I Ain't Never

"I Ain't Never"
Single by Mel Tillis
from the album I Ain't Never
B-side	Burden Of Love
Released	July 1972
Format	7"
Recorded	May 26, 1972
Genre	Country
Length	2:09
Label	MGM 14418
Writer(s)	Mel Tillis and Webb Pierce
Producer(s)	Jim Vienneau
Mel Tillis singles chronology
"Would You Want the World to End" (1972) "I Ain't Never" (1972) "Neon Rose" (1973)

"I Ain't Never" is a song, recorded in 1972, by American country music artist Mel Tillis. It was his first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles (now Hot Country Songs) charts.

Co-written by Tillis and country singer Webb Pierce, it was Pierce who had the first hit recording of "I Ain't Never." Pierce's version was released in 1959, eventually spending nine weeks at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot C&W Sides chart that year (held out by "The Three Bells (Les Trois Cloches)" by The Browns). The pop market accepted the Webb Pierce version, crossing it into the Billboard Top 40 and peaking at #24.^[1] The success of the 1972 version was limited to country music stations.

Chart performance

Webb Pierce

Chart (1959)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	2
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	24

Mel Tillis

Chart (1972)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles[2]	1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1

Additional recordings

Since its original release, the song has been recorded by several other artists, including the following:

• Webb Pierce
• Jimmie Vaughan
• John Fogerty
• BR5-49
• Kippi Brannon
• Delbert McClinton
• Roger Miller
• Perfect Stranger
• Ricky Skaggs
• Hank Thompson
• Dave Edmunds
• The Four Preps
• Jerry Garcia w/ David Grisman
• Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band
• The Head Cat
• Little Richard
• The Oak Ridge Boys
• Shocking Blue
• Connie Smith
• The Jordanaires

References

1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 492.
2. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 347.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics