"Rednecks, White Socks and Blue Ribbon Beer" is a song written by

Bob McDill Robert Lee McDill (born April 5, 1944) is a retired American songwriter, active from the 1960s until 2000. During his career he wrote or co-wrote 31 number one country hits. His songs were also recorded by popular artists of the 1970s, 1980s ...

and

Wayland Holyfield Wayland D. Holyfield (March 15, 1942 – May 6, 2024) was an American songwriter and leader in the songwriting community. Personal life Wayland Holyfield was born in Mallettown, Conway County, Arkansas. He was educated in Arkansas public school ...

, and recorded by American country music artist Johnny Russell. It was released in July 1973 as the first single from his album ''Rednecks, White Socks and Blue Ribbon Beer''. The song peaked at number 4 on the ''

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 ...

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, making it his only top-ten. It also reached number 1 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 chart in Canada, thus becoming his only number 1. The song is performed from the perspective of a patron of a neighborhood tavern. Although he notes the cigarette smoke hanging in the air, and describes several customers – patrons who either make an unwanted pass at a female bartender, a cowboy who "cusses the pinball machine", a drunken customer who has become boisterous and another customer who phones his wife to tell her he'll soon be leaving for home – he also refers to the good times and

camaraderie In political contexts, comrade means a fellow party member. The political use was inspired by the French Revolution, after which it grew into a form of address between socialists and workers. Since the Russian Revolution, popular culture in the ...

of friends at the establishment ("''The four-thirty crowd is about to arrive/The sun's goin' down, and we'll all soon be here''"). Johnny Russell revealed in later years that at the time he recorded the song in 1973, he was told by the manager of

Charley Pride Charley Frank Pride (March 18, 1934 – December 12, 2020) was an American Country music, country singer. Beginning his career as a Negro league baseball player in the early-1950s, he later pursued a career in country music, becoming the gen ...

, with whom Russell was touring and performing, that Pride, RCA's biggest selling artist, would take offense to the song's "racial" nature. Russell sought the advice of famous guitarist and RCA Vice President

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 ...

, who encouraged him to simply call Pride on the telephone. Pride told Russell that if he thought the song would be a hit for the label, that he should release the song. Nonetheless, Russell was never allowed to perform the song at any shows featuring Pride, who incidentally went on to successfully cover Russell's own "Act Naturally". A reference is also made to " There Stands the Glass", a No. 1 country hit by

Webb Pierce Michael Webb Pierce (August 8, 1921 – February 24, 1991) was an American country music vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist of the 1950s, one of the most popular of the genre, charting more number-one hits than any other country and western pe ...

, which is noted as playing on the jukebox.

Chart performance

References

1973 singles Johnny Russell (singer) songs Songs about beer Songs written by Wayland Holyfield Songs written by Bob McDill 1973 songs Pabst Brewing Company {{1970s-country-song-stub