Honey (Bobby Goldsboro song)

"Honey" was written by Bobby Russell, who took inspiration from a tree in his front yard when he noticed how big it had become since he had planted it. From this came the first line of the song, "See the tree, how big it's grown ...". His song was first recorded by Bob Shane of The Kingston Trio, produced by Russell himself. Goldsboro at that time was in need of songs to record, he and his producer Bob Montgomery invited Russell over to play a few of his songs, which included "Honey". After listening to Russell's simpler rendition accompanied by just a guitar, Goldsboro became interested and asked if he could cover the song. with an arrangement by Don Tweedy. Goldsboro later attributed the success of the song to Tweedy's arrangement, and believed that Shane could have the same success with Tweedy's arrangement. ==Release==

Goldsboro's recording of "Honey" was released as a single in the U.S. in February 1968. While Shane's recording reached only 104 on the Bubbling Under chart, Goldsboro's version became successful very quickly, and reached the top of the chart in April. It spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart (the 200th song to reach No. 1 on that chart), from April 7 to May 11, and three weeks atop Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. It was preceded on the Billboard Hot 100 by "(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding and was followed by Archie Bell & the Drells' "Tighten Up". It was Goldsboro's only No. 1 hit on the Pop Singles and Country Singles charts and it was his first song to top the Adult Contemporary chart. Billboard ranked the record as the No. 3 song for 1968. "Honey" reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart on its initial release in 1968, and a re-release of the single in the United Kingdom in 1975 also reached No. 2. In Australia, it spent four weeks at No. 1 on the ARIA Charts, replacing the Beatles' "Lady Madonna", and was the No. 6 song of 1968. ==Reception==

"Honey" was immediately and immensely popular. It sold a million copies in its first three weeks, It was certified gold on April 4, 1968, the same day that Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, an event that may have helped the sales of the single. It was the best-selling record worldwide for 1968, even more popular than "Hey Jude". It was awarded Song of the Year in 1968 by the Country Music Association. Today the song is sometimes dismissed or disparaged, its contemporary popularity notwithstanding. It has been called "innocuous pop", "classy schlock", more "dreadful" than Pavarotti, and, hyperbolically, the "Worst Song of All Time" by a writer whose ambivalent antipathy left him "transfixed" by "one of the biggest songs of the year." ==Other versions==

In 1968, Oscar Santana, an Ibersound recording artist had success with his version, making it to no. 1 on Latin American Single Hit Parade charts. Margaret Lewis released an answer version titled "Honey (I Miss You Too)", which reached No. 74 on the country chart in 1968. A jazz instrumental version was recorded by The Distant Galaxy as a medley with the "Elvira Madigan theme", and it reached No. 39 on the AC chart the same year. In 1969, O. C. Smith's version of the song reached No. 44 on the pop chart, while Orion recorded a version that reached No. 89 on the country chart in 1979. Andy Williams released a version of it on an album by the same name 1968. There were also non-English versions: in Italy, for example, the author Daniele Pace wrote lyrics in the language with the title "Amore, mi manchi" ("My love, I miss you"). This version was recorded by Bobby Solo, Peppino Gagliardi, the late Roman singer Giuliana Valci and by Goldsboro himself. In Sweden in 1968, Björn Ulvaeus, who later would achieve world success as a founding member of ABBA, recorded a version with Swedish lyrics by Stig Anderson. It was titled "Raring", which has the same meaning as "Honey". ==Chart performance==

Weekly charts ;Bobby Goldsboro Year-end charts All-time charts ;Peter Lotis ;Distant Galaxy (medley) ;O.C. Smith ==See also==