"Wake Me When It's Over" is a song written and recorded 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, ...

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 being signed as a recording artist to

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 1961, the song was recorded during his second session with the label in September 1961 at

Radio Recorders Radio Recorders, Inc. was an American recording studio located in Los Angeles, California. During the 1940s and 1950s, Radio Recorders was one of the largest independent recording studios in the world. Notable musicians recorded at Radio Recorder ...

. Selected as the A-side of one of the promotional singles, the song failed to chart.

Background

While he lived in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Nelson sold his original "

Family Bible Family Bible may refer to: * Family Bible (book) A family Bible is a Bible handed down through a Christian family, with each successive generation recording information about the family's history inside of it. Typically, this information consist ...

", 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, he was signed as a recording artist by

in 1961.

Recording

"Wake Me When it's Over" was recorded during Nelson's second session with the label. Producer

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 ...

took him to

, on September 11–12, 1961. Nelson's backing included:

Billy Strange William Everett Strange (September 29, 1930 – February 22, 2012) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and an actor. He was a session musician with the famed Wrecking Crew, and was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Mus ...

Roy Nichols Roy Ernest Nichols (October 21, 1932 – July 3, 2001) was an American country music guitarist best known as the lead guitarist for Merle Haggard's band The Strangers for more than two decades. He was known for his guitar technique, a mix o ...

and

Johnny Western Johnny Western (born October 28, 1934) is an American country singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and radio show host. He is a member of the Western Music Association Hall of Fame and the Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame. Early life Jo ...

on guitars; pianist Jim Pierce; bassists Red Wootten and Ray Pohlman; and drummer

Roy Harte Roy S. Harte (May 27, 1924 – October 26, 2003) was an American jazz drummer and co-founder of Nocturne Records and Pacific Jazz Records. In partnership with Remo Belli, the founder and namesake of internationally famous drumhead manufacturer ...

. The session produced the tracks for the album '' ...And Then I Wrote'', with the song being selected as the A-side of one of the promotional singles. On its September review, ''

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 ...

'' gave the single four stars, noting its "strong sales potential". The publication declared: "the chanter handles a neat ballad ..He's got a lot of style here." The single was released in October 1962. While the release failed to chart, its flipside "There's Gonna Be Love In My House" spent two weeks on '' Cashbox's'' Country singles, peaking at 47. Nelson re-recorded the song for his 1972 album ''

The Willie Way ''The Willie Way'' is the 15th studio album by country singer Willie Nelson. This was also the last album of new material released by RCA Records before Nelson's departure for Atlantic Records and move to Austin, Texas. Background ''The Willie Wa ...

'', 1987 album ''

Island In The Sea ''Island in the Sea'' is a studio album by the American musician Willie Nelson, released in 1987. The album contains two single (music), singles: the title track and "Nobody There but Me", which respectively reached No. 27 and No. 82 on ...

'' and 2000 ''

Milk Cow Blues (album) ''Milk Cow Blues'' is the 48th studio album from American country singer Willie Nelson, released on September 19, 2000, on the Island Records label. It features many famous blues artists, including B. B. King and Dr. John. Track listing Per ...

Footnotes

References

* * * * * {{Willie Nelson singles, state=collapsed 1962 songs 1962 singles Liberty Records singles Willie Nelson songs Songs written by Willie Nelson Song recordings produced by Joe Allison