Rub It In
| "Rub It In" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Billy "Crash" Craddock | ||||
| from the album Rub It In | ||||
| B-side | It's Hard to Love a Hungry, Worried Man | |||
| Released | 1974 | |||
| Format | 45 Record | |||
| Recorded | 1974 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 2:30 | |||
| Label | ABC | |||
| Writer(s) | Layng Martine Jr. | |||
| Producer(s) | Ron Chancey | |||
| Billy "Crash" Craddock singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Rub It In" is a song written and originally recorded by Layng Martine Jr., and credited as Layng Martine. His version, released on the Barnaby Records label, was produced by Ray Stevens and was a chart single in 1971.
Billy "Crash" Craddock covered the song in 1974, on the album Rub It In, taking it to Number One on the country music charts and Top 20 on the pop charts. He told Tom Roland in The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits that many stations refused to play it at first because they thought it was risque. "I said, 'We're talking about suntan lotion, and if you still think it's risque, then don't play it,'" Craddock said. "Evidently, they all went back and listened to it, and it was the biggest record we ever had."[1] Craddock also made live recordings of the song on 1977's Live! and 2009's Live -N- Kickin'.
Craddock eventually recorded a sequel to the song, “You Rubbed It In All Wrong,” which borrows heavily from the original song's melody but instead replaces the lotion with sand, as the man's lover is discovered to be cheating on him. The sequel was also a top-5 hit on both the country charts.
A third version, in 1999 by country singer Matt King also charted on the country charts, from his album Hard Country. The song's melody was adapted by Glade to advertise their plug-in air fresheners ("plug it in, plug it in").
Chart performance
Layng Martine
| Chart (1971) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 65[2] |
| U.S. Billboard Easy Listening | 36 |
Billy "Crash" Craddock
| Chart (1974) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 16[3] |
| U.S. Billboard Easy Listening | 15 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 18 |
| Preceded by "You Can't Be a Beacon If Your Light Don't Shine" by Donna Fargo |
Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single August 3-August 10, 1974 |
Succeeded by "As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone" by Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn |
| Preceded by "As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone" by Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn |
RPM Country Tracks number-one single August 17, 1974 |
Succeeded by "You Can't Be a Beacon If Your Light Don't Shine" by Donna Fargo |
Matt King
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[4] | 54 |
Other cover versions
- Dave Clark & Friends (1972)
- Mel Street (1974)
- Mike Walker (2001), on the album Mike Walker
- Jeff Bates (2006), on the album Leave the Light On.
- Jack Jersey (1975), on the album "I Wonder"
References
- ↑ Roland, Tom, "The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits" (Billboard Books, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1991 (ISBN 0-82-307553-2), pp. 118-119.
- ↑ "Chart listing for "Rub It In"". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-02-13.
- ↑ "Chart listing for "Rub It In"". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 27, 2013. Retrieved 2009-02-13.
- ↑ "Matt King – Chart history" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Matt King.