"Please Remember Me" 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

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

and

Will Jennings Wilbur H. "Will" Jennings (born June 27, 1944) is an American lyricist. He is popularly known for writing the lyrics for the songs "Tears in Heaven" and "My Heart Will Go On". He has been inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame and has won s ...

. Originally recorded by Crowell for his 1995 album '' Jewel of the South'', his version was released as its lead (and only) single and peaked at number 69 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 ...

'' country chart in early June. A later version was released by

Aaron Neville Aaron Joseph Neville (born January 24, 1941) is a retired American R&B and soul singer. He has had four platinum albums and four Top 10 hits in the United States, including three that reached number one on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. ...

and

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

, but was not released as a single.

Chart performance

Tim McGraw version

Four years after the release of Crowell's version,

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those album ...

covered the song for his 1999 album '' A Place in the Sun''. Released that year as the first single from that album, McGraw's cover reached the top of the ''

'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (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, a position that it held for five weeks. The song was also McGraw's biggest solo hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, where it peaked at number 10. McGraw's rendition features

Patty Loveless Patty Loveless (born Patricia Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957) is an American country music singer. She began performing in her teenaged years before signing her first recording contract with MCA Records' Nashville division in 1985. While her first ...

on harmony vocals.

Music video

The music video for McGraw's cover was directed and produced by

Sherman Halsey Sherman Brooks Halsey (February 22, 1957 – October 29, 2013) was an American music video and television director, producer, and artist manager. Sherman Halsey produced and directed hundreds of television shows and music videos for artists ...

, and premiered on CMT on March 26, 1999, when CMT named it a "Hot Shot". In the video, McGraw sat on a bench in a beach, with the waves crashing, and showing clips from McGraw's previous videos, as well as McGraw singing in a mansion.

Critical reception

Deborah Evans Price, of ''

'' magazine reviewed the song favorably, calling it a "lush and lovely ballad." She goes on to say that he is "surprisingly effective" on this pop-side release as he is usually best with traditional material. She finishes the review by saying that McGraw "seems to a newfound vocal maturity." Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe gave the song an A grade, calling it "a lush and gorgeous ballad that is elevated by a Patty Loveless harmony vocal." He goes on to say that McGraw's "pleading performance gives the song its urgency, and the pop-flavored production, complete with strings, harkens back to the glory days of the Nashville sound." The song ranks 96th on the RIAA 365 songs of the century list

Track listing

UK Promo CD # Please Remember Me 3:39 Cassette Single *A Please Remember Me 4:29 *B For A Little While 3:33 US Single # Please Remember Me 4:29 # For A Little While 3:33

Chart performance

"Please Remember Me" debuted at number 51 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of March 20, 1999. It reached number one and remained there for five consecutive weeks until it was knocked off by " Write This Down" by

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait is considered one of the most influential and popular recording artists of all time. In the 1980s, he was credited for ...

End of year charts

Covers

The Swedish country music-inspired dansband

Lasse Stefanz Lasse Stefanz is a Swedish dansband formed in Kristianstad in 1967. The band was popular during the 1980s. The band was formed by Hans Sigfridsson, Lars Sigfridsson and Olle Jönsson. Later members are Christer Ericsson, Anders Pettersson and G ...

recorded a Swedish version called "Tänk På Mig Ibland" on their 1996 album ''Dig Ska Jag Älskar''. It was covered by

John Barrowman John Scot Barrowman (born 11 March 1967) is a Scottish-American actor, author, presenter, singer and comic book writer. He is known for his role as Captain Jack Harkness in '' Doctor Who'' and ''Torchwood'', and as Malcolm Merlyn in the Arrow ...

on his 2007 album '' Another Side''. ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' season 10 winner

Scotty McCreery Scott Cooke McCreery (born October 9, 1993) is an American country music singer. He rose to fame after winning the tenth season of ''American Idol'' on May 25, 2011. His debut studio album, '' Clear as Day'', was released in October 2011 and w ...

covered this song to be used as the goodbye/exit song on the 11th season of ''American Idol''. It was released on March 8, 2012. Performed by

Danielle Bradbery Danielle Simone Bradbery (born July 23, 1996) is an American country pop singer. She won season 4 of NBC's ''The Voice'' in 2013, becoming the youngest artist to win the competition at age 16. Bradbery's record has since been eclipsed by Sawyer F ...

on Season 4 of ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

'', Released: Jun 11, 2013.

References

{{Authority control 1995 singles 1999 singles 1995 songs Rodney Crowell songs Tim McGraw songs Linda Ronstadt songs Aaron Neville songs Scotty McCreery songs Danielle Bradbery songs Songs written by Rodney Crowell Songs with lyrics by Will Jennings Song recordings produced by Tony Brown (record producer) Song recordings produced by Rodney Crowell Song recordings produced by Byron Gallimore Song recordings produced by Tim McGraw Song recordings produced by James Stroud Country ballads MCA Nashville Records singles Curb Records singles