“‘A Shoulder to Cry On”
Charley Pride
Written by Merle Haggard
Billboard
#1 (1 week)
April 14, 1973
It’s one thing to cover the great artists from a generation earlier and have a hit.
It’s another thing entirely to be able to cull material from one of your contemporaries and make it your own, something that a bunch of future Hall of Famers were doing during this increasingly compelling era of country music.
Charley Pride can’t pull off lovable louse as well as Merle Haggard, so he softens the edges of this Haggard composition, leaning into the undercurrent of empathy that Haggard downplays in his own version.
Basically, the focus remains on the guy when Haggard sings it. It’s about his own guilt and emotional turmoil.
Pride makes it about the woman who’s being taken advantage of, emphasizing how his actions impact her with his tender performance.
Pride covering Haggard demonstrates how artists who are executing at the highest levels of excellence can draw inspiration from each other, and how they can preserve their own points of view even when recording material that is so distinctly signature in style to the original artist.
What a wonderful record to revive this feature with.
“’A Shoulder to Cry On” gets an A.
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Bonus Beats:
Here’s the version of “A Shoulder to Cry On” for his 2006 (mostly) covers album Heard It in a Love Song:
https://youtu.be/r91idLxrRMI
What you say about Charley focusing on the woman is very true. I don’t know this song but when I read that line it was just… yes, he always did, or almost always. I think that’s why he remains a favourite of mine.
Vocally, I am amazed how he he sounds so vulnerable and weak drawing out certain words for the lyrics from the “shoulder” of the title to “hurt” to “love” to “gone” to “understand.” Shame sounds like the exhausted drawls of this performance, shame that his weakness involves her strength. He knows he is here to take advantage of her once again and stay just long enough to hurt her again as well. Pride has created a sensitive taker. Selfishness has never sounded so thoughtful.
Pride is frequently absolutely brilliant as a vocalist.
Well, you won’t find this kind of raw honesty in today’s music. A pretty great song and even better performance. “A-“
It’s the raw honesty of Carter Faith’s and Trisha Yearwood’s albums this year that made them resonate the most with me. Kane Brown’s set, too.
I will have to check them out. I miss the honesty of the 70’s but would love to see hear the newer approach.
Didn’t know this was a Haggard song originally, but Charley acquaints himself nicely here. Also echo the appreciation of the raw honesty on this one.
First time hearing and I agree with your interpretation completely. Charley Pride pulls off a cheating song by making himself the sympathetic figure. We’ve seen this sort of thing before and since, but it takes a compelling narrator and vocalist to pull it off, and Charley does. I’m reinforcing my previous proclamation of buying a comprehensive Charley Pride CD compilation and repurposing it as a New Year’s Resolution!