Publisher knew song would be a hit
This week in 1972: President Nixon signed a bill expanding Social Security: four hijackers killed a Texas airport employee and hijacked a plane with 29 aboard to Cuba; Soviets agreed to pay a $722 million lend lease debt to the United States; and a singer from Perryville, Texas, had his 62nd hit record.
Hit songs come from many different sources. Some have even been recorded because of a recommendation from someone else. And according to Ray Price, his 1972 No 1 “She’s Got to be a Saint” came from music publisher Al Gallico.
Price commented, “Al Gallico was quite a force in the country music business at the time. He gave me that song while I was in California and he told me if I would record it, I’d have a No 1 record.”
Price added, “Gallico was a hot shot promoter but he knew songs and the music business so I took his advice and recorded the song. And he was right. It was a No 1 record.”
“She’s Got to be a Saint” was written by Joe Paulini and Mario J. DiNapoli. The Columbia Records single was produced by Don Law and entered the country music charts on Nov., 4, 1972, and was in the top slot on December 30th—where it stayed for three weeks. It was on the charts for 16 weeks.
Price placed 109 songs on the country music charts from 1952 thriugh 1989, including eight No. 1s. Thirteen of those 109 chart songs also made the pop music charts.
He joined The Grand Ole Opry in 1952 and was inducted into The Country Music Hall Of Fame in 1996. Price died in 2013.
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Doug Davis & The Good Ole Boys will perform at 10 a.m. today at Alzheimer’s Alliance.