"Good Hearted Woman" is a song written 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, ...

singers

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

and

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 ...

Writing

In 1969, while staying at the Fort Worther Motel in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

, Jennings saw an advertisement in a newspaper promoting

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

as a "good hearted woman loving two-timing men", a reference to

Ike Turner Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and 1 ...

. Jennings went to talk to Nelson, who was in a middle of a poker game, about writing a song based on that phrase. Joining the game, he and Nelson expanded the lyrics as Nelson's wife Connie Koepke wrote them down.

Recording

Jennings recorded the song for the first time as the title track of his 1972 album ''

Good Hearted Woman ''Good Hearted Woman'' is a studio album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released in 1972 on RCA Nashville. Background Along with '' Ladies Love Outlaws'', released later in 1972, and ''Lonesome, On'ry and Mean'' (released earl ...

'', the single peaked at number three on the ''

Billboard's ''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 ...

. Jennings had recorded a concert version for ''

Waylon Live ''Waylon Live'' is a live album by Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Victor in 1976. Background Jennings first gained fame as a live performer at a club called J.D.s in Phoenix, Arizona in the early 1960s. A disciple of Buddy Holly (with whom he t ...

'', which served as a basis for the duet with Nelson. "I just took my voice off and put Willie's on in different places," he explained. "Willie wasn't within 10,000 miles when I recorded it." He also added canned crowd noises to add to the live feel for the album '' Wanted: The Outlaws!''. The album cemented the pair's outlaw image and became country music's first platinum album. The song peaked at number one on ''Billboard's'' Hot Country Singles and at number 25 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song won the Single of the Year award in the 1976 Country Music Association Awards, and took Jennings and Nelson to the mainstream audiences, giving them nationwide recognition.

Charts

Waylon Jennings

Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson

Year-end charts

Cover versions

* In 1976, a duet version of "Good Hearted Woman" performed by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson became the first of three number ones on the country chart for the duo. * The 2005 album ''Texas Fed, Texas Bred: Redefining Country Music, Volume 1'' includes a cover version performed by

Guy Clark Guy Charles Clark (November 6, 1941 – May 17, 2016) was an American folk and country singer-songwriter and luthier. He released more than 20 albums, and his songs have been recorded by other artists, including Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmy Buffet ...

. *

LeAnn Rimes Margaret LeAnn Rimes Cibrian (born August 28, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She originally rose to success as a country music artist at age 13 with 1996's "Blue". She has since crossed over into pop, contemporary Chris ...

recorded a version of the song for her 2011 release, '' Lady & Gentlemen''. *

Hank Williams III Shelton Hank Williams (born December 12, 1972), known as Hank Williams III, is an American musician, singer and multi-instrumentalist, known for his unique fusion of traditional country music, rockabilly, heavy metal and punk rock. He was the ...

recorded a version of the song, later released in ''

Long Gone Daddy ''Long Gone Daddy'' is an unauthorized compilation of recordings by Hank Williams III, released on April 17, 2012, through Williams' former record label Curb Records. The album, distributed without Williams' approval or knowledge, is a collection ...

''. *

recorded song for her 1988 album ''

Goes Country Goes () is a city and municipality in the southwestern Netherlands on Zuid-Beveland, in the province of Zeeland. The city of Goes has approximately 27,000 residents. History Goes was founded in the 10th century on the edge of a creek: de Kort ...

''. *

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", ...

recorded it and included in his 1980 album '' I Am What I Am''. *

Mel Street King Malachi "Mel" Street (October 21, 1935 – October 21, 1978) was an American country music singer who had 13 top-20 hits on the Billboard country charts. Biography Street was born near Grundy, Virginia, United States.Nelson, Dick (August ...

recorded a version for his 1972 album, ''

Borrowed Angel King Malachi "Mel" Street (October 21, 1935 – October 21, 1978) was an American country music singer who had 13 top-20 hits on the Billboard country charts. Biography Street was born near Grundy, Virginia, United States.Nelson, Dick (August ...

''. * Micky and the Motorcars (with Cody and Willy Braun) recorded a version for Cross Canadian Ragweed's "The Red River Tribute" to Waylon Jennings (2003) *

Marty Stuart John Marty Stuart (born September 30, 1958) is an American country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter, and musician. Active since 1968, Stuart initially toured with Lester Flatt, and then in Johnny Cash's road band before beginning work as a ...

and

Travis Tritt James Travis Tritt (born February 9, 1963) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1989, releasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label between then and 1999. In the 20 ...

performed the song for Jerry Bradley at the induction ceremony of Jerry Bradley into the

Country Music Hall of Fame The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amass ...

in 2019. * In 1981

Michal Tučný Michal Tučný (11 January 1947 – 10 March 1995) was a Czechs, Czech singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most popular Czech Country music, country singers and he is regarded as a legend of the Czech country music (he was often r ...

created Czech version under name ''Báječná ženská''.

References

Works cited * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Good Hearted Woman (Song) 1972 singles 1976 singles 1972 songs Waylon Jennings songs Willie Nelson songs George Jones songs Tina Turner songs LeAnn Rimes songs Male vocal duets Songs written by Waylon Jennings Songs written by Willie Nelson RCA Records singles