"Forever and Ever, Amen" is a song written by

Paul Overstreet Paul Lester Overstreet (born March 17, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He recorded 10 studio albums between 1982 and 2005, and charted 16 singles on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' country charts, including two ...

and

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 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

Randy Travis Randy Bruce Traywick (born May 4, 1959), known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country music and gospel music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. Active from 1978 until being incapacitated by a stroke in 2013, he has recor ...

. It was released in March 1987 as the first single from the album '' Always & Forever'' and became Travis's third No. 1 single on the U.S. ''Billboard''

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 ...

charts. In August 2020,

Josh Turner Joshua Otis Turner (born November 20, 1977) is an American country and gospel singer and songwriter. In 2003, he signed to MCA Nashville Records. That same year, his debut album's title track, "Long Black Train", was his breakthrough single r ...

recorded a cover version of "Forever and Ever, Amen" featuring Travis on his album ''Country State of Mind''. Since 2017, Travis, whose singing has been severely limited since a 2013 stroke, has on several occasions contributed the final "Amen" to live performances by other artists when he is in attendance. In February 2021,

Ronan Keating Ronan Patrick John Keating (born 3 March 1977) is an Irish singer. He debuted in 1993 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch, and Stephen Gately, as the co-lead singer (with Gately) of Irish pop group Boyzone. His solo career start ...

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 ...

released a version as the fourth single from Keating's eleventh studio album, '' Twenty Twenty''.

Background

"Forever and Ever, Amen" was penned by songwriters

and

, both Nashville luminaries with a long pedigree of domestic country hits, including songs by

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 ...

Keith Whitley Jackie Keith Whitley (July 1, 1954 – May 9, 1989) was an American country music singer and songwriter. During his career, Whitley released only two albums but charted 12 singles on the ''Billboard'' country charts, and 7 more after his death. ...

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

, and

the Judds The Judds were an American country music duo composed of lead vocalist Wynonna Judd and her mother, Naomi Judd. The duo signed to RCA Nashville in 1983 and released six studio albums between then and 1991. The Judds were one of the most success ...

in the 1980s. The idea for the song's title stemmed from Schlitz's son, who, after saying his nightly prayers, would often remark to his mother, "Mommy, I love you forever and ever, amen." Schlitz relayed the sentimental message to Overstreet, and the two wrote the song in a couple of hours. They recorded the demo version of the song the next day, and pitched it to

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

executive Martha Sharp. Sharp suggested the material would be best for Travis, for whom Overstreet had previously written "On the Other Hand". Travis was fond of the song immediately, and abridged its message for the title of his second album, ''Always and Forever''.

Critical reception

The single was first released in March 1987. It debuted on ''Billboard'' country charts on April 25, 1987. The song peaked at number one for three weeks on June 13, 1987, the first single to do so on the country charts since Johnny Lee's "

Lookin' for Love "Lookin' for Love" is a song written by Wanda Mallette, Bob Morrison and Patti Ryan, and recorded by American country music singer Johnny Lee. It was released in June 1980 as part of the soundtrack to the film ''Urban Cowboy'', released that y ...

" seven years prior. "Forever and Ever, Amen" was heavily lauded in the country community, as well as on a mainstream level. It won a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

for Best Country & Western Song at the

30th Annual Grammy Awards The 30th Annual Grammy Awards were held March 2, 1988, at Radio City Music Hall, New York City. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Album of the Year went to U2 for ''The Joshua Tree'', and Song of the Year went ...

in 1988. It also claimed Song of the Year honors from the

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country music ...

ACMs - Previous Winners - Song of the Year
/ref> and 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 ...

. Nearly three decades past its release, it was certified Gold 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 ...

, making it Travis' first solo single to earn an RIAA certification. Its digital sales were last estimated at over 966,000 downloads in 2016.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

1987 singles 2021 singles Randy Travis songs Ronan Keating songs Shania Twain songs Josh Turner songs Songs written by Don Schlitz Songs written by Paul Overstreet Song recordings produced by Kyle Lehning Warner Records Nashville singles 1987 songs {{1987-country-song-stub