"You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me" — also known simply as "Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me" — is a song written by Jim Weatherly, and produced by Don Law. It was first recorded in 1973 by Ray Price from his album ''You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me''. The song enjoyed two runs of popularity, each by an artist in a different genre. Weatherly told Tom Roland in The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits that he wrote the song in 1971 and let his father-in-law first record it as a Christmas present for the latter's wife. "I thought it was really strange that nobody'd written a song with that title — possibly somebody had, but I'd never heard it — so I just sat down and let this stream of consciousness happen. I basically wrote it in a very short period of time, probably 30 minutes or an hour."Roland, Tom, "The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits" (Billboard Books, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1991 (), p. 99.

The versions

Ray Price country version

The song's first run of popularity, as "You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me," came in 1973, when country music singer Ray Price took the song to number 1 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 chart on October 6, 1973. For that version, it represented a last and a first. The "last" was Price's seventh and most recent No. 1 single, in a string dating back to his 1956 hit " Crazy Arms." The "first": It was the No. 1 single on the debut program of '' American Country Countdown'', which used the ''Billboard'' chart in its programming. Although it fell short of the top 40 in his native United States, the song was an easy listening hit in Canada, his third such hit there.

Gladys Knight & the Pips pop/R&B version

In the early- to mid-1970s, Gladys Knight & the Pips recorded several of Weatherly's songs, and in 1974, they dipped into his catalog once again with their rendition of the song. Their version, titled "Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me," reached number 3 on the ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

that spring and topped the Hot Soul Singles for two weeks. The single was certified gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

for sales of one million copies. It also reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom.

James Cleveland gospel version

In 1975, legendary gospel singer Rev.

James Cleveland James Edward Cleveland (December 5, 1931 – February 9, 1991) was an American gospel singer, musician, and composer. Known as the King of Gospel, Cleveland was a driving force behind the creation of the modern gospel sound by incorporating trad ...

& The Charles Fold Singers recorded a live version of the song, which was cited (in the song) as an adaptation of the Gladys Knight & The Pips version of the song.

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

The Persuaders R&B version

In 1974, The Persuaders also recorded a version, taken from their album of the same name Their version was quieter, less brassy, and more introspective than The Pips' version The song reached number 85 on the ''Billboard''

chart.

Dean Martin pop version

The song was also recorded by

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

in 1973.

Andy Williams version

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

released a version in 1974 on his album, '' The Way We Were''.

Steve Lawrence version

Steve Lawrence released a version in 1973 under MGM Records label.

Chart performance

Ray Price version

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1973 singles 1974 singles Ray Price (musician) songs Songs written by Jim Weatherly Gladys Knight & the Pips songs The Persuaders (R&B group) songs Andy Williams songs 1973 songs Buddah Records singles Columbia Nashville Records singles Song recordings produced by Don Law