City Lights (Bill Anderson song)
Encyclopedia
"City Lights" is an American country music
song written by Bill Anderson. It twice became a No. 1 hit — in 1958 and again in 1975.
Ray Price
recorded the original version in 1958, with his version becoming a long-running No. 1 hit. Mickey Gilley
recorded a cover version
in 1974, and his version also became a No. 1 hit early in 1975.
According to country music historian Bill Malone
, "City Lights" depicts personal isolation and "the estrangement of the individual in a world of urban anonymity." Price's "hard, lonesome vocal" and Texas shuffle beat (the styling hallmarks of his recordings from the mid-1950s through early 1960s) were prominent in his rendition.
Released in June 1958, Price's version of "City Lights" stalled at No. 2 on the Billboard magazine Most Played C&W by Disc Jockeys
chart later that summer. When Billboard introduced its all-encompassing chart for country music (called "Hot C&W Sides") on October 20, "City Lights" was the new chart's first No. 1 song. It remained atop the chart for 13 weeks, its last week being January 12, 1959. All told, the song spent 34 weeks on the chart.
("Room Full of Roses
") and Carl Smith
("I Overlooked an Orchid
"). Gilley continued this run with "City Lights," taking his piano-backed honky-tonk rendition to No. 1 in February 1975, his third chart-topper in a row.
Anderson recorded his own version of the song. Additional covers were recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis
, Debbie Reynolds
, Connie Smith
, Rick Trevino
, Conway Twitty
, and Dottie West
.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
song written by Bill Anderson. It twice became a No. 1 hit — in 1958 and again in 1975.
Ray Price
Ray Price (musician)
Ray Price is an American country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. His wide-ranging baritone has often been praised as among the best male voices of country music...
recorded the original version in 1958, with his version becoming a long-running No. 1 hit. Mickey Gilley
Mickey Gilley
Mickey Leroy Gilley is an American country music singer and musician. Although he started out singing straight-up country and western material in the 1970s, he moved towards a more pop-friendly sound in the 1980s, bringing him further success on not just the country charts, but the pop charts as...
recorded a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
in 1974, and his version also became a No. 1 hit early in 1975.
About the song
"City Lights" was one of Anderson's earliest major successes. He wrote the song when he was just 19, and it was picked up by Price in the spring of 1958, when Price was country music's predominant honky-tonk singer and stylist.According to country music historian Bill Malone
Bill Malone
Bill C. Malone is an American historian specializing in country music and other forms of traditional American music. He is the author of the 1968 book Country Music, U.S.A., the first definitive academic history of country music...
, "City Lights" depicts personal isolation and "the estrangement of the individual in a world of urban anonymity." Price's "hard, lonesome vocal" and Texas shuffle beat (the styling hallmarks of his recordings from the mid-1950s through early 1960s) were prominent in his rendition.
Released in June 1958, Price's version of "City Lights" stalled at No. 2 on the Billboard magazine Most Played C&W by Disc Jockeys
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart later that summer. When Billboard introduced its all-encompassing chart for country music (called "Hot C&W Sides") on October 20, "City Lights" was the new chart's first No. 1 song. It remained atop the chart for 13 weeks, its last week being January 12, 1959. All told, the song spent 34 weeks on the chart.
Mickey Gilley cover version
Several artists have covered Anderson's "City Lights" through the years. The most successful of these covers was by Mickey Gilley, at the time an up-and-coming artist who had successfully covered country standards by George MorganGeorge Morgan (singer)
George Thomas Morgan was a mid-20th century American country music singer. He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and a former member of the Grand Ole Opry.-Biography:...
("Room Full of Roses
Room Full of Roses
"Room Full of Roses", written by Tim Spencer, is a song first recorded in 1949 by country music singer George Morgan, and famously covered in 1974 by up-and-coming singer Mickey Gilley...
") and Carl Smith
Carl Smith (country musician)
Carl Milton Smith was an American country music singer. Known as "Mister Country," Smith was the husband of June Carter and Goldie Hill, the drinking companion of Johnny Cash, and the father of Carlene Carter...
("I Overlooked an Orchid
I Overlooked an Orchid
"I Overlooked an Orchid" is a 1974 single written by Carl Smith, Carl Story, and Shirly Lyn and recorded by Mickey Gilley. "I Overlooked an Orchid" would be Mickey Gilley's second country hit and second number one on the country chart. The single would stay at number one for a single week and spend...
"). Gilley continued this run with "City Lights," taking his piano-backed honky-tonk rendition to No. 1 in February 1975, his third chart-topper in a row.
Anderson recorded his own version of the song. Additional covers were recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
, Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds is an American actress, singer, and dancer.She was initially signed at age 16 by Warner Bros., but her career got off to a slow start. When her contract was not renewed, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer gave her a small, but significant part in the film Three Little Words , then signed her to...
, Connie Smith
Connie Smith
Connie Smith is an American country music artist. She began her career in 1963 after winning a local talent contest near Columbus, Ohio, which attracted the attention of country songwriter Bill Anderson...
, Rick Trevino
Rick Trevino
Ricardo Treviño, Jr. , known professionally as Rick Trevino, is a Mexican American country music artist. Signed to Columbia Records in 1993, Trevino began his career that year with the release of his debut single, "Just Enough Rope", the first mainstream country music single to feature separate...
, Conway Twitty
Conway Twitty
Conway Twitty , born Harold Lloyd Jenkins, was an American country music artist. He also had success in early rock and roll, R&B, and pop music. He held the record for the most number one singles of any act with 55 No. 1 Billboard country hits until George Strait broke the record in 2006...
, and Dottie West
Dottie West
Dottie West was an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with her friends and co-recording artists Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, she is considered one of the genre's most influential and groundbreaking female artists...
.
Ray Price version
Mickey Gilley version
See also
- Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs: 1944-2005," 2006.
- Whitburn, Joel, "Top Pop Singles: 1955-2006," 2007.