Ashes by Now

1980 single by Rodney Crowell

"Ashes by Now"

Single by Rodney Crowell
from the album  But What Will the Neighbors Think
B-side| "Blues in the Daytime"[1]
Released| April 1980
Genre| Country pop
Length| 4:11 (album version)
3:32 (single version)
Label| Warner Bros. Records
Songwriter(s)| Rodney Crowell
Producer(s)|

* Rodney Crowell
* Craig Leon

Rodney Crowell singles chronology
| "(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I"
(1979)  | "Ashes by Now"
(1980)  | "Ain't No Money"
(1980)

|
|

"Ashes by Now" is a song written by Rodney Crowell. It has since been recorded several times by various musical artists in the country music format. The song was first recorded by Crowell himself, eventually releasing it as a single in 1980.

## Rodney Crowell version

[edit]

Crowell originally recorded "Ashes by Now" in January 1978 in Los Angeles, California. The recording session featured musician Ricky Skaggs playing the fiddle, among other prominent session musicians of the period.[1]

Before its release as a single, it served as the b-side to his 1978 single "Elvira." The song was later re-released in April 1980 as the A-side single via Warner Bros. Records becoming a minor chart hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles and Hot 100 that year.[2] The song was included on Crowell's 1980 studio album But What Will the Neighbors Think.[1]

The song was covered by Crowell's frequent collaborator Emmylou Harris on her 1981 album Evangeline.

### Chart performance

[edit]

Chart (1980)  | Peak
position

|

US Hot Country Singles (Billboard)[2] | 78
US Billboard Hot 100[2] | 37

## Lee Ann Womack version

[edit]

"Ashes by Now"

Single by Lee Ann Womack
from the album  I Hope You Dance
B-side| "Lonely Too"[3]
Released| October 9, 2000[4]
Studio|

* Sound Kitchen (Nashville, Tennessee)
* Javelina (Nashville, Tennessee)

Genre|

* Country
* country pop

Length| 4:11
Label| MCA Nashville
Songwriter(s)| Rodney Crowell
Producer(s)| Mark Wright
Lee Ann Womack singles chronology
| "I Hope You Dance"
(2000)  | "Ashes by Now"
(2000)  | "Why They Call It Falling"
(2001)

|
|

It was notably covered by Lee Ann Womack in 2000 and her version became the most commercially successful after also being issued as a single. Womack's rendition of the song was released on October 9, 2000 as the second single from her third studio album, I Hope You Dance (2000). This version peaked at number 4 on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, becoming her last top ten single until "I May Hate Myself in the Morning" (2004). It also hit number 45 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[3] Bekka Bramlett notably provides background vocals on the track.

### Critical reception

[edit]

Editors at The Toronto Sun wrote, "A thorough makeover of the Rodney Crowell classic, from one of the exceedingly rare albums with the power to unite staunch old-timers and New Country types alike."[5] Editors at Billboard wrote, "The inventive percussion that opens this terrific single is just the beginning of the magic that producer Mark Wright and Lee Ann Womack weave. One listen to this great single and it's obvious the song is sure to throw fuel on the fire."[6]

### Music video

[edit]

A music video directed by Gregg Horne was created for Lee Ann Womack's version of the song.[7]

### Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from I Hope You Dance liner notes.[8]

* Bekka Bramlett — backing vocals
* Mark Casstevens — acoustic guitar
* Lisa Cochran — backing vocals
* Eric Darken — percussion
* Tabitha Fair — backing vocals
* Pat Flynn — acoustic guitar
* Larry Franklin — fiddle
* Paul Franklin — pedal steel guitar
* Marabeth Jordan — backing vocals
* Brent Mason — electric guitar
* Steve Nathan — keyboards
* Michael Omartian — accordion
* Glenn Worf — bass
* Lonnie Wilson — drums
* Lee Ann Womack — lead vocals

### Charts

[edit]

In the October 21, 2000 issue of Billboard, "Ashes by Now" debuted at number 49, becoming Womack's then-highest debut on the chart; it would be surpassed when "Finding My Way Back Home" debuted at number 46 in August 2006.[9] The song would reach a peak of number 4 on March 3, 2001, becoming her penultimate top-ten single. A slip in its chart performance was attributed by Wade Jessen of Billboard to be due to the death of Dale Earnhardt.[10]

Chart (2000–2001)  | Peak
position

|

Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[11] | 41[a]
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[12] | 4
US Billboard Hot 100[13] | 45

### Year-end charts

[edit]

Chart (2001)  | Position

|

US Country Songs (Billboard)[14] | 23

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ "My Next Thirty Years" had not yet peaked when RPM ceased publication in November 2000.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Praguefrank's Country Discography 2: Rodney Crowell". Blogspot. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
2. ^ a b c Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 109\. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
3. ^ a b Whitburn, p. 473
4. ^ "Going for Adds: Country". Radio & Records. No. 1371\. October 6, 2000. p. 87.
5. ^ The Toronto Sun DE LA SOUL'S DONE WITH FOOLIN' (June 7, 2000)
6. ^ Billboard COUNTRY: LEE ANN WOMACK, JO DEE MESSINA, KEITH URBAN (October 14, 2000)
7. ^ Stark, Phyllis. Billboard Nashville Scene (September 8, 2001)
8. ^ Womack, Lee Ann (2000). I Hope You Dance (US CD album liner notes). MCA Nashville. 088 170 099-2.
9. ^ Jessen, Wade. "LABEL CHANGE PUTS WOMACK IN FAST LANE." Billboard 118.33 (2006): 51. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 6 June 2011.
10. ^ Jessen, Wade. Billboard Country Corner (March 10, 2001)
11. ^ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 7268." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
12. ^ "Lee Ann Womack Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
13. ^ "Lee Ann Womack Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
14. ^ "Best of 2001: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2001. Retrieved August 14, 2012.

* v
* t
* e

Rodney Crowell

Studio albums|

* Ain't Living Long Like This
* But What Will the Neighbors Think
* Rodney Crowell
* Street Language
* Diamonds & Dirt
* Keys to the Highway
* Life Is Messy
* Let the Picture Paint Itself
* Jewel of the South
* The Houston Kid
* Fate's Right Hand
* The Outsider
* Sex & Gasoline
* Old Yellow Moon
* Tarpaper Sky
* The Traveling Kind
* Close Ties
* The Chicago Sessions

Compilation albums|

* The Rodney Crowell Collection
* Greatest Hits

Singles|

* "Elvira"
* "Song for the Life"
* "(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I"
* "Ashes by Now"
* "Ain't No Money"
* "It's Such a Small World"
* "I Couldn't Leave You If I Tried"
* "She's Crazy for Leavin'"
* "After All This Time"
* "Above and Beyond"
* "Many a Long & Lonesome Highway"
* "If Looks Could Kill"
* "My Past Is Present"
* "Now That We're Alone"
* "Lovin' All Night"
* "What Kind of Love"
* "Please Remember Me"
* "I Walk the Line Revisited"

Other songs|

* "The Answer Is Yes"
* "Heartbroke"
* "I Ain't Living Long Like This"
* "Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight"
* "Making Memories of Us"
* "Queen of Hearts"
* "Voilá, An American Dream"

Related articles|

* Discography
* The Notorious Cherry Bombs
* The Notorious Cherry Bombs

* v
* t
* e

Lee Ann Womack singles

Discography

Lee Ann Womack|

* "Never Again, Again"
* "The Fool"
* "You've Got to Talk to Me"
* "Buckaroo"

Some Things I Know|

* "A Little Past Little Rock"
* "I'll Think of a Reason Later"
* "(Now You See Me) Now You Don't"
* "Don't Tell Me"

I Hope You Dance|

* "I Hope You Dance"
* "Ashes by Now"
* "Why They Call It Falling"
* "Does My Ring Burn Your Finger"

Something Worth Leaving Behind|

* "Something Worth Leaving Behind"
* "Forever Everyday"

Greatest Hits|

* "The Wrong Girl"

There's More Where That Came From|

* "I May Hate Myself in the Morning"
* "He Oughta Know That by Now"
* "Twenty Years and Two Husbands Ago"

Call Me Crazy|

* "Last Call"
* "Solitary Thinkin'"

The Way I'm Livin'|

* "The Way I'm Livin'"

The Lonely, the Lonesome & the Gone|

* "All the Trouble"
* "Hollywood"

Other singles|

* "Finding My Way Back Home"
* "Mendocino County Line"
* "There Is a God"

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template