On this day (August 14) in 1966, David Houston was at the top of the Hot Country Songs chart with “Almost Persuaded.” The single spent nine consecutive weeks at No. 1, making it one of the biggest hits of the century. Only three songs occupied the top of the chart longer and all of them came before Houston scored this major hit.
In 1966, Houston was three years into his recording career. His 1963 debut, “Mountain of Love,” kicked off a streak of five top-40 singles. He finally reached the top of the chart with “Almost Persuaded.” He sent six more songs to the top of the chart. Notably, “My Elusive Dreams,” a duet with Tammy Wynette, reached No. 1 in 1967. It was Wynette’s first trip to the top of the tally.
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Producer Billy Sherrill co-wrote “Almost Persuaded” with Glenn Sutton. Houston was the first to record it, but far from the last. It became a standard and has been recorded by a long list of artists from around the world. George Jones, Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette, Lefty Frizzell, Dottie West, Louis Armstrong, and Faron Young are among the A-list artists who have put their stamp on the song. The Hootenanny Singers recorded a Swedish version of the song in 1967. The next year, Ragnar Bjarnason recorded an Icelandic version.
David Houston Had One of the Biggest Hits in Country History
David Houston certainly set a high bar for himself with his first No. 1 single. “Almost Persuaded” was the last country song to spend nine or more weeks at No. 1 until 2012. That year, Taylor Swift topped the chart for ten nonconsecutive weeks with “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.”
“Almost Persuaded” didn’t set the record for longest-running No. 1, though. Three previous hits outperformed it. The first two came from the same artist: Webb Pierce. His single “Slowly,” which was the first chart-topper to feature pedal steel, spent 17 weeks at the top in 1954. In 1955, Pierce’s “In the Jailhouse Now” stayed at the top for 21 weeks. It was the longest-running No. 1 in the history of the country chart until 2013.
[RELATED: 3 Songs From 1966 That Single-Handedly Changed Country Music Forever]
In 1963, Buck Owens topped the Hot Country Songs chart with “Love’s Gonna Live Here” for 16 weeks. It was the final song to spend 10 or more weeks at No. 1 in the 20th century.
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