"Never Been to Spain" is a song written by

Hoyt Axton Hoyt Wayne Axton (March 25, 1938 – October 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voic ...

, originally released on his 1971 LP ''Joy to the World'' and later that year performed by

Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, with founding members consisting of vocalists Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup ...

, with

Cory Wells Cory Wells (born Emil Lewandowski; February 5, 1941 – October 20, 2015) was an American singer, best known as one of the three lead vocalists in the band Three Dog Night. Early life Wells came from a musical family and began playing in Buffalo ...

on lead vocal. It was featured on their 1971 album ''

Harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

''. The recording was produced by

Richard Podolor Richard Allen Podolor (January 7, 1936 – March 9, 2022) was an American musician, record producer and songwriter. His career started as a session musician in the 1950s, and he was best known as the producer of Three Dog Night. Life and caree ...

Background

The lyrics consist of the narrator ruminating about overseas locales that he has never visited, but about which he feels he has some proxy experience, primarily via the music but also due to other presumed highlights found there. He loosely compares his own actual travels to these more worldly spots. In the final verse, he observes that while he has "never been to heaven", he has "been to Oklahoma", where he was told he was born, thus implying a kinship between the two places. Hoyt Axton, who was born in Oklahoma, explained that he originally wrote, "...in Oklahoma, born in a coma...." However, it was considered inappropriate; thus, the lyrics were changed to "not Arizona".

Chart history

In the US, "Never Been to Spain" peaked at number 5 on the ''Billboard'' chart, and number 18 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart in 1972. Outside of the US, "Never Been to Spain" reached number 3 in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and number 34 in Australia.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other versions

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 ...

, on his 1972 album ''

As Recorded at Madison Square Garden ''Elvis: As Recorded at Madison Square Garden'' is a live album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released in June 1972 by RCA Records. It peaked at No. 11 on the Top 200 US Billboard albums chart on August 26, 1972. Recorded at the ...

''. * Ronnie Sessions, as a single in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

that reached number 36 on the ''Billboard'' Country chart.Ronnie Sessions, "Never Been to Spain" Chart Position
Retrieved February 7, 2015 *

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

, on her 1972 album ''

Foxy Lady "Foxy Lady" (or alternatively "Foxey Lady") is a song by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. It first appeared on their 1967 debut album ''Are You Experienced'' and was later issued as their third single in the U.S. with the alternate spelling. It is o ...

''. *

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 ...

, on his 1972 album '' Ladies Love Outlaws'' and in the 2007 concert film '' Never Say Die: The Final Concert'' and its

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

. *

Ike & Tina Turner Ike & Tina Turner were an American musical duo consisting of husband and wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by Ike Turner's band the Kings of Rhythm and backing vocal ...

, on their 1977 album ''

Delilah's Power ''Delilah's Power'' is a studio album by Ike & Tina Turner released in 1977. The album was released by United Artists Records a year after the Turners split up. The tracks are from some of their last recording sessions together. The only single "D ...

''. *

Cravin' Melon Cravin' Melon is a rock band based out of Clemson, South Carolina, United States. The band is composed of Doug Jones (lead vocals, guitar), Jimbo Chapman (lead guitar, vocals), Rob Clay (bass, vocals), Gary Greene (drums, vocals), Chad Barger (ke ...

, on their 1998 EP '' Squeeze Me''. * The No Refund Band recorded a cover popular in the

west coast swing West Coast Swing is a partner dance with roots in the Lindy Hop. It is characterized by an elastic look that results from its extension-compression technique of partner connection and is danced primarily in a slotted area on the dance floor. The ...

community. *

ApologetiX ApologetiX is an American Christian parody band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The band was founded in 1990, and since then, has played in almost all 50 states, released 40 studio albums, and built up a fan club that includes over 65,000 peopl ...

did a parody of the song entitled "Never Been to Spain (Yet)" that was featured on their 2007 live album ''Chosen Ones''. * The

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

Cowboy Marching Band plays a version of the song every football game during the first time out of the fourth quarter, as well as at numerous other events throughout each academic year. It has been recorded in several of their performance albums. The entire marching band and stadium of fans yell "State" in unison following the line "I've never been to heaven, but I've been to Oklahoma".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Never Been to Spain 1971 songs 1971 singles 1972 singles Songs written by Hoyt Axton Three Dog Night songs Elvis Presley songs Cher songs Ike & Tina Turner songs Waylon Jennings songs Dunhill Records singles MGM Records singles Songs about music Songs about Oklahoma Songs about Spain