Highway 40 Blues

"Highway 40 Blues"
Single by Ricky Skaggs
from the album Highways & Heartaches
B-side"Don't Let Your Sweet Love Die"
ReleasedMarch 1983
GenreCountry, Bluegrass
Length3:10
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)Larry Cordle
Producer(s)Ricky Skaggs
Ricky Skaggs singles chronology
"I Wouldn't Change You If I Could"
(1982) 		"Highway 40 Blues"
(1983) 		"You've Got a Lover"
(1983)

"Highway 40 Blues" is a song written by Larry Cordle, and recorded by American country music artist Ricky Skaggs. It was released in March 1983 as the third single from the album Highways & Heartaches. The song was Skaggs' fifth number one on the country chart and his fifth consecutive #1. The single stayed at #1 for one week and spent a total of 12 weeks on the chart.[1]

The song was covered in Spanish as "Blues de la Nacional II" by La Guardia.

The song was also covered by Daniel O'Donnell on his Two Sides Of album which was released in 1985.

According to songwriter Cordle, "A lot of people who hear it think it's about Interstate 40, which runs right through Nashville, but I actually wrote it about that little state highway in Kentucky."[2]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1983) Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[3] 1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1983) Position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[4] 29

References

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 315.
  2. ^ Canfield, Jack (2011). Chicken Soup for the Soul: Country Music: The Inspirational Stories behind 101 of Your Favorite Country Songs. Chicken Soup for the Soul. p. 150. ISBN 9781935096672.
  3. ^ "Ricky Skaggs Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  4. ^ "Hot Country Songs – Year-End 1983". Billboard. Retrieved June 18, 2021.


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