"I Love Country Music" by Jack Barlow (Dial Records/4012), written by Jack Barlow, Darrell Speck (my father) and Charlie Stewart, and produced by Buddy Killen, was on the Cash Box Country Top 50 chart for nine weeks in 1965, beginning the week of Aug. 21st and ending the week of Oct. 16th. It peaked at #21 the week of Sept. 25th.
The song was a take off of the Tareyton cigarette commercials, which featured men and/or women models sporting a black eye and delivering the line "I'd rather fight than switch."
#50 the week of Aug. 21, 1965
#44 the week of Aug. 28, 1965
#34 the week of Sept. 4, 1965
#27 the week of Sept. 11, 1965
#22 the week of Sept. 18, 1965
#21 the week of Sept. 25, 1965
#25 the week of Oct. 2, 1965
#31 the week of Oct. 9, 1965
#36 the week of Oct. 16, 1965
Barlow sang the song on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry on November 8, 1965.
Side B is "Number One In The Nation," written by Barlow and Speck.
"I often wondered why Clayton, who seemed so good to me, never took his guitar and made it down in Tennessee." - Tom T. Hall (The Year Clayton Delaney Died)
Cecil Pryor once told me about the time that he - fresh out of the Army in 1966 - my dad and Gene Coulter went to Nashville and dad and Gene pitched some songs to Tom T. Hall. It was a pretty bold move to pitch songs to a writer such as Tom T. Hall, author of such hits as "Harper Valley P.T.A.," “The Year that Clayton Delaney Died,” “Old Dogs, Children, and Watermelon Wine” and “I Love,” but this was just after he had been hired as a writer for New Key Publishing in Nashville, in the days before Tom T. made a name for himself. According to Cecil, dad and Gene didn't take a back seat to anyone when it came to writing songs. Dad co-wrote "I Love Country (And I'd Rather Fight Than Switch) with singer Jack Barlow, who took it to #21 on Cashbox in 1965. Dad and Gene wrote "Big Singing Day." The Speer Family not only recorded it, they made it the title of their album, considered by many to be their best work. They also wrote "What'll I Do (If My 'Baccer Don't Sell) and "Duvall Valley," two very popular songs by the Singing DJ's. Cecil said if you listen to a lot of songs from back in the earl days of dad and Gene's songwriting partnership, a lot of their ideas were definitely stolen. Jerry Perdue likes to say there was Lennon-McCartney, there was Henley-Frey and there was Speck-Coulter.
The country classic, "I Love Country Music (And I'd Rather Fight Than Switch)" by Jack Barlow, made it to #21 on Cash Box 50 years ago this week (September 28, 1965). The song, co-written by my dad and released on Dial Records, was produced by legendary producer Buddy Killen, who owned the label. Killen also owned Tree Publishing, which published this song and two other songs co-written by dad, "I Love Her Still" and "Number One In The Nation," which were also recorded by Barlow on Dial Records. The records were distributed by Atlantic Records of New York. Barlow first sang "I Love Country Music (And I'd Rather Fight Than Switch)" on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry on November 8, 1965.
Killen shut down the Dial Records label in 1979 to concentrate on other music interests. Today, the Dial Records catalog is owned by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the largest music publishing company in the world with over 2 million songs under management. Sony/ATV Music Publishing is co-owned by The Estate of Michael Jackson.
In June of 1965, about the same time that Barlow was recording "I Love Country Music (And I'd Rather Fight Than Switch)" in New York, rockabilly legend Hayden Thompson walked into WJJD-AM in Chicago and recorded his version of the song, released as side A on a 45 r.p.m. record, with "Funny How Time Slips Away," written by Willie Nelson, which went on to become one of the all time great country classics, on side B. In 1986 both songs were included on an album Thompson released on SunJay Records, entitled 'Early Days.' The liner notes states the Willie Nelson classic" could almost have been a Sun Records' cut, as could the hot side, "I Love Country Music (And I'd Rather Fight Than Switch)," where Johnny Cash would have been proud of the sound." Hayden's versions of both songs had been long forgotten about until he included them on the Early Days album.
Country singer Jack Barlow has died at the age of 87. Barlow passed away Friday, July 29, after a battle with a lengthy illness. His success in the music business began in the 1960's. Between 1964 and 1965, Barlow co-wrote three songs with my father. They were produced by the legendary Buddy Killen and released on Dial Records. The first of those releases, ‘I Love Country Music (But I'd Rather Fight Than Switch),’ which made it to #21 on Cash Box the week of September 28, 1965. Barlow sang the song on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry on November 8, 1965. The song was a take off of the Tareyton cigarette commercials, which featured men and/or women models sporting a black eye and delivering the line "I'd rather fight than switch." The songs that dad co-wrote with Barlow were produced by the legendary Buddy Killen.
The flip side of the record was another of the songs that Jack co-wrote with my dad and others. It was called Number One In The Nation. Barlow's second single release with Dial Records was Dear Ma. Side B was the third and last collaboration between Barlow and Speck, I Love Her Still, as in "I don't care if she's a moonshiner's daughter, 'cause I love her still.
Barlow got his start in entertainment as a radio DJ after serving in the Navy during WWII. In the 1970's, he switched creative gears a bit, penning jingles for the Big Red brand of chewing gum. He also continued to traffic in the food and beverage world, taking on voiceover work for a panoply of corporations like Dollar General, Kraft and Kellogg’s. He also did voiceovers for car companies like Chrysler and Dodge.
Barlow is survived by Dianne, his wife of 24 years, along with several children and grandchildren.
A public memorial for Barlow is scheduled for August 13, from 5-9PM CT. It will be held at Harpeth Hills Memory Garden Funeral Home, which is located at 9090 Hwy. 100, Nashville, TN, 37221.
I Love Country Music also had live with another recording artist. Rockabilly legend Hayden Thompson of Booneville, Mississippi, just a few miles north of Tupelo where Elvis was born, recorded a 45 r.p.m. record, a cover of Junior Parker's Love My Baby, at the legendary Sun Records in Memphis. But, his timing was ill-fated as interest in rockabilly was beginning to fade in favor of 'newer' sounds. So, in 1958 Thompson moved north to Chicago. to Chicago. In the late summer of 1965, Thompson walked into WJJD-Am in Chicago and recorded two songs. Side A was I Love Country Music (And I'd Rather Fight Than Switch. Side B was Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away, written by Willie Nelson, which turned out to be one of the all-time classic country hits. In 1986, the two songs were included on an album Hayden Thompson released on SunJay Records, entitled Early Days. Dave Travis, who wrote the liner for the album said, "The Willie Nelson classic could almost have been a 'Sun' cut as could the "Hot' side "I Love Country Music," where (Johnny) Cash would have been proud of the sound." The songs were "forgotten about" as the album liner says, until years later when Hayden included them on the Early Days album (SunJay 1986).
Thompson took a break from music for a while in the 70s and went to work for driving a limo. When he discovered his rockabilly songs were big overseas, he went back into music and headed for England for several appearances. Today, Thompson lives in Chicago with his wife and occasionally performs.
