Common phrase inspires hit

This week in 1973: The U.S. barred the ambassador to Uganda for Idi Amin’s insult to President Nixon on Watergate; 112 Peace Corp members were ousted from Uganda by Idi Amin; 122 people were killed when a Brazilian jet crashed in Paris; and a singer from Perryville, Texas, was on his way to another hit record.

Songwriters usually try to come up with an unusual title or hook—but according to Jim Weatherly, he was surprised that nobody had written a song titled “You’re The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me”—as it was already a well worn expression by the time he wrote the song in 1971 and it became Ray Price’s 63rd hit record in 1973.

Weatherly said, “I was always trying to come up with a title or a song idea and I started thinking that nobody had written a song by that title and I was surprised because we’ve all heard that expression hundreds of times. So I sat down and started writing and finished the song in about 30 minutes.”

Ray Price’s Columbia single “You’re The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me” came on the charts July 28, 1973 and was in the top spot the week of October 6th. It was his 8th No. 1 song. The record was produced by Don Law and was on the charts for 16 weeks. The record also scored a No. 82 on the pop charts.

To subscribe to our free “Country Music Classics” email newsletter, send a blank email to: country-music-classics-on@mail-list.com

Doug Davis & The Good Ole Boys will perform at The Oaks Assisted Living at 10 a.m. today.