Harper Valley PTA
Encyclopedia
"Harper Valley PTA" is a country song
written by Tom T. Hall
that was a major international hit single
for country singer Jeannie C. Riley
in 1968. Riley's record sold over six million copies as a single. The song made Riley the first woman to top both Billboard's Hot 100 and the U.S. country single's charts with the same song, a feat that would go unrepeated until Dolly Parton
's "9 to 5
" in 1981.
The song tells the story of Stella Johnson (referred to as simply "Mrs. Johnson" in the song), a widowed mother of a teenage girl, who becomes outraged when one afternoon her daughter brings home a note from her school's PTA
decrying Mrs. Johnson's supposedly scandal
ous behavior by small-town standards, which, according to the PTA, is setting a bad example for her daughter. In retaliation, Mrs. Johnson decides to attend the next PTA meeting (which, coincidentally, was being held that very evening), where she exposes various episodes of misbehavior on the part of several members of the PTA establishment, concluding with, "This is just a little Peyton Place
/ And you're all Harper Valley hypocrites." The final line of the song sums up the action with the memorable line: "The day my mama socked it to the Harper Valley PTA", referring to the popular phrase of that period "sock it to me" from television's Laugh in. According to Riley's autobiography, this line was ad libbed at the recording session at the suggestion of someone at the session.
Tom T. Hall reportedly first offered the song to Skeeter Davis
who declined. Riley's record label Plantation Records
rush released the single when they learned both Billie Jo Spears
and Margie Singleton
had just recorded the song as well. Riley's record was an immediate smash; Capitol Records
did release Spears' version the same week but it failed to chart.
Hall later stated his inspiration for the song was passing by the Harpeth Valley Elementary School in Bellevue, Tennessee
, not far from his then-home in Franklin
. He liked the sound of the name and decided to write a song using a similar place name. He also reportedly wrote the song about Olive Hill, Kentucky
where Hall grew up.
The song was later the inspiration for a 1978 motion picture
and a short-lived 1981 television series
, both starring Barbara Eden
, playing the heroine of the song, Stella Johnson.
Several other songs in the Harper Valley PTA album also told stories of some of the other characters from "Harper Valley PTA", including Mayor Harper, Widow Jones, and Shirley Thompson.
The classic Harper Valley PTA album cover shows a minidress-clad Riley—portraying Mrs. Johnson with PTA note in hand—standing beside a preteen girl, who is obviously portraying the teenage daughter of Mrs. Johnson.
Jeannie C. Riley's recording of the song won her a Grammy for the Best Country Vocal Performance, Female. Her recording was also nominated for "Record of the Year" and "Song of the Year" in the pop field.
In the 1970s, Riley became a born-again Christian, and started to sing gospel music
and briefly distanced herself from the song. However, she never dropped the song from her concerts and it was always her most requested and popular number.
Riley titled her 1980 autobiography From Harper Valley to the Mountain Top, and released a gospel album in 1981 with the same title. A sequel
song "Return To Harper Valley", was recorded by Riley in 1984 but was not a commercial success.
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...
written by Tom T. Hall
Tom T. Hall
Thomas "Tom T." Hall is an American country music singer-songwriter. He has written 11 #1 hit songs, with 26 more that reached the Top 10, including the pop crossover hit "I Love", which reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100...
that was a major international hit single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
for country singer Jeannie C. Riley
Jeannie C. Riley
Jeannie C. Riley is an American country music and gospel singer. She is best known for her 1968 country and pop hit "Harper Valley PTA" , which missed becoming the Billboard Country and Pop number one hit at the same time...
in 1968. Riley's record sold over six million copies as a single. The song made Riley the first woman to top both Billboard's Hot 100 and the U.S. country single's charts with the same song, a feat that would go unrepeated until Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
's "9 to 5
9 to 5 (Dolly Parton song)
"9 to 5" is a song written and originally performed by Dolly Parton for the 1980 film comedy Nine to Five, starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Parton in her film debut....
" in 1981.
The song tells the story of Stella Johnson (referred to as simply "Mrs. Johnson" in the song), a widowed mother of a teenage girl, who becomes outraged when one afternoon her daughter brings home a note from her school's PTA
Parent-Teacher Association
In the U.S. a parent-teacher association or Parent-Teacher-Student Association is a formal organization composed of parents, teachers and staff that is intended to facilitate parental participation in a public or private school. Most public and private K-8 schools in the U.S. have a PTA, a...
decrying Mrs. Johnson's supposedly scandal
Scandal
A scandal is a widely publicized allegation or set of allegations that damages the reputation of an institution, individual or creed...
ous behavior by small-town standards, which, according to the PTA, is setting a bad example for her daughter. In retaliation, Mrs. Johnson decides to attend the next PTA meeting (which, coincidentally, was being held that very evening), where she exposes various episodes of misbehavior on the part of several members of the PTA establishment, concluding with, "This is just a little Peyton Place
Peyton Place (novel)
Peyton Place is a 1956 novel by Grace Metalious. It sold 60,000 copies within the first ten days of its release and remained on the New York Times best seller list for 59 weeks. It was adapted as both a 1957 film and a 1964–69 television series....
/ And you're all Harper Valley hypocrites." The final line of the song sums up the action with the memorable line: "The day my mama socked it to the Harper Valley PTA", referring to the popular phrase of that period "sock it to me" from television's Laugh in. According to Riley's autobiography, this line was ad libbed at the recording session at the suggestion of someone at the session.
Tom T. Hall reportedly first offered the song to Skeeter Davis
Skeeter Davis
Mary Frances Penick , better known as Skeeter Davis, was an American country music singer best known for crossover pop music songs of the early 1960s. She started out as part of The Davis Sisters as a teenager in the late 1940s, eventually landing on RCA Records. In the late '50s, she became a solo...
who declined. Riley's record label Plantation Records
Plantation Records
Plantation Records was a country music record label started by Shelby Singleton. The label is best known for the Jeannie C. Riley 45rpm single, "Harper Valley P.T.A." which was a number one pop record in 1968....
rush released the single when they learned both Billie Jo Spears
Billie Jo Spears
Billie Jo Spears is an American country music singer. She reached the top-10 of the Country music charts five times between 1969 and 1977, her biggest hit being "Blanket on the Ground", which, in 1975, became her only number one...
and Margie Singleton
Margie Singleton
Margaret Louis Ebey , known professionally as Margie Singleton, is an American country music singer and songwriter. In the 1960s, she was a popular duet and solo recording artist, working with country stars George Jones and Faron Young. Singleton had her biggest hit with Young called "Keeping Up...
had just recorded the song as well. Riley's record was an immediate smash; Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
did release Spears' version the same week but it failed to chart.
Hall later stated his inspiration for the song was passing by the Harpeth Valley Elementary School in Bellevue, Tennessee
Bellevue, Tennessee
Bellevue is a neighborhood of Nashville, located roughly 13 miles southwest of the downtown area via I-40. It is incorporated as part of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County....
, not far from his then-home in Franklin
Franklin, Tennessee
Franklin is a city within and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 62,487 as of the 2010 census Franklin is located approximately south of downtown Nashville.-History:...
. He liked the sound of the name and decided to write a song using a similar place name. He also reportedly wrote the song about Olive Hill, Kentucky
Olive Hill, Kentucky
There were 791 households out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.5% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.2% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.6% had someone...
where Hall grew up.
The song was later the inspiration for a 1978 motion picture
Harper Valley PTA (film)
Harper Valley PTA is a 1978 comedy movie starring Barbara Eden. The movie was inspired by the country music song of the same title written by Tom T. Hall...
and a short-lived 1981 television series
Harper Valley PTA (TV series)
Harper Valley PTA is an early 1980s American television sitcom based on the 1978 film Harper Valley PTA, which was itself based on the 1968 song recorded by country singer Jeannie C. Riley, written by Tom T...
, both starring Barbara Eden
Barbara Eden
Barbara Eden is an American film and television actress and singer who is best known for her starring role in the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Early years:...
, playing the heroine of the song, Stella Johnson.
Several other songs in the Harper Valley PTA album also told stories of some of the other characters from "Harper Valley PTA", including Mayor Harper, Widow Jones, and Shirley Thompson.
The classic Harper Valley PTA album cover shows a minidress-clad Riley—portraying Mrs. Johnson with PTA note in hand—standing beside a preteen girl, who is obviously portraying the teenage daughter of Mrs. Johnson.
Jeannie C. Riley's recording of the song won her a Grammy for the Best Country Vocal Performance, Female. Her recording was also nominated for "Record of the Year" and "Song of the Year" in the pop field.
In the 1970s, Riley became a born-again Christian, and started to sing gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
and briefly distanced herself from the song. However, she never dropped the song from her concerts and it was always her most requested and popular number.
Riley titled her 1980 autobiography From Harper Valley to the Mountain Top, and released a gospel album in 1981 with the same title. A sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
song "Return To Harper Valley", was recorded by Riley in 1984 but was not a commercial success.
Chart performance
| Chart (1968) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 1 |
| Australian Singles Chart | 1 |
| U.K. Singles Chart | 12 |
Cover versions
- Cover versions of the song appear on albums by virtually every female country singer of the period including Loretta LynnLoretta LynnLoretta Lynn is an American country music singer-songwriter, author and philanthropist. Born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky to a coal miner father, Lynn married at 13 years old, was a mother soon after, and moved to Washington with her husband, Oliver Lynn. Their marriage was sometimes tumultuous; he...
, Dolly PartonDolly PartonDolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
, Norma JeanNorma JeanNorma Jean may refer to:*Norma Jeane Mortenson, the given name of actress Marilyn Monroe*Norma Jean , a metalcore band from Douglasville, GA*Norma Jean , country music singer, nicknamed "Pretty Miss Norma Jean"...
, Bobbi MartinBobbi MartinBobbi Martin was an American country and pop music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She grew up and began her singing career in Baltimore, working her way up from local venues onto the national nightclub circuit. She died at the age of 56 at the Brighton Wood Knoll medical facility in Baltimore...
, Lynn AndersonLynn AndersonLynn Rene Anderson is an American country music singer and equestrian known for a string of hits throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, most notably her Grammy Award-winning, worldwide mega-hit, " Rose Garden." Helped by her regular exposure on national television, Anderson was one of the most...
, Jeannie SeelyJeannie SeelyJeannie Seely is an American country music singer and Grand Ole Opry star. She is best-known for her 1966 Grammy award-winning Country hit, "Don't Touch Me", which peaked at No...
, and Dottie WestDottie WestDottie 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...
. It has been performed by Lorrie MorganLorrie MorganIn 1996 Morgan married Jon Randall, a singer/songwriter now credited with writing the 2004 Brad Paisley/Alison Krauss hit "Whiskey Lullaby"; they divorced three years later in 1999....
in concert and was also covered by Billy Ray CyrusBilly Ray CyrusWilliam "Billy" Ray Cyrus is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor and philanthropist, who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon...
. - Stikkan Andersson wrote the SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
lyrics. Entitled "Fröken Fredriksson", it was Björn UlvaeusBjörn UlvaeusBjörn Kristian Ulvaeus is a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, writer, producer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
' second solo single (PolarPolar MusicPolar Music is a Swedish record company founded in 1963 by Stig Anderson and his friend Bengt Bernhag. The first act that it signed was the Hootenanny Singers featuring Björn Ulvaeus. Polar eventually gained prosperity producing Ulvæus' next group, international superstars ABBA...
POS 162) - "Harper Valley PTA" was translated into NorwegianNorwegian languageNorwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
by Terje Mosnes and performed by Norwegian singer Inger Lise RypdalInger Lise RypdalInger Lise Rypdal is a Norwegian singer and actress in many different genres: pop, rock, theater, film, and musical.-History:Inger Lise Rypdal has been an artist since 1968...
. The story of the song is the same although the setting is more Norwegian; the PTA is replaced by the Board for High Morale and is part of the church. - Country singer Martina McBrideMartina McBrideMartina McBride is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range....
covered it for the Desperate HousewivesDesperate HousewivesDesperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
soundtrack. - Radio personality Fez WhatleyFez WhatleyFez Marie Whatley , is an American talk radio host and comedian who co-hosts The Ron and Fez Show. From October 9, 2007 to June 27, 2008, Whatley also served as the Executive Producer....
is often heard singing his own cover version on the Ron and FezRon and FezThe Ron and Fez Show is an American radio talk show hosted by Ron Bennington and Fez "Marie" Whatley.After long popular runs in Tampa, Florida, New York City, and Washington, D.C., Ron and Fez are now heard on Sirius XM Radio's the Opie and Anthony Channel, located on XM channel 105, and Sirius...
show, a version he used to sing for his family as a child. - Sheb WooleySheb WooleyShelby F. "Sheb" Wooley was a character actor and singer, best known for his 1958 novelty song "Purple People Eater"...
, as one of his characterizations called "Ben Colder", produced a parody of the song, "Harper Valley P.T.A. (Later The Same Day)".