Many songs become hits. But not that many help to define an entire movement in the music world. “The Most Beautiful Girl”, the 1973 No. 1 single by Charlie Rich, epitomized a style that would come to dominate the country music world for a stretch.
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Known as countrypolitan, it allowed country artists to make progress on the pop charts for the first time in a while. And Rich, an unassuming Everyman type, proved the ideal conduit to bring the new genre to the mainstream.
A Rich History
Charlie Rich was already in his 40s when the biggest commercial success of his career arrived. He made his bones in the 60s as a rockabilly singer. During that stretch, he delivered a few memorable singles, including “Lonely Weekends” and “Mohair Sam”. But he couldn’t quite string together consistent hits.
As the decade progressed, he struggled to find a niche. He tried singing soul, rhythm and blues, and even country music. At the time, Rich didn’t really know the country music world well. But he was trying whatever he could to stay relevant.
His fortunes began to change when he signed to Epic Records. Billy Sherrill, who produced the country records that came from that label, heard in Rich’s deep, honeyed voice the ideal instrument for sentimental balladry. And Sherrill was starting to develop a style that would maximize Rich’s skills in this department.
Sherrill’s Style
Sherrill realized that traditional country music had fallen out of favor with pop music fans. But in the early 70s, when soft rock and singer-songwriter music took center stage, he thought he could create a workable hybrid. He focused on producing ballads that featured singers with an unmistakable country feel to their voice. To these songs, he added supple strings to soften some of the edges of trad country.
It worked for Rich with the boudoir ode “Behind Closed Doors”, which topped the country charts in 1973 and made it to No. 15 on the pop countdown. The follow-up single was “The Most Beautiful Girl”. Sherrill had built the song out of fragments of two separate compositions penned by Norro Wilson and Rory Bourke.
In this song, Rich played the role of a heartbroken, regretful guy to perfection. The success of “The Most Beautiful Girl” left even “Behind Closed Doors” behind. It went to No. 1 in both the country and the pop charts in 1973.
Behind the Lyrics of “The Most Beautiful Girl”
The way the refrain of “The Most Beautiful Girl” is structured helps it deliver a gut punch. It begins with a question: “Hey, did you happen to see the most beautiful girl in the world?” Positive start, right? We start to worry when Rich follows it up with another query: “And if you did, was she crying, crying?”
The repeat of this refrain adds the condition “the most beautiful girl who walked out on me.” We now know that this guy has blown it somehow. And the verses explain his mistakes: “I lost my head and said some things.” “I stood alone in the cold morning dawn,” Rich moans. “I knew I’d lost my morning sun.”
“The Most Beautiful Girl” pops up now and again in some context or other. Think of George Costanza warbling it in an episode of Seinfeld, much to everyone’s annoyance. But he couldn’t hope to match the original take by Charlie Rich, who let just enough sorrow creep into his smooth delivery to maximize the effect of this impactful hit.
Photo by David Redfern/Redferns
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