"Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line" is a song written by Jimmy Bryant. Originally recorded by 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 South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer Jim Alley, it was made famous by American country music singer and musician

Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...

Waylon Jennings version

Jennings recorded the song on April 16, 1968, at RCA Victor Studios in Nashville, with

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...

producing, with

Wayne Moss Wayne Moss (born February 9, 1938, in South Charleston, West Virginia, United States) is an American guitar player, bassist, record producer and songwriter best known for his session work in Nashville. In 1961, Moss founded Cinderella Sound reco ...

playing the guitar solo. It was released in July 1968 as the second single from Jennings' album '' Only the Greatest''. ''

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 ...

'', in a review of the album, said that it and "Walk On Out of My Mind" were "typical of the robust, compelling vocal style." Nathan Brackett and Christian Hoard, in ''The New Rolling Stone Album Guide'', wrote that Jennings began to "really assert his rough-hewn sensibility" on the song. The song was featured in season seven episode five of ''

Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American historical drama, period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on cable network AMC (TV channel), AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, with seven seasons ...

'', and was played briefly in the film '' Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby''.

Chart positions

The song spent eighteen weeks on the

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. ...

charts, peaking at #2 and holding that peak for five weeks. In Canada, it reached Number One on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' Country Tracks charts for the week ending September 30, 1968.

Linda Ronstadt version

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music. Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...

included a gender-reversed version of the song (sung as "The Only Mama That'll Walk the Line") on her 1969 album '' Hand Sown ... Home Grown;'' The song became a staple of Ronstadt's set lists at her concerts during the late 1960s and early '70s. She performed it on ''

The Johnny Cash Show ''The Johnny Cash Show'' is an American television music variety show that was hosted by Johnny Cash. The Screen Gems 58-episode series ran from June 7, 1969, to March 31, 1971, on American Broadcasting Company, ABC; it was taped at the Ryman A ...

'' in June 1969, nearly a year before Jennings performed it on the same show.

Hank Williams Jr. version

Hank Williams Jr. Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style has been described as a blend of rock, blues, and country. He is the son of count ...

included a version of the song on his album '' Family Tradition'', which was released in 1979.

The Kentucky Headhunters version

In 1991,

The Kentucky Headhunters The Kentucky Headhunters are an American country rock and Southern rock band from Edmonton, Kentucky. The band's members are Doug Phelps (bass guitar, vocals), Greg Martin (lead guitar, vocals), and brothers Richard Young (rhythm guitar, vocals) ...

recorded a cover version for the album '' Electric Barnyard''. Also released as a single that year, this version spent seven weeks on the same chart and peaked at #60.

Chart positions

References

{{Authority control Songs about fathers 1968 singles 1991 singles Waylon Jennings songs The Kentucky Headhunters songs Song recordings produced by Chet Atkins RCA Records Nashville singles Mercury Records singles 1968 songs