There are a lot of songs that break into the top 40 but don’t make it past the midway point. Some of these songs are better than they performed and have lasting appeal. Others just kind of fade from our collective memory.
Today’s classic song of the day is one of the latter.
“Tell Me a Lie” by Sami Jo was released in February of 1974. The single took several weeks to edge its way up the charts, eventually peaking at #21 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100; it went a little higher on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart, hitting #14.
But that’s about it. The single quickly dropped off the charts and you seldom if ever hear it on oldies stations today. It’s funny how that works, sometimes.
“Tell Me a Lie” was written by Mickey Buckins and Barbara Wyrick, two professional songwriters who separately wrote songs recorded by the likes of Candi Staton, Kelly Warren, Mac Davis, Clarence Carter, and Bobby Hatfield. While Sami Jo’s recording of the song got bucketed as easy listening, it sounded more than a little bit country to me.
Sami Jo was a singer, full name Sami Jo Cole, who hailed from Batesville, Arkansas. Born Jane Annette Jobe, she was a local beauty queen during high school, then moved to Dallas after graduation. She hooked up with Atlanta-based music legend Sonny Limbo, who connected her with Muscle Shoals producer Rick Hall. Mr. Limbo got her a record deal with MGM South, which led to the recording of “Tell Me a Lie.” She had a couple of very minor country hits after that, but that was pretty much it.
Interestingly, the song “Tell Me a Lie” still had more life left in it. In 1983, country singer Janie Fricke recorded a cover of the tune that went all the way to #1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. Ms. Fricke’s recording is today’s daily bonus track of the day. Enjoy!
