"Highway 40 Blues" is a song written by Larry Cordle, and recorded by American country music artist Ricky Skaggs. It was released in March 1983 as the third single from the album Highways & Heartaches. The song was Skaggs' fifth number one on the country chart and his fifth consecutive #1. The single stayed at #1 for one week and spent a total of 12 weeks on the chart.[1]
| "Highway 40 Blues" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Ricky Skaggs | ||||
| from the album Highways & Heartaches | ||||
| B-side | "Don't Let Your Sweet Love Die" | |||
| Released | March 1983 | |||
| Genre | Country, Bluegrass | |||
| Length | 3:10 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Larry Cordle | |||
| Producer(s) | Ricky Skaggs | |||
| Ricky Skaggs singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The song was covered in Spanish as "Blues de la Nacional II" by La Guardia.
The song was also covered by Daniel O'Donnell on his Two Sides Of album which was released in 1985.
According to songwriter Cordle, "A lot of people who hear it think it's about Interstate 40, which runs right through Nashville, but I actually wrote it about that little state highway in Kentucky."[2]
Charts edit
Weekly charts edit
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[3] | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |
Year-end charts edit
| Chart (1983) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[4] | 29 |
References edit
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 315.
- ^ Canfield, Jack (2011). Chicken Soup for the Soul: Country Music: The Inspirational Stories behind 101 of Your Favorite Country Songs. Chicken Soup for the Soul. p. 150. ISBN 9781935096672.
- ^ "Ricky Skaggs Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "Hot Country Songs – Year-End 1983". Billboard. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
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