"My Maria"
Single by B. W. Stevenson
from the album My Maria
B-side"August Evening Lady" or "Shambala"
ReleasedAugust 1973
GenreCountry rock
Length2:25
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)B. W. Stevenson
Daniel Moore
Producer(s)David Kershenbaum
B. W. Stevenson singles chronology
"Lead Free"
(1972) 		"My Maria"
(1973) 		"Calabasas"
(1974)

"My Maria" is a song co-written by B. W. Stevenson and Daniel Moore. Lindy Blaskey, a music publisher at ABC/Dunhill Records, thought Moore had a possible hit with his verse and chorus, but couldn't get him to finish the song, so Blaskey took what Moore had so far and asked Stevenson to finish writing it with an additional verse. David Kershenbaum, Stevenson's producer at RCA, agreed with Blaskey that it sounded like a hit and produced and released "My Maria" as a single in August 1973. The song became a Top 10 hit, peaking at No. 9 on the US pop chart. It remained in the Top 40 for twelve weeks. In addition, "My Maria" spent one week at No. 1 on the US adult contemporary chart.[1] The guitar portion of the track was played by Larry Carlton.[2] A cover version by Brooks & Dunn reached No. 1 on the US country music chart and won the 1997 Grammy for Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

Chart history

Chart (1973) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 9
U.S. Cashbox Top 100 7
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening 1
Canada RPM Top Singles 7
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary 1

Brooks & Dunn version

"My Maria"
Single by Brooks & Dunn
from the album Borderline
B-side"Mama Don't Get Dressed Up for Nothing"
ReleasedMarch 24, 1996[3]
Recorded1995
Genre
Length3:30
LabelArista 12993
Songwriter(s)B. W. Stevenson
Daniel Moore
Producer(s)Kix Brooks
Don Cook
Ronnie Dunn
Brooks & Dunn singles chronology
"Whiskey Under the Bridge"
(1995) 		"My Maria"
(1996) 		"I Am That Man"
(1996)

When country music duo Brooks & Dunn released a cover version of "My Maria" in 1996, the song reached No. 1 on the US country chart. Their version of the song appears on their album Borderline, released in 1996 on Arista Records. In addition, their version was the No. 1 country song of 1996 according to Billboard, and won the duo its second Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Vocal Group or Duo.[4]

In addition, this song was performed as their last performance as a duo at the 2010 ACM Awards on April 18, 2010, as well at the 50th anniversary of the ACM Awards on April 19, 2015.

In 2019, Brooks & Dunn re-recorded "My Maria" with American country music artist Thomas Rhett for their album Reboot.

Chart history

"My Maria" debuted at number 30 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of April 6, 1996.

Chart (1996) Peak
position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[5] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[6] 79
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[7] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1996) Position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[8] 12
US Country Songs (Billboard)[9] 1

See also

References

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 232.
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)
  3. ^ AOL Music profile for "My Maria"
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  5. ^ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 2973." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. May 20, 1996. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  6. ^ "Brooks & Dunn Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  7. ^ "Brooks & Dunn Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  8. ^ "RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1996". RPM. December 16, 1996. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  9. ^ "Best of 1996: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1996. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
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