"Window Shopping" is a song written by Marcel Joseph and popularized by country singer
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 ...
, who released the song in July 1952 on
MGM Records
MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...
. Joseph was a French Jew who settled in
New York City in 1914 and grew to love country music, working as an illustrator at the ''Journal American'' by day and writing songs in his spare time.
The song was chosen to be the B-side to "
Jambalaya (On the Bayou)," one of Williams' biggest hits. He recorded it on June 13, 1952, his first recording session in six months, at Castle Studio 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 ...
with backing provided by
Jerry Rivers
Jerry Rivers (August 25, 1928 – October 4, 1996) was an American fiddle player.
Biography
Jerry Rivers was born in Miami, Florida. He played fiddle with the Drifting Cowboys, a band who will be forever associated with their "frontman", the lege ...
(fiddle),
Don Helms (steel guitar),
Chet Atkins (lead guitar), Chuck Wright (bass) and probably
Ernie Newton (bass).
Cover versions
*Band leader
Art Mooney recorded the song on July 21, 1952.
*
George Jones cut the song for
Mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
in 1960.
*
Hank Williams Jr. recorded the song as an overdubbed duet with his father in 1965 for MGM.
*
Ernest Tubb recorded the song for
Decca in 1968.
*
Dwight Yoakam performed the song in the documentary ''In the Hank Williams Tradition''.
References
Notes
Sources
*
{{Authority control
1952 songs
Hank Williams songs