He'll Have to Go

Infobox Single
Name = He'll Have to Go


Artist = Jim Reeves
from Album = He'll Have to Go and Other Hits
A-side = "He'll Have to Go"
B-side = "In a Mansion Stands My Love"
Released = November 1959 (U.S.)
Format = 7"
Recorded = October 15, 1959
Genre = country, pop
Length = 2:20
Label = RCA Records 10315
Writer = Joe Allison, Audrey Allison
Producer = Chet Atkins
Certification =
Chart position =

• #1 (Billboard Hot C&W Sides)
  
• #2 (Billboard Hot 100)

Last single =
This single =
Next single =

"He'll Have to Go" is an American country and pop hit by Jim Reeves. The song, released in the fall of 1959, went on to become a massive hit in both genres early in 1960.

Background

Reeves recorded what became one of country music's biggest hits ever after listening to a version recorded by singer Billy Brown. The song, written by Joe and Audrey Allison, was inspired after the couple was having difficulty communicating by telephone. Audrey had a soft voice and was unable to speak up so her husband could adequately hear her, so Joe would have his wife place the receiver closer to her mouth. [Gilbert, Bob and Gary Theroux, "The Top Ten: 1956-Present," Pop Record Research, Fireside Books, Simon & Schuster, New York. 1982 (ISBN 0-671-43215-X)]

When Brown's version failed to become a hit, Reeves recorded his. It was promptly released to country radio ... as the B-side of the intended hit, "In a Mansion Stands My Love." However, "Mansion" failed to catch on, and disc jockeys began playing the B-side instead. [ibid.] It wasn't long before the song became a huge country and pop hit; several rhythm and blues radio stations played the song, too.

The song featured a rather simple musical track: piano by Floyd Cramer, Bob Moore on bass guitar and lead-guitarist Reeves. The first verse set the tone: "Put your sweet lips a little closer to the phone/Let's pretend that we're together all alone/I'll tell the man to turn the juke box way down low/And you can tell your friend there with you he'll have to go"."

Country music historian Bill Malone noted that "He'll Have to Go" in most respects represented a conventional country song, but its arrangement and the vocal chorus "put this recording in the country pop vein." In addition, Malone lauded Reeves' vocal styling - lowered to "its natural resonant level" to project the "caressing style that became famous" - as being why "many people refer to him as the singer with the velvet touch." [Malone, Bill, "Classic Country Music: A Smithsonian Collection" ((booklet included with "" 4-disc set). Smithsonian Institution, 1990), p.51.]

Chart performance

"He'll Have to Go" reached No. 1 of the "Billboard magazine" Hot C&W Sides chart on February 8, 1960, where it remained for 14 consecutive weeks. The song was one of just five different titles to occupy the chart's summit during 1960.

In addition, the song reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1960.

Cover versions and answer songs

"He'll Have to Go" has been covered by many artists, most notably Elvis Presley and Ry Cooder. Presley recorded his version of "He'll Have to Go" on Oct. 31, 1976 at his last known studio recording session; it is believed to be the final song he ever recorded in a studio setting. [Ernst Jorgensen, "Elvis Presley: A Life in Music" (St; Martin's Press, 1998), p.400] "He'll Have to Go" is also the sole cover song ever issued by the British group Prefab Sprout, their version appearing on the US pressing of their album "Two Wheels Good".

The song prompted the answer song "He'll Have To Stay" by Jeanne Black. Her song reached No. 6 on the "Billboard" Hot C&W Sides chart later in 1960. Skeeter Davis made a cover of it in 1961.

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References

ee also

*Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs 1944-2005 - 6th Edition." 2006.
*Whitburn, Joel, "Top Pop Singles: 1955-2006," 2007.