"Little Green Apples" is a song written by

Bobby Russell Bobby Russell (April 19, 1940 – November 19, 1992) was an American singer and songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, he had five singles on the Hot Country Songs charts, including the crossover pop hit "Saturday Morning Confusion". Russell w ...

that became a hit for three different artists, with their three separate releases, in 1968. Originally written for and released by American recording artist Roger Miller, "Little Green Apples" was also released as a single by American recording artists Patti Page and

O. C. Smith Ocie Lee Smith (June 21, 1932 – November 23, 2001), known professionally as O. C. Smith, was an American singer. His recording of " Little Green Apples" went to number 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1968 and sold over one million rec ...

that same year. Miller's version became a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

(and a #6 hit on the ''Billboard'' Country chart), while Page's version became her last Hot 100 entry and Smith's version became a #2 hit on the Hot 100 chart. The song earned Russell a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for Song of the Year and for

Best Country Song The Grammy Award for Best Country Song (sometimes known as the Country Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1965. The award is given to the songwriter(s) of the song, not to the artist, except if the artist is also the songwriter. There ha ...

. In 2013, "Little Green Apples" was covered by English recording artist

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

featuring American recording artist

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...

, which became a top 40 hit in Mexico.

Overview

According to

Buzz Cason James E. "Buzz" Cason (born November 27, 1939 in Nashville, Tennessee, United States) is an American rock singer, songwriter, record producer, and author. He was a founding member of The Casuals, Nashville's first rock and roll band. Together ...

, who partnered Bobby Russell in the Nashville-based Rising Sons music publishing firm, Russell wrote both the songs "

Honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

" (a #1 hit for

Bobby Goldsboro Robert Charles Goldsboro (born January 18, 1941) is an American pop and country singer and songwriter. He had a string of pop and country hits in the 1960s and 1970s, including his signature No. 1 hit "Honey", which sold over 1 million copies in ...

in 1968) and "Little Green Apples" as "an experiment in composing", anticipating a potential market for true-to-life story songs...with more 'meat' in the lyrics han wasstandard" for current hits. Russell wrote "Little Green Apples" for Roger Miller to record and Miller made the first recording of the song on January 24, 1968 in a session produced by Jerry Kennedy at Columbia Recording Studio Nashville. Released as the lead single from the album ''A Tender Look at Love'', "Little Green Apples" afforded Miller his final Top Ten C&W hit at #6 and also his final

crossover reaching #39 on the Hot 100 in '' Billboard''. In the UK, Miller's "Little Green Apples" reached #19 in the spring of 1968 – when it also reached #46 in Australia – and in the spring of 1969 the track returned to the UK chart reaching #39. Patti Page recorded "Little Green Apples" for her C&W-oriented album ''

Gentle on My Mind "Gentle on My Mind" is a song that was written and originally recorded by John Hartford, and released on his second studio album, '' Earthwords & Music'' (1967). Hartford composed the song after watching ''Doctor Zhivago'' in 1966, as he was i ...

'' whose title cut shared the

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

Top Ten with Roger Miller's "Little Green Apples". Page's version of the latter was released as a single in June 1968, reaching #11 Easy Listening and affording Page the final Hot 100 appearance of her career at #96. O. C. Smith had recorded "Little Green Apples" at Columbia Studios LA for ''Hickory Holler Revisited'', the parent album of his Top 40 hit "

Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp "The Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp" is a song written by Dallas Frazier and first recorded by country musician, Johnny Darrell in 1968. The song tells the story of a woman with 14 children who is abandoned by her worthless alcoholic husband and tur ...

". The track "Main Street Mission" was originally issued as the follow-up single, but as Buzz Cason recalls "a disc jockey in Detroit played the album cut y O. C. Smithof 'Little Green Apples' one morning". That single spin triggered "such a reaction and rash of phone requests s toprompt he deejayto call Steve Popovich, head of promotion for Columbia in New York ity, and "Little Green Apples" replaced "Main Street Mission" as Smith's then current single. Smith's version was a #2 hit on the Hot 100, behind " Hey Jude" by

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

, and likewise peaked at #2 on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

in ''Billboard'' and was

certified Gold Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

for domestic sales of one million units. The song won its composer Bobby Russell the 1969

Grammy Award for Song of the Year The Grammy Award for Song of the Year is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. The Song of the Year award is one of the four most prestigious categories at t ...

and the

Grammy Award for Best Country Song The Grammy Award for Best Country Song (sometimes known as the Country Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1965. The award is given to the songwriter(s) of the song, not to the artist, except if the artist is also the songwriter. There ha ...

Chart positions

Weekly charts

;Roger Miller version ;Patti Page version ;O. C. Smith version ;Robbie Williams featuring Kelly Clarkson version

Year-end charts

;O.C. Smith version

Other notable versions

The song has been covered by the following artists and groups: *

on his 1968 album ''

'' *

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

on his 1968 album '' The Times They Are A-Changin''' * Johnny Mathis on his 1968 album ''

Those Were the Days Those Were the Days may refer to: Music Albums * ''Those Were the Days'' (Johnny Mathis album) (1968) * ''Those Were the Days'' (Cream album) (1997) * ''Those Were the Days'' (Dolly Parton album) (2005) * '' Those Were the Days – The Best of L ...

'' * Ray Price on his 1968 album ''

She Wears My Ring "La golondrina" (English: "The Swallow") is a song written in 1862 by Mexican physician Narciso Serradell Sevilla (1843–1910), who at the time was exiled to France due to the French intervention in Mexico. The lyrics come from a poem written ...

'' * Frank Sinatra on his 1968 album '' Cycles'' *

Stanley Turrentine Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note label from 1960, touched on jazz fusion ...

on his 1968 album '' Always Something There'' * Dionne Warwick on her 1968 album '' Promises, Promises'' *

Tony Joe White Tony Joe White (July 23, 1943 – October 24, 2018), nicknamed the Swamp Fox, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his 1969 hit " Polk Salad Annie" and for " Rainy Night in Georgia", which he wrote but which was first ...

on his 1968 album Black and White *

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting '' The Glen Campbell Good ...

and

Bobbie Gentry Bobbie Gentry (born Roberta Lee Streeter; July 27, 1942) is a retired American singer-songwriter, who was one of the first female artists in America to compose and produce her own material. Gentry rose to international fame in 1967 with her Sou ...

on their 1968 album '' Bobbie Gentry & Glen Campbell'' *Saxophonist Sonny Stitt on his 1969 album ''

Little Green Apples "Little Green Apples" is a song written by Bobby Russell that became a hit for three different artists, with their three separate releases, in 1968. Originally written for and released by American recording artist Roger Miller, "Little Green Ap ...

'' *

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

on their 1969 album '' Puzzle People'' * Andy Williams on his 1969 album ''

Happy Heart "Happy Heart" is a song written by James Last and Jackie Rae. Versions of the song by Petula Clark and Andy Williams charted simultaneously in 1969 and had their best showings on '' Billboard'' magazine's Easy Listening chart, where Clark pea ...

'' * Bing Crosby on his 1969 album '' Hey Jude / Hey Bing!'' and also on his 1972 album '' Bing 'n' Basie''. * Dean Martin on his 1969 album ''

I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am "I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am" is a song written and performed by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in October 1968 as the only single from his album '' Pride in What I Am''. The song peaked a ...

'' *

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

on his 1970 album ''

Tony Sings the Great Hits of Today! ''Tony Sings the Great Hits of Today!'' is a 1970 album by American classic pop and jazz singer Tony Bennett. Recorded under pressure from Columbia Records for Bennett to produce more marketable material, it features attempts at songs by the Beat ...

'' *

Ben E. King Benjamin Earl King (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of " Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later ...

on his 1970 album '' Rough Edges'' * Bloodstone on their 1972 self-titled album *

Vicki Lawrence Vicki Ann Lawrence ( Axelrad; born March 26, 1949), sometimes credited as Vicki Lawrence Schultz, is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She is best known for her character Mama (Thelma Harper). Lawrence originated multitudes of charact ...

on her 1973 album ''

The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" is a Southern Gothic murder ballad, written in 1972 by songwriter Bobby Russell and first recorded by his then wife, singer, comedian, and actress Vicki Lawrence. Lawrence's version, from her 1973 al ...

'' *

Monica Zetterlund Monica Zetterlund (born Eva Monica Nilsson; 20 September 1937 – 12 May 2005) was a Swedish jazz singer and actress. Through her lifetime, she starred in over 10 Swedish film productions and recorded over 20 studio albums. She gained int ...

in 1969 as ''Gröna små äpplen'', with Swedish lyrics written by ABBA's manager

Stig Anderson Stig Erik Leopold Anderson (25 January 1931 – 12 September 1997), better known as Stikkan Anderson, was a Swedish music manager, lyricist and music publisher. He was the co-founder of Polar Music, and is best known for managing the Sw ...

. Both the performance and the lyrics won Swedish Grammy awards. * Nancy Wilson on her 2004 album '' R.S.V.P. (Rare Songs, Very Personal)'' *

featuring

on his 2013 album ''

Swings Both Ways ''Swings Both Ways'' is the tenth studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams. It is his second swing album after 2001's ''Swing When You're Winning''; unlike the latter, which had one original composition, this album features an e ...

''.

References

{{authority control 1968 singles 1968 songs Songs written by Bobby Russell O. C. Smith songs Roger Miller songs Patti Page songs The Temptations songs Frank Sinatra songs Bing Crosby songs Nancy Wilson (jazz singer) songs Burl Ives songs Glen Campbell songs Bobbie Gentry songs Dionne Warwick songs Monica Zetterlund songs Andy Williams songs Robbie Williams songs Vicki Lawrence songs Kelly Clarkson songs Tony Joe White songs Grammy Award for Song of the Year Columbia Records singles