"The Cowboy and the Lady" by John Denver

Song#:  0802
Date:  10/31/1981
Debut:  85
Peak:  66
Weeks:  7
Genre:  Country Crossover



Pop Bits:  Denver scored his first pop Top 40 song and Top 10 country hit in years with the title track from his album "Some Days Are Diamonds." The LP returned him to gold status after missing the mark with his previous album "Autograph." This second single found its way on both the pop and country charts, but couldn't get much support and faded after a few weeks.

ReduxReview:  Bobby Goldsboro can be a terrific songwriter ("Summer (The First Time)") or a painfully sappy one ("Butterfly for Bucky"). This particular song that he wrote (see below) kind of falls in between. Goldsboro will usually tell a story and this one fits Denver well. It definitely works for him, but around its time of release this type of song was not in fashion, so it may not have been the best choice for a single. But for late-era John Denver, it's not too bad. (Although my 12-year-old boy humor has to chuckle at the line "there's a little bit of cowboy in the lady.")

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  As with his previous title-track single "Some Days Are Diamonds", this song is a remake. Written by Bobby Goldsboro, it appeared on his 1977 album "Goldsboro." It was issued as a single and reached #85 on the country chart. Denver's version made it to #50. (Side note:  I got to meet Goldsboro. I was attending the Jim Stafford show in Branson sometime in the late '90s and had house seats as did Goldsboro. He was probably surprised that a youngster like me (well, late 20's at the time) knew who he was, but I had a couple of his singles when I was a kid and saw him on TV. So I easily recognized him.)

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