"Too Many Parties and Too Many Pals" is a song released by

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

under the pseudonym Luke the Drifter. The song dates back to at least 1926 when it was recorded by a number of artists including the Bar Harbor Society Orchestra. It had also previously been recorded and released in 1948 by Bill Haley as Bill Haley and the 4 Aces of Western Swing; this was Haley's first professionally released single.

Background

"Too Many Parties and Too Many Pals" was written by

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

songwriter

Billy Rose Billy Rose (born William Samuel Rosenberg; September 6, 1899 – February 10, 1966) was an American impresario, theatrical showman and lyricist. For years both before and after World War II, Billy Rose was a major force in entertainment, with sh ...

with

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

songwriters

Mort Dixon Mort Dixon (March 20, 1892 – March 23, 1956) was an American lyricist. Biography Born in New York City, United States, Dixon began writing songs in the early 1920s, and was active into the 1930s. He achieved success with his first published ef ...

and

Ray Henderson Ray Henderson (born Raymond Brost; December 1, 1896 – December 31, 1970) was an American songwriter. Early life Born in Buffalo, New York, United States, Henderson moved to New York City and became a popular composer in Tin Pan Alley. He was o ...

, and had already been recorded by one of the first singing cowboys,

Carl T. Sprague Carl Tyler "Doc" Sprague (May 10, 1896 – February 21, 1979) was an American country musician. He was often dubbed "The Original Singing Cowboy". Sprague was one of the first country musicians on record, recording in 1925. Biography He was bor ...

, as the "Wayward Daughter." The song contains the testimony of a man defending a "social enemy, a lady of the evening" who is on trial for her promiscuous ways. Williams biographer Colin Escott deems it "a morality play in one mercifully short act..." The song contains a similar theme as Hank's own " Men with Broken Hearts" but, like "The Funeral," somehow lacks the down-to-earth gravitas that characterized his own lyrics. Williams recorded the song in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

at Castle Studio at the first Luke the Drifter session on January 10, 1950 with Fred Rose producing. He was backed on the session by Don Helms (steel guitar), Hillous Butrum (bass), and probably

Owen Bradley William Owen Bradley (October 21, 1915 – January 7, 1998) was an American musician and record producer who, along with Chet Atkins, Bob Ferguson, Bill Porter, and Don Law, was one of the chief architects of the 1950s and 1960s Nashville sou ...

or Rose (organ).

References

Bibliography

* {{Hank Williams 1926 songs 1948 debut singles Bill Haley songs 1950 singles Hank Williams songs Songs with lyrics by Billy Rose Songs with lyrics by Mort Dixon Songs with music by Ray Henderson MGM Records singles