| "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Ed Bruce | ||||
| from the album Ed Bruce | ||||
| B-side | "It's Not What She's Done (It's What You Didn't Do)"[1] | |||
| Released | 1975 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 3:08 | |||
| Label | United Artists #732 | |||
| Writer(s) | Ed Bruce Patsy Bruce |
|||
| Ed Bruce singles chronology | ||||
|
||||
"Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" is a country music song first recorded by Ed Bruce, written by him and wife Patsy Bruce. His version of the song appears on his 1976 self-titled album for United Artists Records. In late 1975–early 1976, Bruce's rendition of the song went to #15 on the Hot Country Singles charts. It is also featured in the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game soundtrack, on the fictitious radio station K-Rose.
Contents |
The narrator warns mothers not to let their children become cowboys because of the tough and busy life of cowboy culture.[2]
| Chart (1975–1976) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 15 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 36 |
| "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Waylon Jennings with Willie Nelson | |||||||||||
| from the album Waylon & Willie | |||||||||||
| B-side | "I Can Get Off on You"[3] | ||||||||||
| Released | January 1978 | ||||||||||
| Format | 7" single | ||||||||||
| Genre | Country | ||||||||||
| Length | 2:31 | ||||||||||
| Label | RCA | ||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Ed Bruce Patsy Bruce |
||||||||||
| Producer | Waylon Jennings Willie Nelson |
||||||||||
| Waylon Jennings chronology | |||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson covered the song on their 1978 duet album Waylon & Willie. This rendition peaked at No. 1 in March 1978, spending four weeks atop the country music charts. It also reached #42 on the Billboard Hot 100, and won the 1979 Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.[3]
| Chart (1978) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 42 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Singles | 33 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 57 |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks | 42 |
| "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Gibson/Miller Band | ||||
| from the album Red, White and Blue Collar | ||||
| B-side | "Johnny Get Your Gun"[4] | |||
| Released | January 1978 | |||
| Format | CD single | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 3:27 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Writer(s) | Ed Bruce Patsy Bruce |
|||
| Producer | Doug Johnson Blue Miller |
|||
| Gibson/Miller Band singles chronology | ||||
|
||||
In 1994, country music group Gibson/Miller Band recorded a cover version on its album Red, White and Blue Collar. This version peaked at #49 on the Hot Country Songs chart, and was featured in the soundtrack for the movie The Cowboy Way.[4] It also appeared on the band's second and final studio album, Red, White and Blue Collar.
| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks | 49 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 71 |
| Preceded by "Don't Break the Heart That Loves You" by Margo Smith |
Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single (Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson version) March 4 – March 25, 1978 |
Succeeded by "Ready for the Times to Get Better" by Crystal Gayle |
| Preceded by "To Daddy" by Emmylou Harris |
RPM Country Tracks number-one single (Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson version) March 18 – April 1, 1978 |
Succeeded by "I Might as Well Believe (I'll Live Forever)" by Carroll Baker |
| Preceded by "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)" by Waylon Jennings |
Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single of the year (Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson version) 1978 |
Succeeded by "I Just Fall in Love Again" by Anne Murray |