Ivory Joe knew what it took to make a hit from past experience as radio program manager and founder of Ivory Records. In 1956 he would top the R&B charts with this song, which crossed over and hit twelfth on the pop charts. And when Sonny James hit number one with a country version in 1969, Ivory Joe followed suite, releasing an album entitled “I’ve Always Been Country”. Audiences and the country music elite believed him; he was invited to perform at the The Grand Ole Opry in the early seventies.
This episode was co-written by Syracuse University student Emelio Woodstock, part of the Sound Beat Class Partnership.