept album ''

'', the song was re-recorded, changing the context to a man who was left by his woman, and decides to go to

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

from

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

to forget her. The first recording session took place in November 1973 in

Muscle Shoals Sound Studios Muscle Shoals Sound Studio is an American recording studio in Sheffield, Alabama, formed in 1969 by four session musicians known as The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. They had left nearby FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals to create their own recor ...

in Alabama. The recordings did not convince Rick Sanjek, who was in charge of A&R in Nashville. He persuaded Nelson to re-record all the tracks once again, including "Bloody Mary Morning", alleging that the songs sounded too "R&B". The tracks were re-recorded in late November. "Bloody Mary Morning" was released as a single, peaking at number 17 in ''Billboard''s Country singles. It was defined by the magazine as a "rollicking narrative". Following its success, the song became an essential part of Nelson's live performances repertoire. Nelson recorded a rock version of the song with the band

Supersuckers The Supersuckers are an American rock band, formed in 1988, whose music ranges from alternative rock to country rock to cowpunk. AllMusic describes the band as "the bastard sons of Foghat, AC/DC, and ZZ Top after being weaned on punk rock, unafra ...

for the album '' Twisted Willie'', released in 1996.Liner notes, '' Twisted Willie''. Justice Records. 1996.

Chart performance

Footnotes

References

* * * * * * * * {{authority control 1974 singles Willie Nelson songs Songs written by Willie Nelson Atlantic Records singles Song recordings produced by Jerry Wexler 1970 songs Songs about alcohol