On this day (April 16) in 1974, Charlie Rich was at No. 1 on the country chart with “A Very Special Love Song.” It spent three weeks at the top of the chart and was his fourth consecutive single to reach the pole position. The single also found international and crossover success. It went to No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and almost reached the top 10 of the Hot 100. Rich also sent the song to the top of the Canadian country chart. Moreover, it brought Billy Sherrill a Grammy.
When Rich released “A Very Special Love Song,” he was on a hot streak that started in 1972. That year, he released “I’ll Take It on Home” as the lead single from his breakthrough album Behind Closed Doors. It became his first top 10 hit on the country chart. The next two singles from the LP, the title track and “The Most Beautiful Girl,” topped the chart. He followed those two chart-toppers with three more, including “A Very Special Love Song.”
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Charlie Rich Helped Billy Sherrill Land His Second Grammy Award
Billy Sherrill was an all-star producer and songwriter. He produced albums for George Jones, Tammy Wynette, David Houston, Tanya Tucker, Johnny Paycheck, Marty Robbins, and Charlie Rich. He also wrote hit songs for many of his artists. For instance, he co-wrote “Stand By You Man” with Wynette. He and Norro Wilson also co-penned “A Very Special Love Song” for Rich.
Sherrill was much more than a producer and songwriter who worked with some of the biggest names in country music. He was also one of a handful of producers who helped create the Nashville Sound production style that was popular throughout the 1960s and ’70s. He was also a Grammy-winning songwriter and a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
He won his first Best Country Song Grammy Award for “Almost Persuaded.” Sherill co-wrote the song with Glenn Sutton, and David Houston made it a crossover hit in 1966. He won the award a second time for “A Very Special Love Song,” sharing the Wilson.
Featured Image by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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