| "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byB. J. Thomas | ||||
| from the albumReunion | ||||
| B-side | "City Boys" | |||
| Released | January 1975 | |||
| Recorded | September 1974 | |||
| Studio | American (Nashville, Tennessee) | |||
| Genre | Countrypolitan[1] | |||
| Length | 3:23 | |||
| Label | ABC12054 | |||
| Songwriters | Larry Butler,Chips Moman | |||
| Producer | Chips Moman | |||
| B. J. Thomas singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" is an Americancountry song made famous byB. J. Thomas. It won the 1976Grammy forBest Country Song, awarded to its songwritersLarry Butler andChips Moman.[2]
The song debuted at No. 99 on theBillboard Hot 100 on February 1, 1975. The hit song became Thomas' second No. 1 single two months later, on April 26. At ten words, including the parenthetical part "Hey Won't You Play", it became the longest title of any single to top the Hot 100 up to that time. It would hold the record for six years until "Stars on 45" byStars on 45, whose proper charting title is 41 words long due to a copyright agreement, climbed to the top in the summer of 1981. It also toppedBillboard'sEasy Listening chart, and was the last of his four Number Ones on that chart.[3] It also peaked at No. 1 on theBillboardHot Country Songs chart.[4]Billboard ranked it as thenumber 17 song for 1975.[5]
Although Thomas would not have any major country hits for another eight years, this hit song spearheaded his future success as a mainstream artist in that genre.
In 1976, the song was performed by theMuppets onThe Muppet Show. In 1979,Larry Butler produced a cover version byKenny Rogers andDottie West, for their albumClassics.Alvin and the Chipmunks and Butler covered the song for the 1981 albumUrban Chipmunk. Butler produced the song again in 1981 on theSammy Davis Jr. albumClosest of Friends.[6]
"(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" was certified gold for sales of one million units by theRecording Industry Association of America.[7]
| Chart (1975) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] | 10 |
| CanadianRPM Adult Contemporary Tracks | 1 |
| CanadianRPM Country Tracks | 2 |
| CanadianRPM Top Singles | 3 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 3 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[9] | 1 |
| USHot Country Songs (Billboard)[10] | 1 |
| USAdult Contemporary (Billboard)[11] | 1 |
| Chart (1975) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] | 74 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[12] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
But the arrangement mostly nails the Nashville countrypolitan sound, with its welled-up strings and its consoling pedal-steel murmurs.