"One Day at a Time" is a popular
Country and Western
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
-style
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
song written by
Marijohn Wilkin
Marijohn Wilkin ( Melson; July 14, 1920 – October 28, 2006) was an American songwriter, famous in country music for writing a number of hits. Wilkin won numerous awards over the years and was referred to as "The Den Mother of Music Row," a ...
and
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Nig ...
. It has been recorded by over 200 artists and has reached No.1 in several territories. Scottish singer
Lena Martell
Lena Martell (born Helen Thomson; 15 May 1940) is a Scottish singer, with a long career in theatre, television and musicals. She has recorded thirty albums which include the number one UK single with " One Day at a Time" in 1979.
Biography
Marte ...
had a
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
number one with her version in 1979.
Marilyn Sellars version
The song was first recorded by American Country singer
Marilyn Sellars
Marilyn Sellars (born December 31, 1938) is an American country music and gospel singer who had several hits during the mid-1970s on Mega Records, most notably the original version of " One Day at a Time" in 1974.
Early career
Sellars was bor ...
in 1974.
This version became a US top 40 hit and top 20 hit on the Country Charts. Following this, it won the 1975
Gospel Music Association (GMA) Dove Awards for best song.
Chart positions
Gloria version
"One Day at a Time" was recorded by
Gloria
Gloria may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music
* Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise
* Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise
** Gloria (Handel)
** Gloria (Jenkins) ...
who released it as a single in August 1977. The song originally peaked at No.5 in the Irish singles charts, before being re-released a year later. From here it peaked at No.1 (over a year after it had entered the chart) and remained on the charts throughout the whole of 1979 and into 1980, eventually spending a total of 90 weeks in the Irish top 30 - the longest run by any song in Irish Chart history.
Chart history
Cristy Lane version
"One Day at a Time" became best known among country fans when recorded by American country gospel singer
Cristy Lane
Cristy Lane (born Eleanor Johnston; January 8, 1940) is an American Christian and country music singer. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, she had a series of hits on the North American country charts with songs like " Let Me Down Easy", " I Just ...
. Lane had started enjoying mainstream success in the late 1970s through the release of several secular hits, including "Let Me Down Easy" and "Simple Little Words." In 1979, Lane recorded the song after it became a No. 1 hit in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
by
Lena Martell
Lena Martell (born Helen Thomson; 15 May 1940) is a Scottish singer, with a long career in theatre, television and musicals. She has recorded thirty albums which include the number one UK single with " One Day at a Time" in 1979.
Biography
Marte ...
. At first,
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B.
History Genres
In 1959, ...
balked at releasing the song, despite its previous track record of success, but Lane's husband-manager, Lee Stoller, predicted the song would be successful, and UA relented. The song was released in the late winter of 1980, and by the end of the spring, the song was No. 1 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 sal ...
chart.
"One Day at a Time" was Lane's only No. 1 hit. For Kristofferson, the song was his sixth No. 1 as a songwriter and first in six years (his last being 1974's "
Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends
"Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends" is a song written by Kris Kristofferson and first recorded by Bobby Bare, who included it on his ''Where Have All the Seasons Gone'' album in January 1971.
Kristofferson recorded the song with Rita Cooli ...
" by
Ronnie Milsap
Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly completely blind from birth, ...
).
Chart positions
Year-end charts
Other versions
The song went on to be recorded by many artists. Scottish singer
Lena Martell
Lena Martell (born Helen Thomson; 15 May 1940) is a Scottish singer, with a long career in theatre, television and musicals. She has recorded thirty albums which include the number one UK single with " One Day at a Time" in 1979.
Biography
Marte ...
recorded the song for the UK market in 1979. The song again became a big success and reached No. 1 in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in October 1979 for three weeks. The song was also recorded by the following; Paulino Bernal & Ricardo Mejia, in the album Misioneros De Cristo, they were the first to record the song in Spanish "Un Dia A La Vez". Javier Galvan
ejano Gospel Singeralso recorded the Spanish version "Un Dia a La Vez";
os Tigres Del Norte though Paulino and Ricardo recorded it first;
The Alexander Brothers
The Alexander Brothers were an easy-listening folk-music duo from Scotland, who had a long career beginning in the 1950s.
Career
Thomas Armit "Tom" Alexander (25 June 1934 – 9 January 2020) and John "Jack" Armit Alexander (11 November 1935 ...
;
Judy Collins
Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...
;
Phil Coulter
Philip Coulter (born 19 February 1942) is an Irish musician, songwriter and record producer from Derry, Northern Ireland. He was awarded the Gold Badge from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors in October 2009.
Coulter has ...
;
Floyd Cramer
Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American pianist who became famous for his use of melodic "half step" attacks. He was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His signature ...
;
Carlene Davis
Carlene Davis (born c.1953) is a Jamaican gospel and reggae singer active since the 1970s. Successful since the early 1980s as a reggae artist, she survived cancer in the mid-1990s, after which she dedicated her career to gospel music. She has re ...
;
Florida Boys
The Florida Boys were a male vocal quartet in Southern gospel music. The group was founded in 1946 by J. G. Whitfield. Originally named The Gospel Melody Quartet, the group was renamed in 1954. From the 1950s until 2007, the group was led by Les ...
;
Roger Whittaker
Roger Henry Brough Whittaker (born 22 March 1936) is a British singer-songwriter and musician, who was born in Nairobi to English parents. His music is an eclectic mix of folk music and popular songs in addition to radio airplay hits. He is bes ...
;
Tennessee Ernie Ford
Ernest Jennings Ford (February 13, 1919 – October 17, 1991), known professionally as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American singer and television host who enjoyed success in the country and western, pop, and gospel musical genres. Noted for ...
;
Foster and Allen
Foster and Allen are a musical duo from Ireland consisting of Mick Foster and Tony Allen. In their 47-year career, they have released over 52 albums, many of which entered the UK Albums Chart. Along with "A Bunch of Thyme" (entering the Irish ch ...
;
Bill Gaither;
Lynda Randle
Lynda Tait Randle (born February 7, 1962), is an alto singer of southern gospel music.
Early years
The daughter of Nate and Maxine Tait, Randle grew up in the inner city of Washington, DC. Her bi-vocational minister father drove a cab. Public ...
;
Ivan Parker
Ivan Ray Parker (born December 21, 1957) is an American Southern Gospel singer.
Musical career
Ivan Parker was raised in Sanford, North Carolina, where his father was a pastor in a Pentecostal church.[Don Gibson
Donald Eugene Gibson (April 3, 1928 – November 17, 2003) was an American songwriter and country musician. A Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Gibson wrote such country standards as " Sweet Dreams" and "I Can't Stop Loving You", and enjoy ...]
;
Arthur Greenslade;
Lee Greenwood
Melvin Lee Greenwood (born October 27, 1942) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He also plays the saxophone. Active since 1962, he has released more than 20 major-label albums and has charted more than 35 singles on the ''Billboa ...
;
Roy Drusky
Roy Frank Drusky, Jr. (June 22, 1930 – September 23, 2004) was an American country music singer, songwriter, producer, actor and disc jockey popular from the 1960s through the early 1970s. Known for his baritone voice, he was known for incor ...
;
George Hamilton IV
George Hege Hamilton IV (July 19, 1937 – September 17, 2014) was an American country musician. He began performing in the late 1950s as a teen idol, switching to country music in the early 1960s.
Biography
Hamilton was born in Winston-Salem, ...
; Lulu Roman,
Brotherhood of Man
Brotherhood of Man are a British pop group who achieved success in the 1970s. They won the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest with "Save Your Kisses for Me".
Created in 1969 by songwriter and record producer Tony Hiller, Brotherhood of Man was initia ...
and the Quebec country singer André Breton recorded the French version "Un jour à la fois".
See also
*
Dove Award for Song of the Year
The GMA Dove Awards
A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, T ...
References
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UK Singles Chart number-one singles
Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
Gospel songs
Contemporary Christian songs
Marilyn Sellars songs
Kris Kristofferson songs
Cristy Lane songs
Songs written by Marijohn Wilkin
Songs written by Kris Kristofferson
1974 songs