How a Canceled Date Led to This 1963 Country Classic (That the Beatles Would Cover Two Years Later)

On an unassuming summer’s day in the early 1960s, Johnny Russell found himself in a position that anyone with a puppy-love crush would dread: having to cancel a date with someone you’re sweet on. A last-minute cancellation could offend the canceled-upon, maybe even so much so that the relationship falters, which makes breaking the news a delicate dance. That day, Russell chose comedy.

As explained in Ace Collins’ The Stories Behind Country Music’s All-Time Greatest 100 Songs, Russell was planning on taking a sweetheart out on a date one summer evening when he received a phone call from some friends in Oklahoma. “They were doing a recording session in Los Angeles, and they wanted me to come down and help them. There was no getting out of it. So, I had to break a date with a girl I had been seeing. When she asked me why I was going to L.A., I answered, ‘They are going to put me in the movies and make a big star out of me.’”

“We both laughed,” Russell said. But Russell soon realized that his attempt to smooth things over with his date had more potential than a funny excuse. Pretty soon, Russell had a melody to go with the lyrics, “They’re gonna put me in the movies / They’re gonna make a big star out of me / We’ll make a film about a man that’s sad and lonely / and all I gotta do is act naturally.” There was the hook, song title, and sinker.

How “Act Naturally” Went From a Raincheck to a Real Hit

The same day Johnny Russell told his date that he had to cancel so he could move to Los Angeles and become a big movie star, he wrote the future country standard, “Act Naturally”. He had the song in hand before he even made it to the recording session that caused him to bail on his girlfriend in the first place. Although Russell tried to get the artist performing at that session to cut a demo of “Act Naturally”, the songwriter said the musician couldn’t get it under his fingers. So, Russell kept the song for himself, trying—and failing—to pitch it to other artists who might want to cut it.

“I really thought ‘Act Naturally’ was a fresh approach about talking about being in love,” Russell said in Ace Collins’ book. “I believed that it was unique enough to work, but I couldn’t find anyone else who did. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t get anyone interested in it.” Eventually, the song landed in the hands of Buck Owens, who recorded the first studio version of the song on February 12, 1963. Owens’ “Act Naturally” flew to the No. 1 position on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, spending a total of four months on the chart.

The Beatles Used the Country Classic for a Ringo Starr Vehicle

Two years later, The Beatles would record their own version of Buck Owens’ “Act Naturally” with Ringo Starr on lead vocals. While a country tune might have seemed out of left field for a group of British rockers, Paul McCartney later said the Fab Four drummer always had an affinity for Americana. “He always loved country from the first minute I met him,” McCartney told Mojo in 2025. “He liked the old country singers. George Jones and people like that. He was a big fan of that. So, I think, you know, maybe it suits his personality. He’s a very sincere, straightforward guy, and I think that’s the sort of theme behind a lot of country music.”

The Beatles’ version didn’t perform quite as well in the States, peaking at No. 47 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, in a true full-circle moment, Starr and Owens would later record a duet version of “Act Naturally” in the late 1980s. The track received a 1990 Grammy nomination for Best Country Vocal Collaboration but lost to Hank Williams Sr. and Hank Williams Jr.’s “There’s a Tear in My Beer”.

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