Blackjack County Chain

"Blackjack County Chain" is a song written by Red Lane. The song was initially rejected by Charlie Pride, who considered at the time the lyrics controversial.

The song was ultimately recorded by Willie Nelson, whose version enjoyed success until it was banned by radio stations.

Overview

"Blackjack County Chain" was written by country music artist Red Lane,. The song depicts the killing of a Georgia sheriff by members of a black chaingang, as recounted by one of them. Lane offered initially the song to Charlie Pride, who anticipating a possible controversy refrained from recording it.^[1]

Lane then offered the song to his friend Willie Nelson. Nelson had recently a hit single with "The Party's Over", that peaked at twenty-four in Billboard's Hot Country Singles. Nelson's version of "Blackjack County Chain" was released with a cover of Floyd Tillman's "Some Other World" on the flipside.^[2] The single debuted in May 1967. RCA Records published a full-page advertising promoting the single on Billboard.^[3] On its review, the publication praised the work of producer Chet Atkins, while it declared "(Nelson's) moving rendition [...] should be working its way up to the top".^[4]

The song met instant success, reaching number twenty-four on the country singles chart. At the time the song's popularity was growing, most of the radio stations banned it from airplay due to its content.^[2] Nelson re-recorded the song as a duet with Waylon Jennings for their 1983 collaboration Take it to the Limit.^[5]

Chart performance

Chart (1967)	Peak position
Billboard Hot Country Singles	21

Footnotes

↑ Pride, Charlie; Henderson, Jim 1994, p. 144.
1 2 Patoski, Joe Nick 2008, p. 188.
↑ Alamo Promotions 1967, p. 55.
↑ Billboard staff 1967, p. 16.
↑ Patoski, Joe Nick 2008, p. 372.

References

Alamo Promotions (1967). "Chain Breaking". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
Billboard staff (1967). "Country Spotlight". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
Patoski, Joe Nick (2008). Willie Nelson: An Epic Life. Hachette Digital. ISBN 978-0-316-01778-7.
Pride, Charlie; Henderson, Jim (1994). Pride: the Charley Pride story. W. Morrow. ISBN 978-0-688-12638-4.

Willie Nelson singles discography

1950s
and
1960s

1957	"No Place For Me" / "Lumberjack"

1959	"Man With the Blues" / "The Storm Has Just Begun"

1960	"What a Way to Live" / "Misery Mansion" "Nite Life" / "Rainy Day Blues"

1961	"The Part Where I Cry" / "Mr. Record Man"

1962	"Willingly" / "Chain of Love" "Touch Me" / "Where My House Lives" "Wake Me When It's Over" / "There's Gonna Be Love In My House" "You Dream About Me" / "Is This My Destiny"

1963	"Half a Man" / "The Last Letter" "Take My Word" / "Feed it a Memory"

1964	"How Long is Forever" / "You Took My Happy Away" "Am I Blue" / "There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight" "River Boy" / "Opportunity to Cry" "I Never Cared For You" / "You Left Me (A Long Time Ago)" "Pretty Paper" / "What A Merry Christmas This Could Be"

1965	"She's Not For You" / "Permanently Lonely" "Healing Hands of Time" / "One Day at the Time" "I Just Can't Let You Say Goodbye" / "And So Will You, My Love"

1966	"One In A Row" / "San Antonio Rose" "Colombus Stockade Blues" / "He Sits at my Table" "I'm Still Not Over You"/ "I Love You Because"

1967	"The Party's Over" / "Make Way for a Better Man" "Blackjack County Chain" / "Some Other World" "San Antonio" / "To Make a Long Story Short"

1968	"Little Things" / " Sweet Memories" "Good Times" / "Where Do You Stand" "Johnny One Time" / "She's Still Gone"

1969	"Bring Me Sunshine" / "Don't Say Love or Nothing" "I Hope So" / "Right or Wrong"

1970s

1970	"Once More With Feeling" / "Who Do I Know in Dallas" "Laying My Burdens Down" / "Truth Number One"

1971	"I'm a Memory" / "Fire and Rain" "Yesterday's Wine" / "Me and Paul"

1972	"Words Don't Fit the Picture" / "A Moment"

1973	"Shotgun Willie" (mono) / "Sad Songs and Waltzes" "Stay All Night (Stay a Little Longer)" / "Devil in a Sleepin' Bag"

1974	"I Still Can't Believe You're Gone" / "Heaven and Hell" "Bloody Mary Morning" / "After the Fire is Gone"(with Tracy Nelson) "Sister's Comin' Home" (mono) / "Pick Up The Tempo"

1975	"Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" / "Bandera"

1976	"Remember Me (When the Candle Lights Are Gleaming)" / "Time of the Preacher" "I'd Have to Be Crazy" (mono) / "Amazing Grace" "If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time" / "The Sound in Your Mind"

1977	"Uncloudy Day" / "Precious Memories" "I Love You A Thousand Ways" / "Mom and Dad's Waltz"

1978	"Georgia on My Mind" / "On The Sunny Side Of The Street" "Blue Skies" / "Moonlight in Vermont" "All of Me" / "Unchained Melody"

1979	"Whiskey River" / "Under the Double Eagle" "September Song" / "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" "White Christmas" / "Blue Christmas"

1980s

1980	"Help Me Make It Through the Night" / "The Pilgrim, Chapter 33" "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" / "Rising Stars" "Midnight Rider" / "So You Think You're A Cowboy" "On the Road Again"/ "Jumpin' Cotton Eyed Joe"(performed by Johnny Gimble)

1981	"Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground" / "I Guess I've Come to Live Here in Your Eyes" "Mona Lisa" / "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" / "Over the Rainbow" "Heartaches of a Fool" / "Uncloudy Day"

1982	"Always on My Mind" / "The Party's Over" "Let It Be Me" / "Permanently Lonely" "Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning" / "Old Fords and a Natural Stone"

1983	"Little Old Fashioned Karma" / "Beer Barrel Polka" "Why Do I Have to Choose" / "Would You Lay with Me (In a Field of Stone)" "Take It to the Limit" / "Till I Gain Control Again" "Without a Song"

1984	"City of New Orleans (Unedited version)" / "Why Are You Pickin' On Me"

1985	"Forgiving You Was Easy" / "You Wouldn't Cross the Street" "Me and Paul" / "I Let My Mind Wander"

1986	"Living in the Promiseland" / "Bach Minuet in G" "I'm Not Trying to Forget You" / "I've Got the Craziest Feeling"

1987	"Partners After All" / "Home Away From Home" "Heart of Gold" / "So Much Like My Dad" "Island in the Sea" / "There is no Easy Way"

1988	"Nobody There But Me" / "Wake Me When It's Over" "Spanish Eyes" (with Julio Iglesias) / "Ole Buttermilk Sky" "Twilight Time" / "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive"

1989	"Nothing I Can Do About It Now" / "If I Were a Painting" "There You Are" / "Spirit" "Is The Better Part Over" / "Mr. Record Man"

1990s

1990	"The Highway" / "Spirit" "Ain't Necessarily So" / "I Never Cared For You" ("Ain't Necessarily So" also on CD Single)

1991	"The Piper Came Today" / "(I Don't Have a Reason) To Go To California Anymore" ("The Piper Came Today" also on CD Single) "Ten With a Two" / "You Decide"

1993	"Graceland" "Still is Still Moving to Me" / "Valentine"

1995	"Turn Me Loose and Let Me Swing"

1998	"I Never Cared for You"

2000s
and
2010s

2002	"Mendocino County Line" (with Lee Ann Womack) / "Maria (Shut Up and Kiss Me)" (Both single tracks released on CD and 7" record)

2003	"Wurlitzer Prize" (with Norah Jones) "Beer for My Horses" (with Toby Keith)

2005	"I'm a Worried Man" (with Toots Hibbert) "The Harder They Come"

2006	"You Don't Know Me" "Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other"

2008	"Gravedigger" "You Don't Think I'm Funny Anymore"

2011	"The Scientist"

2012	"Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die" "Just Breathe" "Come On Back Jesus"

2013	"From Here to the Moon and Back" (with Dolly Parton) "Grandma's Hands" (with Mavis Staples) "It Won't Be Long" (with The Secret Sisters) "Somewhere Between" (with Loretta Lynn)

2014	"The Wall" "Bring It On" "Laws of Nature" "Who'll Buy My Memories"

2015	"It's All Going to Pot"

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Category:Willie Nelson

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