The Party's Over (Willie Nelson Song)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"The Party's Over" is a song written and 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
Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...
during the mid-1950s. After arriving in
Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, Nelson was hired to play for the
Esquire Ballroom Neon Boots Dancehall & Saloon is a Country and Western Bar (establishment), bar/honky tonk that was founded as the Esquire Ballroom in 1955 by Raymond Proske in Houston, Texas, at 11410 Hempstead northwest of downtown Houston. In the 1970s and 1980 ...
band, where he would be allowed to close the shows singing the song. Guitar instructor and Nelson's friend Paul Buskirk forwarded the song to singer Claude Gray, who recorded the original version of the song, released as "My Party's Over" in 1959. Nelson recorded the song himself in 1966, which was released as a single in February 1967. It reached number twenty-four on ''Billboard's'' Hot Country Singles, and it was included as the title track of Nelson's album. The song was later popularized by former
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
quarterback and ''
Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...
'' host
Don Meredith Joseph Donald Meredith (April 10, 1938 – December 5, 2010), nicknamed "Dandy Don" was an American football player, sports commentator, and actor. He played as a quarterback for nine seasons with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football Le ...
, who often sang the first line of the song on the broadcasts when a team established an insurmountable lead.


Background

In 1956, Nelson moved from
Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...
to
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
. He soon found a job on KVAN, in Vancouver, Washington, hosting the show '' The Western Express''. Nelson became a popular DJ, while he continued to make live performances. During this time he wrote "The Party's Over". When he moved to
Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, Nelson stopped by the
Esquire Ballroom Neon Boots Dancehall & Saloon is a Country and Western Bar (establishment), bar/honky tonk that was founded as the Esquire Ballroom in 1955 by Raymond Proske in Houston, Texas, at 11410 Hempstead northwest of downtown Houston. In the 1970s and 1980 ...
to sell his original songs to house band singer Larry Butler. Butler refused to purchase the songs, and instead signed Nelson to his band. Butler would at the end of the show let Nelson sing solo "The Party's Over" as a closer. During his time in Fort Worth, Nelson was signed by
Pappy Daily Harold W. Daily (February 8, 1902 – December 5, 1987), better known as "Pappy" Daily, was an American country music record producer and entrepreneur who cofounded the Texas-based record label Starday Records. Daily worked with many of the well ...
to
D Records D Records was an American record label located in Houston, Texas, United States. It was founded by Pappy Daily. The label closed in 1965, though George Strait recorded his first songs under the label's name from 1978-1980 until he signed to MCA Re ...
. While in Houston, he recorded sides for the label. Nelson was also hired by guitar instructor Paul Buskirk to work as an instructor in his school.


Recordings

Buskirk convinced singer Claude Gray to record a set of original songs by Nelson, including "The Party's Over", "
Night Life Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, Bar (establishment), bars, nightclubs, party, parties, live music, conc ...
", " Family Bible" and "Leave Alone". Buskirk organized the session and hired the musicians, while Gray paid for the costs of the sessions US$100. Produced by Bill Quinn, the song was recorded on December 18, 1959, at Goldstar Studios. D Records issued the song as "My Party's Over", on the flipside of "Leave Alone" in May 1960. Produced by Chet Atkins, Willie Nelson recorded the song in
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 ...
in June 1966. His backing consisted of guitarists
Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008), known professionally as Jerry Reed, was an American country singer, guitarist, composer, songwriter and actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Gui ...
and Velma Smith, steel guitarist Buddy Emmons, pianist
Hargus "Pig" Robbins Hargus Melvin Robbins (January 18, 1938 – January 30, 2022), known by his nickname "Pig", was an American session keyboard player. He played on records for many artists, including Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Connie Smith, Patti Page, Loretta Ly ...
, and bassist Junior Husky. From the four recorded tracks, "The Party's Over" was selected as the A-side of a single release. The single was released in February 1967, with "Make Way for a Better Man" on the flipside. ''
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 ...
'' called the song a "plaintive ballad", and declared: "(Nelson) performs it to perfection. Should bring him right back to the top ten. The single entered 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. ...
chart, and peaked at number twenty-four. The song was included as the title track of the album '' The Party's Over and Other Great Willie Nelson Songs''. The song was later popularized by former
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
quarterback
Don Meredith Joseph Donald Meredith (April 10, 1938 – December 5, 2010), nicknamed "Dandy Don" was an American football player, sports commentator, and actor. He played as a quarterback for nine seasons with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football Le ...
, who in the 1970s was a color analyst on ABC's ''
Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...
''. After a key play that ended the possibilities of the other team winning the game, Meredith would sing part of the song: "Turn out the lights, the party's over". Nelson later re-recorded the song for his 1982 album ''
Always on My Mind "Always on My Mind" is a Sentimental ballad, ballad written by Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher, and Mark James (songwriter), Mark James, first recorded by Brenda Lee and first released by Gwen McCrae (as "You Were Always on My Mind") in Mar ...
''. It was released as a single, on the B-side of the title track.


Chart performance


Footnotes


References

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Party's Over, The Songs about parties 1967 singles 1967 songs RCA Victor singles Willie Nelson songs Songs written by Willie Nelson Song recordings produced by Chet Atkins