Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On

Album: Let It Roll (1984)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Roy Orbison famously eyed a pretty woman walking down the street in "(Oh) Pretty Woman." If she'd been wearing a pair of tight blue jeans, Mel McDaniel would have joined him. The Oklahoma-born country singer cries, "Lord, have mercy," when he spots a denim-clad lady "walking, rockin' like a rollin' stone" in "Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On," the lead single from his seventh studio album, Let It Roll.
  • In 1984, McDaniel's label, the Nashville division of Capitol Records, brought country music producer Jim Foglesong on board as their new president while McDaniel was working on his new album. Foglesong suggested that McDaniel try working with Jerry Kennedy, a session musician who played on and produced several records for Jerry Lee Lewis. During their first session together, they cut this track.
  • This was McDaniel's first and only #1 hit on the Country chart - a feat that surprised no one but the singer himself. "I did not ever dream that it would be a #1 song," he recalled in The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits. "Jerry kept saying it was a hit, my wife kept saying it was a hit, my band kept saying it was a hit. I believe in everything that we record, and always hope for the best, but you never know when that one's gonna be there."
  • This was written by Bob McDill, who penned three of McDaniel's previous Top 10 hits: "Louisiana Saturday Night," "Right In The Palm Of Your Hand," and "I Call It Love." McDill had the melody and guitar riff of this tune for a while, but he wasn't sold on the blue jeans-themed title.

    "It sounded dated at first," he admitted, "and I was afraid to use it, but it sounded just right."

    He pitched two different arrangements of the song around Nashville for a couple years, but everyone rejected it until it fell in Jerry Kennedy's hands. McDaniel sang it to a clunking cowbell beat and session great Pete Wade's guitar groove.
  • Country singer-songwriter Tebey referenced this on his 2018 song "Denim On Denim," where he's also attracted to a girl in hip-hugging blue jeans:

    Tore up and tight, got my eyes on you
    You can't help it, you're Mel McDaniels (sic) approved
    .
  • Sammy Kershaw covered this for his 2006 album, Honky Tonk Boots.
  • Peaking at #4, Let It Roll was also McDaniel's highest-charting album on the Country Albums tally.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

Concert Disasters

Concert DisastersFact or Fiction

Ozzy biting a dove? Alice Cooper causing mayhem with a chicken? Creed so bad they were sued? See if you can spot the real concert mishaps.

Goodbye, Hello: Ten Farewell Tour Fake-Outs

Goodbye, Hello: Ten Farewell Tour Fake-OutsSong Writing

The 10 biggest "retirement tours" that didn't take.

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce PavittSong Writing

The man who ran Nirvana's first label gets beyond the sensationalism (drugs, Courtney) to discuss their musical and cultural triumphs in the years before Nevermind.

Jay, Peaches, Spinderella and other Darrining Victims

Jay, Peaches, Spinderella and other Darrining VictimsSong Writing

Just like Darrin was replaced on Bewitched, groups have swapped out original members, hoping we wouldn't notice.

Chad Channing (Nirvana, Before Cars)

Chad Channing (Nirvana, Before Cars)Songwriter Interviews

Chad tells tales from his time as drummer for Nirvana, and talks about his group Before Cars.