Chart Rewind: In 1976, Ronnie Milsap Took a ‘Stand’ at No. 1
The signature piano lick in “(I’m a) Stand by My Woman Man” generated a legal issue.
Ronnie Milsap performing in Germany circa 1976.
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When Ronnie Milsap’s “(I’m a) Stand by My Woman Man” reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart dated Aug. 28, 1976, the public accomplishment hid a private feud.
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During the recording session at RCA Studio A, producer Tom Collins (Barbara Mandrell, Steve Wariner) asked pianist Hargus “Pig” Robbins to play the kind of lick he might invent for a George Jones or Tammy Wynette cut in the “Stand by My Woman Man” chorus. The song’s title sounded similar to Wynette’s “Stand by Your Man,” and Robbins created a fill that likewise sounded a bit like one he played on “Stand by Your Man.” After Milsap’s recording was released, publisher Al Gallico allegedly sued Collins for a copyright violation.
As a result, “Stand by My Woman Man” songwriter Kent Robbins (John Anderson’s “Straight Tequila Night,” George Strait’s “Write This Down”), who died in 1997, now shares writing credit with Wynette and her producer, Billy Sherrill (Charlie Rich, Tanya Tucker), according to the BMI.com Songview database.
“Stand by My Woman Man” debuted on the Hot Country Songs chart dated July 10, 1976, reaching the top seven weeks later to become the sixth of Milsap’s 35 career No. 1s. It wasn’t the only honor that the song accrued. Milsap received the Grammy for best country vocal performance by a male in February 1977, and Kent Robbins (no relation to Pig) snagged a Country Music Association nomination for best country song.
One extra bit of trivia: the Aug. 28 date for Milsap’s No. 1 aligns with the date that Wynette wrote and recorded “Stand by Your Man,” Aug. 28, 1968.
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