"It's Four in the Morning" (also known as "Four in the Morning") is a song made famous by

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

Faron Young Faron Young (February 25, 1932 – December 10, 1996) was an American country singer, musician, and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s. His hits including " If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" and " Live Fast, Love Hard, Die ...

. Released in 1971, the song was his first No. 1

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...

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 along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart since 1961's "

Hello Walls "Hello Walls" is an American country music song written by Willie Nelson and first recorded by Faron Young. It was number one on ''Billboards country chart for nine weeks in 1961 and spent 23 weeks on the chart. It peaked at number 12 on the ...

". The song was

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Jerry Chesnut Jerry Donald Chesnut (May 7, 1931 – December 15, 2018) was an American country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American Sou ...

. The song was the title track to his 1971 album and became one of his best-known hits. It was also a major smash in the UK, somewhat rare for a country song, peaking at No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart in September 1972, as well as charting in the Top Ten (#9) in Australia, during late August 1972. Its

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Music Albums * ''Cross Over'' (album), a 1987 album by Dan Peek, or the title song * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'', an album by Intrigue * ''Crossover'', an album by ...

impact at home was far more minor, barely scraping the bottom of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at No. 92 (it was Young's last appearance on the ''Hot 100''). It sold over 500,000 copies in the UK, and 750,000 in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

by early 1973, earning Young a

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awarded 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 ...

. A live performance video clip of Young singing the song was the first music video to air on CMT when the cable television channel first launched on March 5, 1983, as CMTV.

Chart performance

Cover versions

The song was covered by

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

on his 1985 album ''Tender Loving Care''. His version peaked at number 36 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart in 1986. The song was also covered by Grammy-award winning Hall of Fame Western Swing artist Bobby Flores in 2013. Although not a cover version, the song is the topic of the song entitled Faron Young by

Prefab Sprout Prefab Sprout are an English pop/rock band from Witton Gilbert, County Durham who rose to fame during the 1980s. Formed in 1978 by brothers Paddy and Martin McAloon and joined by vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player Wendy Smith in 1982, t ...

. The lead chorus lines are “You give me Faron Young Four in the Morning”.

Notes

References

* Roland, Tom, "The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits" (Billboard Books, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1991, p. 63f (). * Prefab Sprout,"Faron Young". {{authority control 1972 singles 1985 singles Faron Young songs Tom Jones (singer) songs Songs written by Jerry Chesnut Song recordings produced by Jerry Kennedy 1971 songs Mercury Records singles