I'm a Long Gone Daddy
{{more citations needed|date=July 2015}}
{{Infobox song
| name = I'm a Long Gone Daddy
| cover = Hank Williams So Lonesome Cover.jpg
| alt =
| published = August 13, 1948 Acuff-Rose Publications{{Cite web|title=U.S. Copyright Office Virtual Card Catalog 1946-1954|url=https://vcc.copyright.gov/browse|access-date=2021-09-09|website=vcc.copyright.gov}}
| type = single
| artist = Hank Williams With His Drifting Cowboys
| album =
| B-side = The Blues Come Around
| released = June 1948
| recorded = November 6, 1947{{Cite web|title=Hank Williams 45rpm Issues|url=https://jazzdiscography.com/Artists/hank-williams/hank-williams-45-releases.php|access-date=2021-08-19|website=jazzdiscography.com}}
| studio = Castle Studio, Nashville
| venue =
| genre = Hillbilly, honky-tonk, country blues
| length = {{Duration|m=2|s=59}}
| label = MGM 10212
| writer = Hank Williams
| producer = Fred Rose
| prev_title = Honky Tonkin'
| prev_year = 1948
| next_title = I Saw the Light
| next_year = 1948
}}
"I'm a Long Gone Daddy" is a country song written and recorded by Hank Williams. It was released in 1948 on MGM Records and became his second top ten hit.
Background
"I'm a Long Gone Daddy" laid the blueprint for what would become the typical Williams A-side: an up-tempo honky tonk song in the Ernest Tubb tradition with a bluesy edge.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} The song was recorded in anticipation of a recording ban that would result from the American Federation of Musicians possibly calling a strike at the end of December when agreements with all the record companies expired.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} Producer Fred Rose wanted eight usable sides that could be doled out over the length of the strike.{{cite book |last=Escott |first=Colin |author-link=Colin Escott |title=Hank Williams: The Biography |publisher=Back Bay |year=2004 |isbn=0-316-73497-7 |page=74}} It was recorded on November 6, 1947, at Castle Studio in Nashville. Williams was supported by a group that producer Rose assembled from two Grand Ole Opry bands: Zeke Turner (lead guitar), Jerry Byrd (steel guitar), and Louis Ennis (rhythm guitar) were from Red Foley's band while Chubby Wise (fiddle) was a member of Bill Monroe's band. Rose may have played piano. The same session produced "I Can't Get You Off of My Mind," a second recording of "Honky Tonkin'," and the Rose composition "Rootie Tootie".{{Cite web|title=Release "My Sweet Love Ain't Around / Rootie Tootie" by Hank Williams - MusicBrainz|url=https://musicbrainz.org/release/5b7a56e3-5258-4667-bc9c-27faff60f203|access-date=2021-08-19|website=musicbrainz.org}}
Chart performance
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Chart (1948) !Peak |
| align="left"|U.S. Billboard Most Played Juke Box Folk Records{{cite book |title= The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=387}}
|align="center"|6 |
Cover versions
- Bobby Helms recorded a version in the 1950s.
- Ernest Tubb recorded the song in 1959.
- Hank Williams, Jr. recorded it for his 1964 album Sings the Songs of Hank Williams. In 1996, he recorded it again with his son Hank III using Williams' 1947 vocal as part of their Three Hanks: Men with Broken Hearts.
- George Jones recorded the song twice, the first time on his 1987 album Too Wild Too Long. Another unreleased version was included on the LP A Collection of My Best Recollection.
- The The recorded the song for their 1994 album Hanky Panky.
Popular culture
- Bruce Springsteen quotes the song's title in "Born in the U.S.A." ("I'm a long gone daddy in the U.S.A.!"){{Cite web|url=https://genius.com/Bruce-springsteen-born-in-the-usa-lyrics|title = Bruce Springsteen – Born in the U.S.A.}}