One Day at a Time (song) explained

One Day at a Time
Type:single
Artist:Marilyn Sellars
Album:One Day at a Time
B-Side:California
Released:1974
Genre:Country
Length:3:32
Label:Mega
Producer:Steven C. Anderson
Next Title:He's Everywhere
Next Year:1974

"One Day at a Time" is a popular country and western-style Christian song written by Marijohn Wilkin and Kris Kristofferson. It has been recorded by over 200 artists and has reached No. 1 in several territories. Scottish singer Lena Martell had a UK Singles Chart number one with her version in 1979.

Marilyn Sellars version

The song was first recorded by American country singer Marilyn Sellars in 1974.[1] This version became a US top 40 hit and top 20 hit on the Country charts. Following this, it won the 1975 Gospel Music Association (GMA) Dove Awards for best song.[2]

Chart positions

Chart (1974)Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles19
U.S. Billboard Hot 10037

Gloria version

One Day at a Time
Type:single
Artist:Gloria
Album:When I Sing for Him
B-Side:The Old Rugged Cross
Released:August 1977
Genre:Country
Length:3:01
Label:Release
Producer:Tony Dirizziano
Prev Title:"I'll Get Over You"
Prev Year:1977
Next Title:"Liffey Tinker"
Next Year:1978

"One Day at a Time" was recorded by Gloria who released it as a single in August 1977. The song originally peaked at No.5 in the Irish singles charts, before being re-released a year later. From here it peaked at No.1 (over a year after it had entered the chart) and remained on the charts throughout the whole of 1979 and into 1980, eventually spending a total of 90 weeks in the Irish top 30 - the longest run by any song in Irish Chart history.[3]

Chart history

Lena Martell version

Scottish singer Lena Martell recorded the song for the UK market in 1977. The song failed to chart in its first release, but a re-release two years later became a big success and reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in October 1979 for three weeks,[4] and No. 27 in Ireland.[5]

Cristy Lane version

One Day at a Time
Cover:One_Day_at_a_Time_-_Cristy_Lane.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Cristy Lane
Album:Ask Me to Dance
B-Side:I Knew the Mason
Released:February 1980
Recorded:November 19, 1979
Genre:Country
Length:3:12
Label:United Artists X1342-Y
Producer:Jerry Gillespie
Prev Title:Come to My Love
Prev Year:1979
Next Title:Sweet Sexy Eyes
Next Year:1980

"One Day at a Time" became best known among country fans when recorded by American country gospel singer Cristy Lane. Lane had started enjoying mainstream success in the late 1970s through the release of several secular hits, including "Let Me Down Easy" and "Simple Little Words." In 1979, Lane recorded the song after it became a No. 1 hit in the United Kingdom by Lena Martell. At first, United Artists Records balked at releasing the song, despite its previous track record of success, but Lane's husband-manager, Lee Stoller, predicted the song would be successful, and UA relented. The song was released in the late winter of 1980, and by the end of the spring, the song was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.[6]

"One Day at a Time" was Lane's only No. 1 hit. For Kristofferson, the song was his sixth No. 1 as a songwriter and first in six years (his last being 1974's "Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends" by Ronnie Milsap).

Chart positions

Chart (1980)Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles1
Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] 91
Canadian RPM Country Tracks10
New Zealand Singles Chart5

Year-end charts

Other versions

The song went on to be recorded by many artists, including the Alexander Brothers, Judy Collins, Phil Coulter, Floyd Cramer, Carlene Davis, Florida Boys, Roger Whittaker, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Foster and Allen, Bill Gaither, Lynda Randle, Ivan Parker, Don Gibson, Arthur Greenslade, Lee Greenwood, Roy Drusky, George Hamilton IV, Lulu Roman, and Brotherhood of Man.

The Quebec country singer André Breton recorded the French version "Un jour à la fois".[9] Paulino Bernal and Ricardo Mejia were the first to record the song in Spanish titled "Un dia a la vez" from the album Misioneros De Cristo. The Welsh folk singer Trebor Edwards released a Welsh-language version "Un Dydd Ar Y Tro" in 1980 with the words translated by Margaret Edwards. It was included on his album of the same name and a single was released in 1981.[10]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Marilyn Sellars | One Day At a Time | Midwest Entertainer for Hire . marilynsellars.com. 2016-11-09.
  2. Web site: GMA Dove Awards - Song of the Year History . Christianmusic.about.com . 2014-03-12 . 2014-03-28.
  3. Web site: Jaclyn Ward. The Irish Charts - All there is to know . Irishcharts.ie . 2014-03-28.
  4. Web site: Official Charts Company . . 2014-03-28.
  5. Web site: The Irish Charts - All there is to know. irishcharts.ie.
  6. Book: Whitburn, Joel . The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Joel Whitburn . 2004 . Record Research . 194.
  7. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 172.
  8. Best of 1980: Country Songs . . . 1980.
  9. Web site: Gary Talley'sYouTube. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/QNc6WI636XU . 2021-12-21 . live. .
  10. Web site: 2024-05-07 . Trebor Edwards – Un Dydd Ar Y Tro / Hwyrgan . Discogs.