Tennessee Saturday Night Explained

Tennessee Saturday Night
Cover:	File:Tennessee Saturday Night.png
Type:	single
Artist:	Red Foley and the Cumberland Valley Boys
Genre:	Western swing, country boogie
Label:	Decca

"Tennessee Saturday Night" is a Western swing ballad written by Billy Hughes.

Song Background

The song tells of Tennesseans having a good time on a Saturday night. Each verse ends with the refrain:

They all go native on a Saturday night.

Red Foley Recording

Red Foley and the Cumberland Valley Boys had a hit with the song (Decca 45136), staying on the charts for 11 weeks; reaching number on March 19, 1949.^[1] Johnny Bond's recording (Columbia 20545) reached number 11 later that year.^[2]

Other Artists Recordings

• The Pied Pipers (RCA 20-3360)
• Ella Mae Morse (Capitol 1903)
• Pat Boone released a version in 1954, and was the b-side for his version of Ain't That a Shame.^[3]
• Roy Clark's (Churchill 94007) reached number 85 in 1982
• Ernest Tubb (1961)
• Jerry Lee Lewis (1967).
• Gene Summers released a rockabilly version of the song on his 1981 French LP Gene Summers In Nashville and performed the song on national French television that same year. The song has been recorded numerous times.

References

• Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits. Billboard Books, 2006.

Notes and References

1. Whitburn (2006), p. 123.
2. Whitburn (2006), p. 49.
3. Web site: Pat Boone – Ain't That a Shame / Tennessee Saturday Night (1955, Shellac). Discogs. September 1955 .