"Wouldn't It Be Great" is a song written and first recorded 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 ...

artist

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as " You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My M ...

. It was originally released as a single in 1985, becoming a minor hit on the national country charts following its release. It was then released on Lynn's 1985 album. In 2018, it was re-recorded and re-released as a single, becoming the title track for her 2018 studio album.

Original version

"Wouldn't It Be Great" was composed by Lynn and was the final song she sang to her husband, Dolittle Lynn, before his passing. In a 2018 interview, she explained her reasoning behind its composition: "My husband liked to drink a lot and that's where that song comes from. ‘Say you love me just one time, with a sober mind. I always liked that song, but I never liked to sing it around Doo." "Wouldn't It Be Great" was recorded 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 ...

at the Emerald Sound Studio in March 1985. The sessions was produced by

Jimmy Bowen James Albert Bowen (born November 30, 1937) is an American record producer and former rockabilly singer. Bowen brought Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood together, and introduced Sinatra to Mel Tillis for their album, ''Mel & Nancy.'' Early life ...

. The album was Lynn's first production assignment with Bowen. Lynn had been produced for over two decade by

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 ...

prior to this. In addition, Lynn also co-produced the single with Bowen. It was among the first times Lynn received production credits on a song. It was released as a single in October 1985 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 ...

. It spent a total of five weeks on the ''

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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 ...

chart before reaching number 72 in December. The single was the second spawned from Lynn's 1985 studio album entitled, '' Just a Woman.'' A third single would also be released in 1986.

Track listing

;7" vinyl single * "Wouldn't It Be Great" – 2:57 * "One Man Band" – 2:30

Chart performance

Re-recorded version

"Wouldn't It Be Great" was notably re-recorded by Loretta Lynn twice more. It was first recorded as a duet between Lynn,

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

and

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Ly ...

for their 1993 studio release, ''

Honky Tonk Angels ''Honky Tonk Angels'' is a collaborative studio album by Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette. It was released on November 2, 1993, by Columbia Records. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on January 5, 1994, for sales of 500,000 c ...

.'' It was the only composition by Lynn to be included on the collaborative effort. The song was recorded again in the 2000s. Recording took place in several sessions held between 2006 and 2017 at the Cash Cabin Studio. The song was co-produced by

John Carter Cash John Carter Cash (born March 3, 1970) is an American country singer-songwriter and musician. He is the only child of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, and the grandson of Maybelle Carter. Biography For several years after his birth, his fathe ...

(son of

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

) and Patsy Lynn Russell (Lynn's daughter). Lynn had originally planned to release the song and its corresponding album in 2017. However, the release was interrupted when Lynn suffered a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

. Lynn recovered and decided to release the single and album in 2018. "I wasn’t goin’ to let it stop me. You just can’t sit down and say ‘Hey, take me," she recounted. Titled as "Wouldn't It Be Great?," it was released as the album's first single on August 22, 2018. It was available for download and streaming to all digital platforms at the time. It was the first track offered in promotion for the album. The album of the same name was released in September 2018 via

Legacy Recordings Legacy Recordings is an American record label that is a division of Sony Music. Formed in 1990 after Sony's acquisition of CBS Records, Legacy originally handled the archives of Sony Music-owned labels Columbia Records and Epic Records. In 20 ...

Track listing

;Digital download * "Wouldn't It Be Great" – 3:24

Accolades

References

{{Loretta Lynn singles 1985 songs 1985 singles 2018 singles Loretta Lynn songs MCA Records singles Songs written by Loretta Lynn