The Letter That Johnny Walker Read

Album: Texas Gold (1975)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is about a guy named Johnny Walker, who unsurprisingly, has a drinking problem. While sitting at the bar enjoying his namesake beverage (Johnny Walker red label scotch), he gets a letter from his wife, asking him to come home and take care of his family - that's the letter Johnny Walker read.
  • Chris Frayne, who is the brother of George Frayne (better known as Commander Cody), came up with the idea for this song. He brought it to Ray Benson and LeRoy Preston of Asleep at the Wheel, and the three of them put the song together.

    They recorded a demo and sent it to Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton, hoping they would record the song. They never heard back from them, so Benson and Preston recorded it with Asleep At The Wheel, who at the time were signed to Epic Records. They had little success on Epic, and the label was not encouraged by this track, so they dropped the group. Capitol Records picked them up and released "The Letter That Johnny Walker Read" as their first single - it became their biggest hit, going to #10 on the Country chart.
  • The spoken word section in this song is Ray Benson imitating Porter Wagoner.
  • In a Songfacts interview with Ray Benson, he said: "Part of why I love country music, especially songwriting, is that it has the most wonderful play on words. My favorite is Roger Miller's 'The Last Word In Lonesome Is Me.' That's a great play on words. So 'The Letter That Johnny Walker Read' was the same thing and we made a great country & western song out of it."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Jethro Tull

Jethro TullFact or Fiction

Stage urinals, flute devices, and the real Aqualung in this Fact or Fiction.

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.

Wang Chung Pick The Top Songs Of The '80s

Wang Chung Pick The Top Songs Of The '80sSongwriter Interviews

'80s music ambassadors Wang Chung pick their top tracks of the decade, explaining what makes each one so special.

Harold Brown of War

Harold Brown of WarSongwriter Interviews

A founding member of the band War, Harold gives a first-person account of one of the most important periods in music history.

Randy Newman

Randy NewmanSongwriting Legends

Newman makes it look easy these days, but in this 1974 interview, he reveals the paranoia and pressures that made him yearn for his old 9-5 job.

Thomas Dolby

Thomas DolbySongwriter Interviews

He wrote "She Blinded Me With Science" so he could direct a video about a home for deranged scientists.