"The Part Where I Cry" is a song written by country music singer

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

. After moving to Nashville in 1960, leveraged by the success of his songwriting, and helped 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 ...

, Nelson was signed by

Joe Allison Joseph Marion Allison (October 3, 1924 – August 2, 2002) was an American songwriter, radio and television personality, record producer, and country music business executive. Allison won five BMI performance awards for hit singles he wrote and ...

Liberty Records Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revival ...

. In August 1961, his first session with the label was held at

Quonset Hut studio Quonset Hut Studio was a music recording studio established in 1954 in Nashville, Tennessee by brothers Harold and Owen Bradley as Bradley's Film & Recording Studios and later operated as Columbia Studio B. The Quonset Hut was the first commerc ...

, where he recorded the song. It was later coupled with "

Mr. Record Man "Mr. Record Man" is a song written by country music singer-songwriter Willie Nelson. After writing the song, Nelson moved to Houston, Texas, where due to his financial issues, tried to sell it to Larry Butler. Butler, who rejected to buy the song ...

" on the B-side. While it failed to chart, the single received airplay.

Background

During his time in Houston, Nelson sold his original "

Family Bible Family Bible may refer to: * Family Bible (book), a Bible handed down through a family * Family Bible (Willie Nelson album), ''Family Bible'' (Willie Nelson album), 1980 * Family Bible (song), "Family Bible" (song), a song written by Willie Nelson ...

", that turned into a hit for

Claude Gray Claude Gray (born January 26, 1932) is an American country music singer-songwriter and guitar picker best known for his 1960 hit "Family Bible," which has been covered by many different artists. Gray's other hit, "I'll Just Have Another Cup Of ...

. Despite that he was not credited as the songwriter on the record, he took advantage of the recognition that the song granted him, and moved to Nashville in 1960. While he joined Ray Price's band as a bass player, his songs became hits for other artists, including "

Funny How Time Slips Away "Funny How Time Slips Away" is a song written by Willie Nelson and first recorded by country singer Billy Walker. Walker's version was issued as single by Columbia Records in June 1961 and peaked at number 23 on the Hot C&W Sides chart. Notab ...

" ( Billy Walker), "

Pretty Paper ''Pretty Paper'' is the first Christmas album and 24th studio album by country singer Willie Nelson. It was also his last release of the 1970s. Nelson reunited with producer/arranger Booker T. Jones, with whom he had collaborated on the acclai ...

" (

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

), and, most famously, "

Crazy Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or t ...

" by

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 ...

. Leveraged by his prominence as a songwriter in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, and after his friend

forwarded his songs to producer

, Nelson was signed to

in 1961.

Recording and release

Nelson entered his first session at Liberty's Nashville studio on August 22, 1961, at

Quonset Hut A Quonset hut is a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel having a semi cylindrical cross-section. The design was developed in the United States, based on the Nissen hut introduced by the British during World War I ...

studio. Nelson was backed by guitarists Kelso Herston,

Ray Edenton Ray Quarles Edenton (November 3, 1926 – September 21, 2022) was an American guitar player and country music session musician. Early life Ray Edenton was born into a musical family on November 3, 1926, and grew up near Mineral, Virginia. His f ...

(who also played fiddle),

Harold Bradley Harold Ray Bradley (January 2, 1926 – January 31, 2019) was an American guitarist and entrepreneur, who played on many country, rock and pop recordings and produced numerous TV variety shows and movie soundtracks. Having started as a session ...

and

Grady Martin Thomas Grady Martin (January 17, 1929 – December 3, 2001) was an American session guitarist in country music and rockabilly. A member of The Nashville A-Team, he played guitar on hits such as Marty Robbins' "El Paso", Loretta Lynn's " Coal ...

; drummer

Buddy Harman Murrey Mizell "Buddy" Harman, Jr. (December 23, 1928 – August 21, 2008) was an American country music session musician. Career Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Harman played drums on over 18,000 sessions for artists such as Elvis Presley, Jerry ...

, pianist

Hargus "Pig" Robbins Hargus Melvin Robbins (January 18, 1938 – January 30, 2022), known by his nickname "Pig," was an American session keyboard player. Having played on records for many artists, including John Stewart, Dolly Parton, Connie Smith, Patti Page, Lore ...

, bassist Joe Zinkan and the Anita Kerr singers. During the night, until the early hours of the following day Nelson recorded "The Part Where I Cry", to be the first single release with the label. Allison was not pleased with the results of the session. The single was coupled with the B-side "

", recorded during a September session in California. Released in November 1961, ''

Billboard's ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

'' review predicted a "moderate sales potential". Despite it failed to chart, the song received good airplay on radio stations. It was later included on Nelson's debut album '' ...And Then I Wrote''.

Footnotes

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Part Where I Cry, The 1961 singles Willie Nelson songs Songs written by Willie Nelson 1961 songs Liberty Records singles Song recordings produced by Joe Allison