On this day (February 19) in 1966, Buck Owens topped the Billboard country chart with “Waitin’ in Your Welfare Line.” It remained at No. 1 for seven consecutive weeks. This was the first of three multi-week chart-topping singles for Owens in 1966. However, none of his subsequent hits would spend as much time at the top of the tally.
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Owens released “Waitin’ in Your Welfare Line” as the lead single from Open Up Your Heart in early January. It debuted on the Hot Country Songs chart dated January 22 and quickly climbed to No. 1. It was his second chart-topper of the year and 9th overall. This was also one of his longest-running chart-toppers. The only single to occupy the chart’s summit longer was his record-setting 1963 hit “Love’s Gonna Live Here,” which remained at No. 1 for 16 weeks.
Owens was on a hot streak in tn the early-to-mid-1960s. He notched 14 consecutive No. 1 singles starting with “Act Naturally” in 1963 and ending with “Your Tender Loving Care” in 1967. Two more of those hits would come later in 1966. “Think of Me” reached the top in July and stayed there for six weeks. In October, “Open Up Your Heart” spent four weeks at the top.
Buck Owens Tempers Longing with Humor
Buck Owens had a way of injecting humor into his music without crossing the line into novelty song territory. While he didn’t write “Act Naturally,” it is a great example of this balance.
“Waitin’ in Your Welfare Line,” written by Owens, Don Rich, and Nat Stuckey, is another prime example. In it, he wraps his longing for a woman in the metaphor of public assistance. The song’s narrator goes from driving a Cadillac to quitting his job, losing all of his possessions, and sleeping in a telephone booth, hoping to catch the eye of the woman he fell in love with “at first glance.”
Featured Image by Mark Sullivan/Getty Images
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