"Where Are You Going, Billy Boy" is a song written by Dave Kirby and Glenn Martin. It was first recorded as a duet by American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

artists Bill Anderson and

Mary Lou Turner Mary Lou Turner (born June 13, 1947) is an American country music artist. She began her career as a regular on the ''Wheeling Jamboree'' in the early 1970s and in 1974 signed to replace Jan Howard as the "girl singer" (who had left to pursue her ...

. It was released as a single in 1977 via

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

and became a major hit the same year.

Background and release

"Where Are You Going, Billy Boy" was recorded in March 1977 at

Bradley's Barn ''Bradley's Barn'' is the fifth studio album by American rock group The Beau Brummels. Released in October 1968, it contains the singles "Long Walking Down to Misery" and "Cherokee Girl." The album has received critical acclaim as an early examp ...

studio in

Mount Juliet, Tennessee Mt. Juliet (also referred to as Mount Juliet) is a city located in western Wilson County, Tennessee. A suburb of Nashville, it is approximately east of downtown Nashville. Mt. Juliet is located mostly between two major national east-west routes, ...

. The session was produced by

Buddy Killen William Doyce “Buddy” Killen (November 13, 1932 – November 1, 2006) was an American record producer and music publisher, and a former owner of Trinity Broadcasting Network and Tree International Publishing, the largest country music p ...

. It was the pair's first production assignment with Killen. "Where Are You Going, Billy Boy" was released as a single by MCA Records in June 1977. The song spent 12 weeks on the ''

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 ...

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

before reaching number 18 in September 1977. It was the pair's second top ten hit together and second to be spawned off the same studio album. In Canada, the single reached number 22 on the RPM Country Songs chart in 1977. It was first released on their 1977 studio album, '' Billy Boy & Mary Lou''.

Track listings

7" vinyl single * "Where Are You Going, Billy Boy" – 2:37 * "Sad Ole Shade of Gray" – 2:18

Chart performance

References

{{Bill Anderson singles 1977 singles 1977 songs Bill Anderson (singer) songs MCA Records singles Mary Lou Turner songs Male–female vocal duets