"Pretty Paper" is a song written by

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer-songwriter

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...

in 1963. After being signed to

Monument Records Monument Records is an American record label in Washington, D.C. named for the Washington Monument, founded in 1958 by Fred Foster, Buddy Deane (a prominent Baltimore disc jockey at WTTG), and business manager Jack Kirby. Buddy Deane soon left ...

, Nelson played the song for producer

Fred Foster Fred Luther Foster (July 26, 1931 – February 20, 2019) was an American record producer, songwriter, and music business executive who founded Monument Records. As a record producer he was most closely associated with Roy Orbison, and was also ...

. Foster pitched the song to

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

, who turned it into a hit. Nelson later recorded his own version of the song in November 1964.

Content

The song tells the story of a street vendor who, during the Christmas season, sells pencils and paper on the streets. In October 1963, while walking in his farm in

Ridgetop, Tennessee Ridgetop is a city in Davidson and Robertson counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The population was 1,874 at the 2010 census. Geography Ridgetop is located in Robertson County except for two small portions of the city that fall in Davidson ...

, Nelson was inspired to write the song after he remembered a man he often saw while he lived in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the List of cities in Texas by population, fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the List of United States cities by population, 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, T ...

. The man moved with rollers, selling paper and pencils in front of Leonard's Department Store. In 2013, the ''

Fort Worth Star-Telegram The ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' is an American daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and Tarrant County, the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. It is owned by The McClatchy Company. History In May 1905, Amon G. Carte ...

'' identified the man as Frankie Brierton, of Santo, Texas. Both of Brierton's legs were atrophied below the knee due to childhood meningitis.

Background and recording

Early in 1963, Nelson was signed by

to the label

. In October 1963, Nelson sang "Pretty Paper" for Foster, who was impressed and decided to forward the song to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Bill Justis William Everett Justis Jr. (October 14, 1926 – July 16, 1982) was an American pioneer rock and roll musician, composer, and musical arranger, best known for his 1957 Grammy Hall of Fame song, " Raunchy". As a songwriter, he was also often credi ...

worked the arrangements and the demo tape was sent to Orbison in England. According to the official Roy Orbison biography, ''The Authorized Roy Orbison'', "Pretty Paper" was recorded at Decca Studio 2 in London with music director

Ivor Raymonde Ivor Raymonde (born Ivor Pomerance; 22 October 1926 – 4 June 1990) was a British musician, songwriter, arranger and actor, best known for his distinctive rock-orchestral arrangements for Dusty Springfield and others in the 1960s. Life and care ...

, who made last-minute arrangements with his orchestra. Each musician was provided with microphones newly designed by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...

' engineers. The microphones were worn around the neck to amplify the strings. Orbison attended the session with a 102-degree fever. According to the biography, Orbison recorded the song in 12 takes. The B-side, "Almost," was also done that day.

Release

The record by Orbison was released in November 1963. The song peaked at number 10 on '' Billboard's'' Adult Contemporary Chart, 15 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 stream ...

and 27 on the Christmas Singles Chart. The record was released in the UK in November 1964 and peaked at number 6 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 ...

. The song was included on '' More of Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits'' in 1964, and has appeared on numerous compilations through the years.

Other recordings

After moving to

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

in November 1964, Willie Nelson recorded his own version, produced by

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music ...

. The musicians for the session were

Hargus "Pig" Robbins Hargus Melvin Robbins (January 18, 1938 – January 30, 2022), known by his nickname "Pig," was an American session keyboard player. Having played on records for many artists, including John Stewart, Dolly Parton, Connie Smith, Patti Page, Lor ...

(piano), Pete Drake (pedal steel), Henry Strzelecki (bass), Kenneth Buttrey (drums),

Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008) was an American singer, guitarist, composer, and songwriter as well as an actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Guitar Man", "U.S. Male", " A Thi ...

(guitar) and Velma Smith (guitar). Nelson recorded for the B-side "What a Merry Christmas This Could Be". Nelson returned to the studio in December and recorded with the melody of the song in phonetic German the song "Little Darling". Nelson re-recorded the song for his 1979 album ''

Pretty Paper ''Pretty Paper'' is the first Christmas album and 24th studio album by country singer Willie Nelson. It was also his last release of the 1970s. Nelson reunited with producer/arranger Booker T. Jones, with whom he had collaborated on the accla ...

'', and once more with his sister Bobbie Nelson for their 1997 album ''Hill Country Christmas''. There have been numerous cover versions of the song, by artists including

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 ...

(1968),

Mickey Gilley Mickey Leroy Gilley (March 9, 1936 – May 7, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he started out singing straight-up country and western material in the 1970s, he moved towards a more pop-friendly sound in the 19 ...

(1976),

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(1986),

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(1991),

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(1997),

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(2003),

Chris Isaak Christopher Joseph Isaak (born June 26, 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional actor. He is widely known for his breakthrough hit and signature song " Wicked Game", as well as other songs such as "Blue Hotel", " Baby ...

(2004), Reverend Horton Heat (2005),

Emmy Rossum Emmanuelle Grey Rossum (born September 12, 1986) is an American actress, director, and singer. She is known for her portrayal of Fiona Gallagher in the television series '' Shameless'' (2011–2019). Since the mid-2010s, she has also directed ...

(2013), The Lumineers (2018),

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 ...

(2020),

Eilen Jewell Eilen Jewell (born April 6, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter from Boise, Idaho. She has released seven albums. Early life and education Jewell grew up in Boise, Idaho and attended St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. After livin ...

(2021) and dozens of others.

Footnotes

References

* * * * * * * * {{Authority control 1963 songs Willie Nelson songs American Christmas songs Glen Campbell songs Songs written by Willie Nelson 1963 singles Roy Orbison songs Monument Records singles Song recordings produced by Fred Foster