"Heart, We Did All That We Could" is a song written by

Ned Miller Henry Ned Miller (April 12, 1925 – March 18, 2016) was an American country music singer-songwriter. Active as a recording artist from 1956 to 1970, he is known primarily for his hit single "From a Jack to a King", a Crossover (music), crossover ...

that was originally recorded by American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

singer

Jean Shepard Ollie Imogene "Jean" Shepard (November 21, 1933 – September 25, 2016), was an American country singer who was considered one of the genre's first significant female artists. Her commercial success ran from the 1950s to the 1970s while also be ...

. It was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in 1967 and reached the top 20 of the US country songs chart. It received positive reviews from music publications was included on Shepard's studio album of the

same name ''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first and last name. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after four-ep ...

. The song has been performed routinely in the

Country Bear Jamboree The Country Bear Jamboree is an attraction in the Magic Kingdom theme park at Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort and Tokyo Disneyland at Tokyo Disney Resort. It was formerly located at Disneyland, Disneyland Park at Disneyland Resort. T ...

entertainment attraction at

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...

Background, recording and content

Jean Shepard went on to have 20 years of commercial success in country music. Beginning in the 1950s

honky tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, honky tonk, or tonk) is either a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons or the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ...

era, she topped the charts with "

A Dear John Letter "A Dear John Letter", or "Dear John" is a popular country music song written by Billy Barton, Fuzzy Owen and Lewis Talley. It was popularized by Ferlin Husky and Jean Shepard, and was a crossover country-pop hit in 1953. The song played on the c ...

" and the top ten with "

A Satisfied Mind "A Satisfied Mind" is a country music song written by Joe "Red" Hayes and Jack Rhodes. Hayes explained the origin of the song in an interview: "The song came from my mother. Everything in the song are things I heard her say over the years. I put ...

". As the decade progressed and

country pop Country pop (also known as urban cowboy or even urban country) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends g ...

became more in-vogue, Shepard's career waned. Then, she had a career relaunch in 1964 with the top ten single "

Second Fiddle (To an Old Guitar) "Second Fiddle (To an Old Guitar)" is a song written by Betty Amos that was originally recorded by American country singer Jean Shepard. It was released as a single by Capitol Records in 1964, reaching the top five of the US Country chart. The son ...

". Fifteen more songs placed in the country top 40 during the decade. One of them was "Heart, We Did All That We Could". Written by Ned Miller, the ballad's story centers on a woman who is in despair following a breakup with a lover. The song was recorded in October 1966 at the

Columbia Studios Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film production and distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. It was produced by Marvin Hughes.

Release, critical reception and chart performance

"Heart, We Did All That We Could" was released as a single by Capitol Records in January 1967. It was distributed by Capitol as a seven-inch vinyl single. On its

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

was the uptempo song "My Momma Didn't Raise No Fools". "Heart, We Did All That We Could" received positive reception from music publications following its release. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' magazine described it as a "low-down effort" that "should be rewarded with a good bit of acceptance". ''

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 advertis ...

'' found that Shepard provided a "moving treatment" of the song, further writing that it "is the perfect vehicle" to place on the country charts. "Heart, We Did All That We Could" reached the top 20 of the US ''Billboard''

Hot Country Songs 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 along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart, rising to the number 12 position in 1967. It was Shepard's twelfth single to place on the ''Billboard'' country top 20. Later that year, it was included on her studio album of the same

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

. The song has been performed for over fifty years by Teddi Bara, a character from the

, an entertainment show featured in

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Track listings

;7" vinyl single * "Heart, We Did All That We Could" – 2:36 * "My Momma Didn't Raise No Fools" – 2:02

Charts

References

{{authority control 1967 singles 1967 songs Capitol Records singles Jean Shepard songs Songs written by Ned Miller