The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep. The decision is between a keep or a no consensus; per ChildofMidnight's improvements, it's leaning more towards a keep. King of ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ 16:49, 21 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Catfish John[edit]

Unsourced stub. Claims to have been performed by a couple different artists, but no version was ever a single, and there are no sources. Tagged for notability since 8/08 with no improvement. Ten Pound Hammer and his otters • ^{(Many otters • One hammer • HELP)} 17:02, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Albums and songs-related deletion discussions. —--Avant-garde a clue-hexaChord ² 09:09, 9 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion so consensus may be reached.
Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, SilkTork *^YES! 22:40, 14 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Strong Keep Rolling Stone story notes Grateful Dead playing the song. So an effort doesn't appear to have been made to properly source this article instead of deleting it. ChildofMidnight (talk) 04:11, 15 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

~~Weak delete~~. I'm a Dead-head, but I'm unconvinced that the Dead playing the song (even on multiple occasions) excuses the "never released as a single" part. "Weak delete" because I'm mindful that the Dead tended to release through unconventional means. Cheers, This flag once was red^propaganda_deeds 11:19, 15 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

What about the other groups that played the song and the other sources with coverage? ChildofMidnight (talk) 17:30, 15 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The article lists Dead bands/musicians ("Jerry Garcia Band, Old and in the Way, Grateful Dead") and then "as well as other musicians". It doesn't mention anything about "other musicians" having chart success, either. I've poked around for evidence of it ever being released and couldn't find any; I'd be prepared to change my vote if it were released and charted but right now I think its links to the Dead are its greatest claims to notability. Cheers, This flag once was red^propaganda_deeds 17:35, 15 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

"Chet Atkins signed Johnny Russell to a recording contract with RCA in 1971. "Catfish John," a Russell composition, went to No. 12 in 1972-73, but Mr. Russell's greatest success as an artist was the 1973 barroom anthem "Rednecks, White Socks and Blue Ribbon Beer" which went to No. 4 on Billboard's country singles chart." [1] Also mentioned here in relation to Bob McDill [2]. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. This song is clearly notable. ChildofMidnight (talk) 18:47, 15 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I've added refs. The song charted, has been recorded by numerous artists and is clearly notable. ChildofMidnight (talk) 18:57, 15 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Keep, per reaching 12 in the country charts, "propell[ing] McDill into the front ranks of country songwriters." (from CoM's 2nd ref). This flag once was red^propaganda_deeds 19:01, 15 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.