Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man)

"Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man)"
Single by Merle Haggard
from the album Let Me Tell You About A Song
B-side	My Heart Would Know
Released	September 27, 1971
Format	7"
Recorded	August 30, 1971 Buck Owens Studios Bakersfield, California
Genre	Country
Label	Capitol 3198
Writer(s)	Merle Haggard
Producer	Ken Nelson
Merle Haggard singles chronology
"Someday We'll Look Back" (1971) "Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man)" (1971) "Carolyn" (1971)

"Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man)" is a 1971 single written and recorded by Merle Haggard. "Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man)" was Haggard's tenth No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles. The song topped the chart for two weeks around Thanksgiving 1971, and spent 13 weeks in the chart's Top 40.^[1]

Content

The song's main characters are part of a family band, led by the blind patriarch in the title character, a guitarist who also played the French harp. While the sister played the tambourine, the mother (only referred to as "Mama") was totally deaf but, by reading lips, sang along with the band. The family lived in a highway camp, and the band was its only means of living. The song's values come from how Frank and Mama use their handicaps to "make each other strong."

Chart performance

Chart (1971)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	2

References

1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 147. 

Preceded by "Lead Me On" by Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn

Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single November 20-November 27, 1971

Succeeded by "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'" by Charley Pride