"Lonesome 7-7203" is a 1963 single by

Hawkshaw Hawkins Harold Franklin "Hawkshaw" Hawkins (December 22, 1921 – March 5, 1963) was an American country music singer popular from the 1950s into the early 1960s. He was known for his rich, smooth vocals and music drawn from blues, boogie and honk ...

, written by

Justin Tubb Justin Wayne Tubb (August 20, 1935 – January 24, 1998) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Born in San Antonio, Texas, United States, he was the oldest son of country singer Ernest Tubb, known for popular songs like " Walking ...

. It was the final single release of his career, released in 1963 on the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

label.

History

"Lonesome 7-7203" was Hawkins's first chart entry since "Soldier's Joy" in 1959. It spent 25 weeks on the '' 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 sa ...

charts, peaking at No. 1 on the chart dated for May 4, 1963. Three days after its release, Hawkins died in an

airplane crash An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the ''intention of fl ...

which also killed

Patsy Cline Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Among I ...

and

Cowboy Copas Lloyd Estel Copas (July 15, 1913 – March 5, 1963), known by his stage name Cowboy Copas, was an American country music singer. He was popular from the 1940s until his death in the 1963 plane crash that also killed country stars Patsy Cline a ...

. Two weeks after Hawkins' death, the song reached No. 1 for a four-week run. The song, a heartbreak ballad, is from a man who keeps receiving phone calls for his ex. He cannot bear the constant calls (not for him) that remind him of her so he has gotten a new phone number, which he will only reveal to her, that she can call to get back in touch with him (and presumably, resume the relationship). The song is the means that he uses to give out the new number. In a 1997 episode of ''Country's Family Reunion'', Hawkins' widow,

Jean Shepard Ollie Imogene "Jean" Shepard (November 21, 1933 – September 25, 2016) was an American honky-tonk singer-songwriter who pioneered for women in country music. Shepard released a total of 73 singles to the Hot Country Songs chart, one of which ...

, explained that she had recorded the song for Capitol Records about a year before Hawkins recorded it for King; however, for unknown reasons, Capitol chose not to release it at that time. Shepard went on to say that Hawkins finally told her "If they're not going to release that Justin Tubb song, I'm gonna record it". On the same program, Justin Tubb said "I gave it to Jean (Shepard). And I still think it's a Girl's song. Because, when a Husband and Wife break up, it's usually the guy that has to leave, and the wife stays home and keeps the house and the furniture".

Cover versions

Following Hawkins' version, three others charted on the country singles charts with

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

, Tony Booth and Darrell Clanton, in 1967, 1972 and 1983, respectively. In the Netherlands and Belgium, a Dutch language version titled "Draai dan 797204" was a massive hit for

Will Tura Arthur Achiel Albert, Knight Blanckaert (born 2 August 1940 in Veurne), known by his stage name Will Tura, is a Belgian artist famous in Flanders and the Netherlands. Tura is a singer, musician (he plays the piano, guitar, drums, accordion and h ...

in 1964. However, it turned out that the number was an active one and its

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

-based owner received thousands of calls from fans.

Chart performance

Hawkshaw Hawkins

Burl Ives

Tony Booth

Darrell Clanton

References

{{authority control 1963 singles 1967 singles 1972 singles 1983 singles Tony Booth (musician) songs Darrell Clanton songs Hawkshaw Hawkins songs Burl Ives songs Songs written by Justin Tubb 1963 songs King Records (United States) singles Song recordings produced by Ray Pennington Songs about telephone calls