"I Ain't Never" is a song co-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, ...
artists
Webb Pierce
Michael Webb Pierce (August 8, 1921 – February 24, 1991) was an American honky-tonk vocalist, songwriter and guitarist of the 1950s, one of the most popular of the genre, charting more number one hits than any other country artist during the ...
and
Mel Tillis
Lonnie Melvin Tillis (August 8, 1932 – November 19, 2017) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s as part of the outlaw country movement, ...
. Each co-writer recorded the song separately, with both Pierce's (1959), and years later Tillis's (1972), versions resulting in major hits.
Background
According to Tillis, he wrote the song himself, and agreed to credit Pierce as a co-writer in exchange for a pair of boots Pierce was wearing when Tillis pitched him the song. In Tillis's words, "Them old boots cost me over eight hundred thousand dollars" in royalties.
Chart performance
Pierce's version was released in 1959, eventually spending nine weeks at No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot C&W Sides chart that year (held out by "
The Three Bells (Les Trois Cloches)" by
The Browns
The Browns were an United States, American country music, country and folk music vocal trio best known for their 1959 Grammy-nominated hit, "The Three Bells". The group, composed of Jim Ed Brown and his sisters Maxine Brown (country singer), Ma ...
). The pop market accepted the Webb Pierce version, crossing it into the Billboard Top 40 and peaking at #24.
Webb Pierce
Mel Tillis
Tillis's 1972 recording of the song was his first No. 1 hit on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' Hot Country Singles (now
Hot Country Songs
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. The success of this version was limited to country music stations.
The Lowes
Additional recordings
Since its original release, the song has been recorded by several other artists, including:
*
Jimmie Vaughan
Jimmie Vaughan (born March 20, 1951) is an American blues rock guitarist and singer based in Austin, Texas. He is the older brother of the late Texas blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Several notable blues guitarists have had a significant ...
*
John Fogerty
John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty
Thomas Richard Fogerty (November 9, 1941 – September 6, 1990) was an American mu ...
(as ''
The Blue Ridge Rangers
''The Blue Ridge Rangers'' is the first solo studio album by John Fogerty, the former lead singer and lead guitarist of Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Upon its initial release by Fantasy Records in 1973, the album was credited to "The Blue Ridge ...
'')
*
BR5-49
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Kippi Brannon
Kippi Brannon (born Kippi Rolynn Binkley, 1966) is an American country music singer. She made her debut on the country music scene as a teenager, releasing four singles on MCA Records in the early 1980s before leaving her career in favor of a col ...
*
Delbert McClinton
Delbert McClinton (born November 4, 1940) is an American blues rock and electric blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, and pianist.
From his first professional stage appearance in 1957 to his most recent national tour in 2018, ...
*
Roger Miller
Roger Dean Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping Country music, country and pop hits "King of the Road (song), Ki ...
*
Perfect Stranger
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Ricky Skaggs
Rickie Lee Skaggs (born July 18, 1954), known professionally as Ricky Skaggs, is an American neotraditional country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, ma ...
*
Hank Thompson
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Dave Edmunds
David William Edmunds (born 15 April 1944) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer. Although he is mainly associated with pub rock and new wave, having many hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has alwa ...
*
The Four Preps
The Four Preps are an American popular music male quartet. In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the group amassed eight gold singles and three gold albums. Their million-selling signature tunes included "26 Miles (Santa Catalina)", "Big Man (The Four ...
*
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...
w/
David Grisman
David Grisman (born March 23, 1945) is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acoustic mu ...
*
Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band
The Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band (JGAB) was a band (music), band formed by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. They played a number of concerts in 1987 and 1988, and subsequently released two live album, live albums.
Band members
*Jerry Garcia ...
*
The Head Cat
The Head Cat is an American rockabilly supergroup formed by vocalist/bassist Lemmy (of Motörhead), drummer Slim Jim Phantom (of The Stray Cats) and guitarist Danny B. Harvey (of Lonesome Spurs and The Rockats). Lemmy died in 2015 and as of 201 ...
*
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...
*
The Oak Ridge Boys
The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was change ...
*
Shocking Blue
Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band formed in 1967 in The Hague. It was part of the music movement in the Netherlands that was generally known by the name Nederbeat. The band had a number of hits throughout the counterculture movement during ...
*
Connie Smith
Connie Smith (born Constance June Meador; August 14, 1941) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Her contralto vocals have been described by music writers as significant and influential to the women of country music. A similarity h ...
*
The Jordanaires
The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vocal ...
*
Charley Crockett
Charley Crockett (born March 24, 1984) is an American blues, country, and Americana singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He has released ten albums since 2015, with ''Lil G.L.'s Blue Bonanza'' peaking at number 11 on the US ''Billboard'' Blues Al ...
References
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1959 singles
1972 singles
Webb Pierce songs
Mel Tillis songs
Perfect Stranger (band) songs
BR549 songs
Songs written by Mel Tillis
Decca Records singles
MGM Records singles
Songs written by Webb Pierce
1959 songs