It's Just a Matter of Time (song)
{{Short description|1959 single by Brook Benton, Clyde Otis, and Belford Hendricks}}
"It's Just a Matter of Time" is a Pop song written by Brook Benton, Clyde Otis, and Belford Hendricks. The original recording by Benton topped the Billboard Hot R&B Sides chart in 1959 and peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100 pop chart, the first in a string of hits for Benton that ran through 1970.[http://www.allmusicguide.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=17:763995 AllMusic — "It's Just a Matter of Time"] {{Dead link|date=January 2011|bot=CactusBot}}
The song found a second life as a country song, with major hit recordings by three country music performers during the 1970s and 1980s, two of which hit No. 1.Roland, Tom, "The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits," Billboard Books, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1991 ({{ISBN|0-82-307553-2}}).{{rp|35}}
Origin and original success
{{Infobox song
| name = It's Just a Matter of Time
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Brook Benton
| album = It's Just a Matter of Time
| B-side = "Hurtin' Inside"“The Mercury Labels - A Discography” by Ruppli and Novitsky, Greenwood Press, 1993
| released = {{Start date|1959|01}}
| recorded = 1958
| studio = Fine Recording, New York City
| genre = *Pop
| length = {{Duration|m=2|s=28}}
| label = Mercury
| writer = *Brook Benton
- Belford Hendricks
- Clyde Otis
| producer = Belford Hendricks
| prev_title = Crazy In Love With You
| prev_year = 1958
| next_title = Endlessly
| next_year = 1959
}}
=Writing=
Brook Benton, Belford Hendricks and Clyde Otis established themselves as a songwriting team in the late 1950s, penning hits for Nat King Cole ("Looking Back") and Clyde McPhatter ("A Lover's Question"). During one songwriting session, Benton expressed frustration that they were not hitting on any good ideas, to which Otis replied, "It's just a matter of time, Brook". Those words inspired them to write a love song from the point of view of a man who misses his love, but believes she will come back to him.
Colin Escott, "Clyde Otis: Looking Back". Goldmine, October 1, 1993, pp. 42-43.
=Benton's recording=
Benton and Otis placed the song on a demo tape for Cole, and he agreed to record it. However, Otis became an A&R manager at Mercury Records, and signed Benton to the label. Otis felt that "It's Just A Matter Of Time" would be an ideal single for Benton, and he asked Cole not to record the song so it could be Benton's first release on the label. Belford Hendricks, a classically trained composer, co-wrote and arranged the recording. Benton's version, in a style clearly influenced by Cole, was a quick success, rising to number three on the Billboard pop charts while topping the R&B chart for 9 weeks in the spring of 1959, the longest run atop the chart of any song that year. On April 12, during the song's chart run, Benton made his national television debut, singing the song on The Ed Sullivan Show.Luke Crampton and Dafyyd Rees, Rock and Roll Year by Year (Bath, England: DK Publishing, 2003), 900. While Benton had had one previous minor hit ("A Million Miles From Nowhere"), this success established him to the public, leading to a continuous string of hits through 1962, and occasional success thereafter.Joel Whitburn, Top Pop Singles 1955-1999 (Menomonee Falls, WI: Record Research, 2000), 48-49.
==Chart positions==
| class="wikitable sortable"
!align="left"|Chart (1959) !align="center"|Peak |
| align="left"|Canada CHUM Chart{{cite web|url=http://chumtribute.com/59-03-30-chart.jpg| title=CHUM Hit Parade - March 30, 1959}}
|align="center"|6 |
| {{singlechart|Billboardhot100|3|artist=Brook Benton}} |
| align="left"|U.S. R&B Singles
|align="center"|1 |
Country renditions
=Sonny James version=
{{Infobox song
| name = It's Just a Matter of Time
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Sonny James
| album = It's Just a Matter of Time
| B-side = This World Of Ours
| released = January 1970
| recorded = 1969
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Country
| length = 2:35
| label = Capitol Nashville
| writer = {{hlist|Brook Benton|Belford Hendricks|Clyde Otis}}
| producer = George Richey
| prev_title = Since I Met You Baby
| prev_year = 1969
| next_title = My Love
| next_year = 1970
}}
The first cover version that became a country hit was recorded by Sonny James; his version spent four weeks atop the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart in February 1970.{{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=172}} The song was James' 10th in a string of 16 consecutive chart-topping single releases, spanning from 1967-1971.
James performed the song on The Ed Sullivan Show on January 11, 1970, just days after the single was released, and Hee Haw on January 21.{{rp|35}}
==Chart positions==
| class="wikitable sortable"
!align="left"|Chart (1970) !align="center"|Peak |
| {{singlechart|Billboardcountrysongs|1|artist=Sonny James}} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardhot100|87|artist=Sonny James}} |
| align="left"|Canadian RPM Country Tracks{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.3774.pdf| title=RPM Top 50 Country - March 14, 1970}}
|align="center"|4 |
| align="left"|Canadian RPM Top Singles{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.3759.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Singles - February 21, 1970}}
|align="center"|85 |
=Glen Campbell version=
In 1985, Glen Campbell — at the time on the roster of Atlantic America Records — recorded his version and released it as a single. His version peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in February 1986.
==Chart positions==
| class="wikitable sortable"
!align="left"|Chart (1985–1986) !align="center"|Peak |
| {{singlechart|Billboardcountrysongs|7|artist=Glen Campbell}} |
| align="left"|Canadian RPM Country Tracks
|align="center"|7 |
{{-}}
=Randy Travis version=
{{Infobox song
| name = It's Just a Matter of Time
| cover = It's Just a Matter of Time.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Randy Travis
| album = No Holdin' Back
| B-side = This Day Was Made for You and Me
| released = {{Start date|1989|08}}
| recorded = 1989
| studio =
| genre = Country
| length = {{Duration|m=3|s=56}}
| label = Warner Bros. Nashville
| writer = *Brook Benton
- Belford Hendricks
- Clyde Otis
| producer = Richard Perry
| prev_title = Promises
| prev_year = 1989
| next_title = Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart
| next_year = 1990
}}
Randy Travis became the third country artist to find success with the song. Released in August 1989 as the lead-off single to the album No Holdin' Back, Travis' version became his 10th No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.
Travis' bluesy rendition was initially recorded as part of the album Rock, Rhythm & Blues, a 10-song compilation featuring covers of 1950s-era pop hits by 1980s stars. The song was later included on No Holdin' Back after Travis and others liked what they had just recorded.{{rp|570}}
==Chart positions==
| class="wikitable sortable"
!align="left"|Chart (1989) !align="center"|Peak |
| {{singlechart|Canadacountry|1|chartid=6627|publishdate=December 2, 1989|access-date=August 28, 2013}} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardcountrysongs|1|artist=Randy Travis}} |
==Year-end charts==
References
{{reflist}}
See also
- [{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=randy travis|chart=all}} Randy Travis - No Holdin' Back] at Billboard.com
{{Sonny James}}
{{Glen Campbell}}
{{Randy Travis}}
{{Brook Benton}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Songs written by Clyde Otis
Category:Songs written by Brook Benton
Category:Song recordings produced by Harold Shedd
Category:Mercury Records singles
Category:Capitol Records singles
Category:Atlantic Records singles
Category:Warner Records singles
Category:Song recordings produced by Richard Perry