"He Won't Give In" is a song written by Johnny Pierce, 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,

Kathy Mattea Kathleen Alice Mattea (born June 21, 1959) is an American country music and bluegrass singer. Active since 1984 as a recording artist, she has charted more than 30 singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, including four that reac ...

. It was released in May 1985 as the second single from her album ''

From My Heart ''From My Heart'' is the second studio album by American country music singer Kathy Mattea. It was released in 1985 on Mercury Records. Singles from the album include "It's Your Reputation Talkin'", "He Won't Give In" and "Heart of the Country". L ...

''. The songbecame Mattea's fourth single to reach the top 40 of the American country chart.

Background and recording

Before reaching commercial success with 1986's ''

Walk the Way the Wind Blows ''Walk the Way the Wind Blows'' is the third studio album by American country music singer Kathy Mattea. It was released in 1986 (see 1986 in country music) on Mercury Records. This album produced Mattea's first Top Ten country hit in "Love at th ...

'' (which spawned four top ten singles), Kathy Mattea recorded two studio albums with PolyGram/Mercury that produced several unsuccessful (but charting) singles. Among her early singles was 1985's "He Won't Give In". The song was composed by Johnny Pierce. The track was recorded at Jack's Tracks, a studio located in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

. The session for the track was produced by

Allen Reynolds Allen Reynolds (born August 18, 1938) is an American record producer and songwriter who specializes in country music. He has been inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum. Biography Ear ...

Release, chart performance and reception

"He Won't Give In" was released by Mercury/PolyGram in May 1985 as a vinyl single. It was backed on the B-side by the song, "I Believe I Could Fall In Love (With Loving You)". The single debuted on the American '' Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart on July 6, 1985. It spent 19 weeks there and peaked at number 22 on September 14, 1985. It became Mattea's fourth top 40 chart entry on the country songs list. It later appeared on Mattea's second studio album which was titled ''

''.

Track listing

7" vinyl single * "He Won't Give In" – 2:28 * "I Believe I Could Fall In Love (With Loving You)" – 2:44

Charts

References

{{Kathy Mattea songs 1985 singles 1985 songs Kathy Mattea songs Mercury Records singles PolyGram singles Song recordings produced by Allen Reynolds