"The World Needs a Melody" is a song written by

Red Lane Red Lane, born Hollis Rudolph DeLaughter with surname pronounced ''Dee-LAW-ter'' (February 9, 1939 – July 1, 2015), was an American country music singer, songwriter and guitarist who was a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (1993) ...

, Johnny Slate and

Larry Henley Larry Joel Henley (June 30, 1937 – December 18, 2014) was an American singer and songwriter, best known for co-writing (with Jeff Silbar) the 1989 hit record "Wind Beneath My Wings". Early life Henley was born to Carl Henley and Helen Quinn in Od ...

and originally recorded by

The Carter Family Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. ...

together with

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

. It is part of the 1972 Carter Family album '' Travelin' Minstrel Band''. Released in August 1972 as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

(Columbia 4-45679, with "A Bird with Broken Wings Can't Fly" by The Carter Family on the opposite side), the song reached number 35 on U.S. ''

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 for the week of November 4.

Track listing

Charts

Cover versions

* 1973:

The New Kingston Trio The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and ...

on the album ''

The World Needs a Melody ''The World Needs a Melody'' is an album by The New Kingston Trio, released in 1973.Blake, B., Rubeck, J., Shaw, A. (1986) ''The Kingston Trio On Record.'' Kingston Korner Inc, ILL: History Two years before the release of ''Once Upon a Time'' i ...

References

External links

"The World Needs a Melody"
on the Johnny Cash official website {{DEFAULTSORT:World Needs A Melody Carter Family songs Johnny Cash songs Songs written by Red Lane Songs written by Johnny Slate Songs written by Larry Henley Song recordings produced by Larry Butler (producer) 1972 songs 1972 singles Columbia Records singles