"Drinking Champagne"
Single by Cal Smith
from the album Drinking Champagne
B-side"Honky Tonk Blues"[1]
ReleasedSeptember 1968
GenreCountry
Length2:40
LabelKapp
Songwriter(s)Bill Mack
Producer(s)Paul Cohen
Cal Smith singles chronology
"Jacksonville"
(1968) 		"Drinking Champagne"
(1968) 		"Empty Arms"
(1969)
"Drinking Champagne"
Single by George Strait
from the album Livin' It Up
B-side"We're Supposed to Do That Now and Then"
ReleasedJuly 20, 1990
RecordedFebruary 12, 1990
GenreCountry
Length3:35
LabelMCA 79070
Songwriter(s)Bill Mack
Producer(s)Jimmy Bowen
George Strait
George Strait singles chronology
"Love Without End, Amen"
(1990) 		"Drinking Champagne"
(1990) 		"I've Come to Expect It from You"
(1990)

"Drinking Champagne" is a song written by Bill Mack. He released the first version of the song on Pike Records in the mid-sixties.[2] The song grabbed nationwide attention when the version by Cal Smith reached #35 on the country music charts in 1968.[1]

The tune also was a local hit in the late sixties by Hawaii's Myra English.[3]

Jerry Lee Lewis released a version of the song on his 1973 album, Live at the International.[4]

It was covered in 1990 by George Strait, whose version was the second single from his album Livin' It Up. The song reached #4 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in October 1990.[5]

Chart performance

Cal Smith

Chart (1968) Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[6] 35[7]

George Strait

Chart (1990) Peak
position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[8] 3
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[9] 4

Year-end charts

Chart (1990) Position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[10] 35
US Country Songs (Billboard)[11] 72

Other recordings

References

  1. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 385. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  2. ^ Mack, Bill. "Bill Mack's "Hot Mike"".
  3. ^ Monson, Valerie (April 3, 2001). "Myra English: 'Champagne Lady' of isles dies at 68". The Maui News. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  4. ^ Jerry Lee Lewis, Live at the International Retrieved June 18, 2012.
  5. ^ Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks
  6. ^ "Cal Smith Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  7. ^ "Billboard". 1968-10-05.
  8. ^ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 1352." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. October 20, 1990. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  9. ^ "George Strait Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  10. ^ "RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1990". RPM. December 22, 1990. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  11. ^ "Best of 1990: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1990. Retrieved August 23, 2013.


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