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Abilene (song)

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"Abilene"
Song
B-side"Oh So Many Years"[1]

Abilene is a song written by Bob Gibson, Albert Stanton, Lester Brown and John D. Loudermilk,[2] and recorded by American country music artist George Hamilton IV. The song reached number one on the U.S. country music chart for four weeks, and peaked at number 15 on the pop music charts. George Hamilton IV performed "Abilene" in the 1963 movie Hootenanny Hoot.

Background and writing

Bob Gibson was inspired to write the song after watching the Randolph Scott film, Abilene Town. The setting for the film is Abilene, Kansas, the railhead town at the end of the Chisholm Trail. Gibson said the song had often been erroneously thought to be about Abilene, Texas, named for the Kansas cowtown that had been established 24 years earlier but a much larger city.[citation needed]

Chart performance

Chart (1963) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [3] 15
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening 4
Preceded by Billboard Hot Country Singles
number-one single

September 14-October 5, 1963
Succeeded by

References

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. ISBN 0-89820-177-2.
  2. ^ "Abilene," BMI Repertoire website
  3. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 273.