"Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues" is a song written and performed by

Danny O'Keefe Danny O'Keefe (born May 20, 1943) is an American folk singer and songwriter. Career In 1968, O'Keefe was a member of a four-man heavy psychedelic rock band named Calliope. The group recorded one album, ''Steamed'', for Buddah Records before di ...

. It was first recorded by O'Keefe in 1967, but not released. It was recorded by The Bards and released in 1968 as the b-side to the song "Tunesmith" on

Parrot Records Parrot Records was an American record label, a division of London Records, which started in 1964. The label usually licensed (or leased) recordings made by Decca Records, England, for release in the United States and Canada, most notably by the ...

. The Bards were a band from

Moses Lake, Washington Moses Lake is a city in Grant County, Washington, United States. The population was 25,146 as of the 2020 census. Moses Lake is the largest city in Grant County. The city anchors the Moses Lake Micropolitan area, which includes all of Grant C ...

. The song was recorded by O'Keefe for his self-titled debut album in 1971. The following year he re-recorded it (with a slower, more downbeat arrangement) for his second album, '' O'Keefe''. The second version was issued as a single, reaching number 9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart, number 5 on the

adult contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

, and number 63 on the

country chart 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 ...

. The song was also recorded by Mel Tormé, especially for a 1986 episode of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's ''

Night Court ''Night Court'' is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984 to May 31, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan municipal court presided over by a young, unorthodox judge, Harold "Harry" T. Stone (portray ...

'' entitled "Leon, We Hardly Knew Ye". It was recorded by numerous artists. A recording by Leon Russell peaked at number 63 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart in 1984.

Charts

Selected list of recorded versions

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'' (1 ...

on his album "City of New Orleans" * Conway Twitty (1977), on the album ''Play, Guitar Play'' * The Bards (1968) on Parrot Records *

(1971), on the album ''Danny O'Keefe'' *

Dwight Yoakam Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and film director. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album ''Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerabl ...

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 ...

recorded his version of the song for his 1973 album

Lonesome, On'ry and Mean ''Lonesome, On'ry and Mean'' is an album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Victor in 1973. It was, after '' Good Hearted Woman'' and '' Ladies Love Outlaws'', the third in a series of albums which were to establish ...

. * Mike Farris *

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 ...

, recorded at Stax and featured on his 1974 album Good Times * Leon Russell *

Chris Hillman Christopher Hillman (born December 4, 1944) is an American musician. He was the original bassist of and one of the original members of the Byrds, which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby and Michael Clarke. With freque ...

Earl Klugh Earl Klugh ( ; born September 16, 1953) is an American acoustic guitarist and composer. He has won one Grammy award and thirteen nominations. Klugh was awarded the “1977” Best Recording Award For Performance and Sound” for his album “Fin ...

on his 1978 album '' Magic in Your Eyes'' *

Rita Wilson Rita Wilson (born Margarita Ibrahimoff; October 26, 1956) is an American actress, singer, and producer. Her film appearances include ''Volunteers'' (1985), '' Sleepless in Seattle'' (1993), '' Now and Then'' (1995), ''That Thing You Do!'' (1996) ...

* Charlie Rich (1980), on the album ''Once a Drifter'' *

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis ma ...

and Leon Russell *

Holly Cole Holly Cole (born November 25, 1963) is a Canadian jazz singer and actress. For many years she performed with her group The Holly Cole Trio. Background Cole was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her father, Leon Cole, was a noted radio broadcaster ...

, from the album ''

Night Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends ...

'' (2012) *

Harry Manx Harry Manx (born 1955) is a Canadian musician who blends blues, folk music, and Hindustani classical music. His official website describes his music as being a "blend Indian folk melodies with slide guitar blues, add a sprinkle of gospel and ...

(2008), from the album ''Live at the Glenn Gould Studio'' * Mel Tormé, (1986), for a ''

'' episode entitled "Leon, We Hardly Knew Ye". *

Nat Stuckey Nathan Wright Stuckey (December 17, 1933 – August 24, 1988) was an American country singer. He recorded for various labels between 1966 and 1978, charting in the top 10 of Hot Country Songs with " Sweet Thang", "Plastic Saddle", "Sweet Than ...

(1973), on the album ''Take Time To Love Her'' *

Shooter Jennings Waylon Albright "Shooter" Jennings (born May 19, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He is the only son of country singers Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter. In a career spanning over two decades, Shooter Jenn ...

(2016), on the album ''Black Country Rock 2015 Mixtape''. * Charley Crockett on his 2018 album, ''Lil G.L.'s Blue Bonanza'' *Ronnie Dunn on his 2020 album ''RE-DUNN''

References

External links

* {{authority control 1967 songs 1972 singles Elvis Presley songs Willie Nelson songs Jerry Lee Lewis songs Leon Russell songs Song recordings produced by Ahmet Ertegun Songs written by Danny O'Keefe Songs about loneliness Songs about blues