"She Called Me Baby" is a country song written in 1961 by

Harlan Howard Harlan Perry Howard (September 8, 1927 – March 3, 2002) was an American songwriter, principally in country music. In a career spanning six decades, Howard wrote many popular and enduring songs, recorded by a variety of different artists. C ...

Background

The song was first recorded by Howard for his September 1961 album release ''Harlan Howard Sings Harlan Howard''. The track was released as a single in January 1962 and became a breakout hit in Texas where, according to his widow Melanie Howard, Harlan Howard spent two weeks doing promotion before returning home to Nashville and refusing to do further promotion re his singing career as it interfered with his primary musical focus: songwriting.

Charlie Rich Recording

Charlie Rich Charles Allan Rich (December 14, 1932July 25, 1995) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. His eclectic style of music was often difficult to classify, encompassing the rockabilly, jazz, blues, country music, country, sou ...

recorded "She Called Me Baby" at one of a series of sessions produced by

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music s ...

at RCA Victor Studio in Nashville which occurred between March 1964 and February 1965. Like many Atkins-produced tracks of this era, "She Called Me Baby" featured choral backing and strings, a style prominent on other Rich recordings of the time. Despite a number of recorded versions, "She Called Me Baby" did not appear in the Top 20 of the C&W chart in ''

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 ...

'' until 1974 when a mid-60s recording by Rich was belatedly released to reach #1 C&W. Rich's version of "She Called Me Baby" went unreleased as an album cut or single until after Rich had his star breakout in 1973, when he scored million-sellers with "Behind Closed Doors" and "

The Most Beautiful Girl "The Most Beautiful Girl" is a song recorded by Charlie Rich and written by Billy Sherrill, Norro Wilson, and Rory Bourke. The countrypolitan ballad reached No. 1 in the United States in 1973 on three ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' music cha ...

." That run of success continued into 1974, when several of his older recordings made during his tenures at RCA,

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

and

Sun records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny C ...

— "She Called Me Baby" included — were released as singles to C&W radio. Released in September 1974 — around the time his Epic single " I Love My Friend" was peaking in popularity — "She Called Me Baby" reached #1 on the ''

'' C&W chart dated December 7, 1974. "She Called Me Baby" was Rich's fifth #1 C&W hit in 1974 alone and his seventh #1 C&W hit overall.

C&W versions

Jan Howard Jan Howard (born Lula Grace Johnson; March 13, 1929 – March 28, 2020) was an American country music singer and songwriter. As a singer, she placed 30 singles on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Hot Country Songs, country songs chart, w ...

- then married to Harlan Howard - recorded the first female version of the song: "He Called Me Baby" in a April 30, 1962 session at Columbia Recording Studio (Nashville); the track was featured on Jan Howard's ''Sweet and Sentimental'' album released that October.

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 ...

recorded the song as "He Called Me Baby" in a February 1963 session at Columbia Recording Studio (Nashville). Cline had begun recording tracks for an album to be entitled ''Faded Love'' on February 4, 1963; "He Called Me Baby" was one of four tracks cut on February 7, 1963 in what would prove to be Cline's final recording session. After Cline's death on March 5, 1963

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

elected not to release the ''Faded Love'' album instead including Cline's final tracks on two 1964 album releases, the second of which: the November 2, 1964 release ''That's How a Heartache Begins'', featured "He Called Me Baby" which track had been given single release that September 19, to reach #23 on the C&W charts in December 1964, becoming Cline's final C&W Top 40 hit until 1980. Three months after Cline's "He Called Me Baby" ended its run in the C&W Top 50 Carl Smith brought "She Called Me Baby" onto that chart for the first time; Smith's version - cut December 14, 1964 at Columbia Recording Studio (Nashville) - rose as high as #32. "She Called Me Baby" next charted in November and December 1972 when

Dick Curless Richard William Curless (March 17, 1932 – May 25, 1995) was an American country music singer. He usually wore a patch over his right eye. Biography Curless was born in Fort Fairfield, Maine, United States, and moved with his family to Ma ...

took his version to #54 C&W. The song has also been recorded - as "She Called Me Baby" - by

Eddy Arnold Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the ''Billboard'' cou ...

Bobby Bare Robert Joseph Bare Sr. (born April 7, 1935) is an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for the songs "Marie Laveau", " Detroit City" and "500 Miles Away from Home". He is the father of Bobby Bare Jr., also a musician. Early ca ...

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodt ...

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 h ...

Mickey Gilley Mickey Leroy Gilley (March 9, 1936 – May 7, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he started out singing straight-up country and western material in the 1970s, he moved towards a more pop-friendly sound in the 1 ...

Ferlin Husky Ferlin Eugene Husky (December 3, 1925 – March 17, 2011) was an early American country music singer who was equally adept at the genres of traditional honky-tonk, ballads, spoken recitations, and rockabilly pop tunes. He had two dozen top-20 hit ...

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 ...

John D. Loudermilk John Dee Loudermilk Jr. (March 31, 1934 – September 21, 2016) was an American singer and songwriter. Although he had his own recording career during the 1950s and 1960s, he was primarily known as a songwriter. His best-known songs include "I ...

Ernest Tubb Ernest Dale Tubb (February 9, 1914 – September 6, 1984), nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" (1941), m ...

and Sheb Wooley; and as "He Called Me Baby" by

Jessi Colter Mirriam Johnson (born May 25, 1943), known professionally as Jessi Colter, is an American country singer who is best known for her collaborations with her husband, country musician Waylon Jennings, and for her 1975 country-pop crossover hit " I' ...

('' A Country Star is Born''),

Skeeter Davis Skeeter Davis (born Mary Frances Penick; December 30, 1931September 19, 2004) was an American country music singer and songwriter who sang crossover pop music songs including 1962's " The End of the World". She started out as part of the Davis S ...

Bobbi Martin Barbara Ann "Bobbi" Martin (November 29, 1939 – May 2, 2000) was an American country and pop music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She grew up in Oslo, Minnesota and began her singing career in Baltimore, working her way up from local ven ...

Melba Montgomery Melba Joyce Montgomery (born October 14, 1938) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is known for a series of duet recordings made with George Jones, Gene Pitney and Charlie Louvin. She is also a solo artist, having reaching the ...

and

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

and Lee Ann Womack in 2017.

R&B versions

"He Called Me Baby" entered the

R&B charts The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

for the first time in December 1968 via a recording by

Ella Washington Ella Washington (born October 25, 1943) is an American former R&B and gospel singer, described as "an outstanding Southern soul vocalist" and best known for her 1969 hit " He Called Me Baby". She later became a church pastor. Biography Wash ...

made for Nashville-based R&B label Sound Stage 7. Recorded at FAME Studios in

Muscle Shoals Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located along the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 census, the population of Muscle Shoals was 13,146. The estimated popu ...

, Washington's "He Called Me Baby" was only a moderate R&B hit (#38) but crossed-over to the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (#77) and earned Washington a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance - Female. In its female version, "He Called Me Baby", the song was a Top Ten R&B hit for Candi Staton in 1971. The track was includes in Staton's ''Stand By Your Man'' album and was cut at FAME Studios with studio owner

Rick Hall Roe Erister "Rick" Hall (January 31, 1932 – January 2, 2018) was an American record producer, songwriter, and musician who became known as the owner of FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. As the "Father of Muscle Shoals Music", he was i ...

producing - included a version of "He Called Me Baby" issued as a single concurrently with the album's release in December 1970. Staton's version of "He Called Me Baby" - which Harlan Howard's widow says the composer "loved" - reached #9 R&B in February 1971, and also crossed over to the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

peaking at #52. Nancy Wilson remade "He Called Me Baby" for her 1975 album ''Come Get to This''; released as a single the track reached #74 R&B.

Chart performance

Patsy Cline

Carl Smith

Dick Curless

Charlie Rich

Samples

*Indie band

One Eskimo Kristian Leontiou (born February 1982) is an English singer. Formerly a solo artist, he is the lead singer of indie rock band One eskimO. Early life Kristian Leontiou was born in London, England and is of Greek Cypriot descent. He went to Hat ...

sampled the Candi Staton version for their 2009 song "Kandi".

References

{{Authority control 1964 singles 1965 singles 1972 singles 1974 singles Patsy Cline songs Carl Smith (musician) songs Dick Curless songs Charlie Rich songs Glen Campbell songs Songs written by Harlan Howard Song recordings produced by Chet Atkins Nancy Wilson (jazz singer) songs Song recordings produced by Owen Bradley Decca Records singles 1961 songs