Ashes by Now

"Ashes by Now" is a song written by Rodney Crowell. It has since been recorded several by times by various musical artists in the country music format. The song was first recorded by Crowell himself, eventually releasing it as a single in 1980. It was notably covered by Lee Ann Womack in 2000 and her version became the most commercially successful after also being issued as a single.

Rodney Crowell version

Crowell originally recorded "Ashes by Now" in January 1978 in Los Angeles, California. The recording session featured musician Ricky Skaggs playing the fiddle, among other prominent session musicians of the period.^[1]

Before its release as a single, it served as the b-side to his 1978 single "Elvira." The song was later re-released in April 1980 as the A-side single via Warner Bros. Records. The song became a minor chart hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles and Hot 100 that year.^[2] The album was included on Crowell's 1980 studio album But What Will the Neighbors Think.^[1]

The song was covered by Crowell's fellow collaborator Emmylou Harris on her 1981 album Evangeline.

Chart performance

Chart (1980)	Peak position
US Hot Country Singles (Billboard)^[2]	78
US Billboard Hot 100^[2]	37

Lee Ann Womack version

"Ashes by Now"

Single by Lee Ann Womack

from the album I Hope You Dance

B-side

"Lonely Too"^[3]

Released

October 9, 2000

Format

CD single

Genre

Country

Length

4:11

Lee Ann Womack singles chronology

"I Hope You Dance"
(2000)

"Ashes by Now"
(2000)

"Why They Call It Falling"
(2001)

Womack's rendition of the song was released in October 2000 as the second single from her third studio album, I Hope You Dance, and peaked at number 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, as well as number 45 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.^[3]

Critical reception

Wade Jessen of Billboard wrote, "The Earnhardt tragedy may have played a role in a minor decline in plays of Womack's Ashes by Now."^[4] Editors at The Toronto Sun wrote, "A thorough makeover of the Rodney Crowell classic, from one of the exceedingly rare albums with the power to unite staunch old-timers and New Country types alike."^[5] Editors at Billboard wrote, "The inventive percussion that opens this terrific single is just the beginning of the magic that producer Mark Wright and Lee Ann Womack weave. One listen to this great single and it's obvious the song is sure to throw fuel on the fire.^[6]

Music video

A music video was created for Lee Ann Womack's version of the song, it was directed by Gregg Horne.^[7]

Chart performance

In the October 21, 2000 issue of Billboard, "Ashes by Now" debuted at number 49.^[8]

Chart (2000)	Peak position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)^[9]	4
US Billboard Hot 100^[10]	45

Year-end charts

Chart (2001)	Position
US Country Songs (Billboard)^[11]	23

References

1 2 3 "Praguefrank's Country Discography 2: Rodney Crowell". Blogspot. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
1 2 3 Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 109. ISBN 0-89820-177-2.
1 2 Whitburn, p. 473
↑ Jessen, Wade. Billboard Country Corner (March 10, 2001)
↑ The Toronto Sun DE LA SOUL'S DONE WITH FOOLIN' (June 7, 2000)
↑ Billboard COUNTRY: LEE ANN WOMACK, JO DEE MESSINA, KEITH URBAN (October 14, 2000)
↑ Stark, Phyllis. Billboard Nashville Scene (September 8, 2001)
↑ Jessen, Wade. "LABEL CHANGE PUTS WOMACK IN FAST LANE." Billboard 118.33 (2006): 51. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 6 June 2011.
↑ "Lee Ann Womack – Chart history" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Lee Ann Womack.
↑ "Lee Ann Womack – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Lee Ann Womack.
↑ "Best of 2001: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2001. Retrieved August 14, 2012.

Rodney Crowell
Studio albums	Ain't Living Long Like This But What Will the Neighbors Think Rodney Crowell Street Language Diamonds & Dirt Keys to the Highway Life Is Messy Let the Picture Paint Itself Jewel of the South The Houston Kid Fate's Right Hand The Outsider Sex & Gasoline Old Yellow Moon Tarpaper Sky The Traveling Kind
Compilation albums	The Rodney Crowell Collection Greatest Hits
Singles	"Elvira" "(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I" "Ashes by Now" "Ain't No Money" "It's Such a Small World" "I Couldn't Leave You If I Tried" "She's Crazy for Leavin'" "After All This Time" "Above and Beyond" "Many a Long and Lonesome Highway" "If Looks Could Kill" "My Past Is Present" "Now That We're Alone" "Lovin' All Night" "What Kind of Love" "Please Remember Me" "I Walk the Line Revisited"
Other songs	"The Answer Is Yes" "Heartbroke" "I Ain't Living Long Like This" "Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight" "Making Memories of Us" "Queen of Hearts" "Song for the Life" "Voilá, An American Dream"
Related articles	Discography The Notorious Cherry Bombs The Notorious Cherry Bombs

Lee Ann Womack singles
Discography
Lee Ann Womack	"Never Again, Again" "The Fool" "You've Got to Talk to Me" "Buckaroo"
Some Things I Know	"A Little Past Little Rock" "I'll Think of a Reason Later" "(Now You See Me) Now You Don't"
I Hope You Dance	"I Hope You Dance" "Ashes by Now" "Why They Call It Falling" "Does My Ring Burn Your Finger"
Something Worth Leaving Behind	"Something Worth Leaving Behind" "Forever Everyday"
Greatest Hits	"The Wrong Girl"
There's More Where That Came From	"I May Hate Myself in the Morning" "He Oughta Know That by Now" "Twenty Years and Two Husbands Ago"
Call Me Crazy	"Last Call"
Miscellaneous singles	"Mendocino County Line" (with Willie Nelson) "There Is a God"

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