Kentucky Gambler

1974 single by Merle Haggard and The Strangers

"Kentucky Gambler"

Single by Merle Haggard and The Strangers
from the album  Keep Movin' On
B-side| "You'll Always Be Special"
Released| October 1974
Genre| Country
Length| 2:42
Label| Capitol
Songwriter(s)| Dolly Parton
Producer(s)| Ken Nelson
Fuzzy Owen
Merle Haggard and The Strangers singles chronology
| "Old Man from the Mountain"
(1974)  | "Kentucky Gambler"
(1974)  | "Always Wanting You"
(1975)

|
|

"Kentucky Gambler" is a 1974 song written and performed by Dolly Parton. "Kentucky Gambler" was issued as a track from Dolly Parton's The Bargain Store album from 1975.

## Content

[edit]

A classic Dolly Parton story song, "Kentucky Gambler" tells the story of a miner from Kentucky who abandons his wife and children for the bright lights of Reno, where he initially does very well at gambling, "winning at everything he played". Eventually, however, his winning streak comes to a halt, as he loses all of his winnings. Broke, he returns home, only to find that his wife has found someone else and has moved on without him. He concludes that "a gambler loses much more than he wins".

## Merle Haggard recording

[edit]

That same year, Merle Haggard and The Strangers covered "Kentucky Gambler" and it was their nineteenth number one song on the country chart. The Merle Haggard and The Strangers version stayed at number one for a single week and spent a total of eleven weeks on the chart.[1]

Coincidentally, Parton's The Bargain Store album featured a cover of a Haggard composition, "You'll Always Be Special to Me". The following year, Haggard would cover another Dolly Parton song, "The Seeker".

## Personnel for Merle Haggard version

[edit]

* Merle Haggard– vocals, guitar

The Strangers:

* Roy Nichols – lead guitar
* Norman Hamlet – steel guitar, dobro
* Tiny Moore – mandolin
* Ronnie Reno – guitar
* Mark Yeary – piano
* Johnny Meeks - bass
* Biff Adam – drums
* Don Markham – saxophone

## Charts

[edit]

### Weekly charts

[edit]

| Chart (1974–1975)  | Peak
position

|

US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[2] | 1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks  | 1

### Year-end charts

[edit]

| Chart (1975)  | Position

|

US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[3] | 29

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 147.
2. ^ "Merle Haggard Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
3. ^ "Hot Country Songs – Year-End 1975". Billboard. Retrieved August 7, 2021.

* v
* t
* e

Merle Haggard

The Strangers

Norm Hamlet
Ralph Mooney
Tiny Moore
Roy Nichols
Gene Price
Eldon Shamblin
Gordon Terry

Biff Adam
Jimmy Belken
Eddie Burris
Gary Church
Wayne Durham
George French
Dennis Hromek

Don Markham
Johnny Meeks
Marcia Nichols
Ronnie Reno
Clint Strong
Jim Tittle
Jerry Ward
Bobby Wayne
Mark Yeary

Studio albums|

* Strangers
* Swinging Doors ‡
* I'm a Lonesome Fugitive ‡
* Branded Man ‡
* Sing Me Back Home ‡
* The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde ‡
* Mama Tried ‡
* Pride in What I Am ‡
* Same Train, a Different Time ‡
* A Portrait of Merle Haggard ‡
* A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (or, My Salute to Bob Wills) ‡
* Hag ‡
* Someday We'll Look Back ‡
* Let Me Tell You About a Song ‡
* It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad) ‡
* If We Make It Through December ‡
* Merle Haggard Presents His 30th Album ‡
* Keep Movin' On ‡
* It's All in the Movies ‡
* My Love Affair with Trains ‡
* The Roots of My Raising ‡
* Ramblin' Fever
* A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today ‡
* My Farewell to Elvis
* I'm Always on a Mountain When I Fall
* Serving 190 Proof
* The Way I Am
* Back to the Barrooms
* Big City
* Going Where the Lonely Go
* That's the Way Love Goes
* It's All in the Game
* Kern River
* Out Among the Stars
* A Friend in California
* Chill Factor
* 5:01 Blues
* Blue Jungle
* 1994
* 1996
* If I Could Only Fly
* Roots, Volume 1
* The Peer Sessions
* Haggard Like Never Before
* Unforgettable
* Chicago Wind
* The Bluegrass Sessions
* I Am What I Am
* Working in Tennessee

Compilations|

* Songs I'll Always Sing
* Merle Haggard's Greatest Hits
* His Epic Hits: The First 11 (To Be Continued...)
* Down Every Road 1962–1994
* 16 Biggest Hits
* Hag: The Best of Merle Haggard

Live albums|

* Okie from Muskogee ‡
* The Fightin' Side of Me ‡
* I Love Dixie Blues ‡
* Rainbow Stew Live at Anaheim Stadium
* The Epic Collection (Recorded Live)
* Amber Waves of Grain

Gospel albums|

* The Land of Many Churches ‡
* Songs for the Mama That Tried
* Cabin in the Hills
* Two Old Friends (with Albert E. Brumley, Jr.)

Holiday albums|

* Merle Haggard's Christmas Present
* Goin' Home for Christmas
* I Wish I Was Santa Claus

Singles|

| 1960s|

* "Sing a Sad Song"
* "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers"
* "Swinging Doors" ‡
* "The Bottle Let Me Down" ‡
* "The Fugitive" ‡
* "I Threw Away the Rose" ‡
* "Branded Man" ‡
* "Sing Me Back Home" ‡
* "The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde" ‡
* "Mama Tried" ‡
* "I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am" ‡
* "Hungry Eyes" ‡
* "Workin' Man Blues" ‡
* "Okie from Muskogee" ‡

|

1970s|

* "The Fightin' Side of Me" ‡
* "Jesus, Take a Hold" ‡
* "I Can't Be Myself" ‡
* "Soldier's Last Letter" ‡
* "Someday We'll Look Back" ‡
* "Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man)" ‡
* "Carolyn" ‡
* "Grandma Harp" ‡
* "It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad)" ‡
* "I Wonder If They Ever Think of Me" ‡
* "The Emptiest Arms in the World" ‡
* "Everybody's Had the Blues" ‡
* "If We Make It Through December ‡"
* "Things Aren't Funny Anymore" ‡
* "Old Man from the Mountain" ‡
* "Kentucky Gambler" ‡
* "Always Wanting You" ‡
* "Movin' On" ‡
* "It's All in the Movies" ‡
* "The Roots of My Raising" ‡
* "Here Comes the Freedom Train" ‡
* "Cherokee Maiden" ‡
* "If We're Not Back in Love by Monday"
* "Ramblin' Fever"
* "A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today" ‡
* "From Graceland to the Promised Land"
* "Running Kind" ‡
* "I'm Always on a Mountain When I Fall"
* "It's Been a Great Afternoon"
* "Red Bandana"
* "My Own Kind of Hat"

1980s|

* "The Way I Am"
* "Misery and Gin"
* "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink"
* "Leonard"
* "Rainbow Stew"
* "My Favorite Memory"
* "Big City"
* "Are the Good Times Really Over (I Wish a Buck Was Still Silver)"
* "Going Where the Lonely Go"
* "You Take Me for Granted"
* "What Am I Gonna Do (With the Rest of My Life)"
* "It's All in the Game"
* "That's the Way Love Goes"
* "Someday When Things Are Good"
* "Let's Chase Each Other Around the Room"
* "A Place to Fall Apart"
* "Kern River"
* "I Had a Beautiful Time"
* "A Friend in California"
* "Almost Persuaded"
* "Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Star"
* "Chill Factor"
* "We Never Touch at All"
* "You Babe"
* "5:01 Blues"
* "A Better Love Next Time"
* "If You Want to Be My Woman"

Collaborations|

| Albums|

* Just Between the Two of Us (with Bonnie Owens and The Strangers)
* A Taste of Yesterday's Wine (with George Jones)
* Pancho & Lefty (with Willie Nelson)
* Heart to Heart (with Leona Williams)
* Walking the Line (with George Jones and Willie Nelson)
* Seashores of Old Mexico (with Willie Nelson)
* Kickin' Out the Footlights...Again (with George Jones)
* Last of the Breed (with Willie Nelson and Ray Price)
* Django & Jimmie (with Willie Nelson)

|

Singles|

* "Bar Room Buddies" (with Clint Eastwood)
* "Yesterday's Wine" (with George Jones)
* "C.C. Waterback" (with George Jones)
* "Reasons to Quit" (with Willie Nelson)
* "Pancho and Lefty" (with Willie Nelson)
* "Wreck on the Highway" (with Chester Smith)

As guest|

* "Street Singer" (by The Strangers)
* "Walking the Floor Over You" (by Ernest Tubb)
* "Politically Uncorrect" (by Gretchen Wilson)

Related articles|

* Discography
* Marty Haggard
* Noel Haggard
* Bonnie Owens
* Leona Williams

‡ indicates a release performed with The Strangers

This 1970s country song–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

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