Behind Closed Doors (Charlie Rich song)

"Behind Closed Doors"
Single by Charlie Rich
from the album Behind Closed Doors
B-side	"A Sunday Kind of Woman"
Released	April 1973
Genre	Country
Length	2:56
Label	Epic
Writer(s)	Kenny O'Dell
Producer(s)	Billy Sherrill
Certification	Platinum (RIAA)
Charlie Rich singles chronology
"I Take It on Home" (1972) "Behind Closed Doors" (1973) "The Most Beautiful Girl" (1973)

"Behind Closed Doors" is a country song written by Kenny O'Dell. It was first recorded by Charlie Rich for his 1973 album Behind Closed Doors. The single was Rich's first number-one hit on the country charts, spent 20 weeks on this chart, and was also a crossover hit on the pop charts.^[1] Background vocals were provided by The Nashville Edition.

Rich's producer, Billy Sherrill, encouraged O'Dell to write music for the singer. O'Dell recalled the creation of "Behind Closed Doors" to Tom Roland in The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits. "It was just a title I had written down, and I had a little guitar riff that I'd carried with me for a couple of years. The chorus was pretty much a little deviation on that." Sherrill later changed some lines at the end of the second verse, but some radio stations banned the record initially as being racy.^[2]

"Behind Closed Doors" earned awards for Song of the Year (for O'Dell) and Single of the Year (for Rich) from both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music, and Rich also received a Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. In 2003, it ranked #9 in CMT's 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music.

Chart performance

Chart (1973)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	15
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	8
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1
Canadian RPM Top Singles	5
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks	37
Irish Singles Chart	9
U.K. Singles Chart	16
Australian Kent Music Report	18
Dutch Top 40	25

Cover versions

Numerous other artists have covered the song "Behind Closed Doors", using the original or slightly modified lyrics. For example, Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton sang versions in which the genders were reversed and a few words changed or added,^[3][4] while Diana Ross sang a version with both gender change and added lines. Other artists who covered this song include Bettye LaVette, Ronnie Milsap, Hank Thompson, Cal Smith, Perry Como, Percy Sledge, Little Milton, Mike Cooley, Stan Ridgway and Tom Jones.

Joe Diffie covered the song on the 1998 album Tribute to Tradition. His version peaked at number 64 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.^[5]

References

1. Stambler, Irwin; Grelun Landon (2000). Country Music: The Encyclopedia (Third ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 400. ISBN 978-0-312-15121-8. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
2. Roland, Tom, "The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits" (Billboard Books, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1991 (ISBN 0-82-307553-2), p. 87.
3. "Loretta Lynn's ''Behind Closed Doors'' lyrics". Tabcrawler.com. Retrieved 2012-05-12.
4. Dolly Parton's Behind Closed Doors lyrics
5. Whitburn, Joel (2013). Hot Country Songs 1944–2012. Record Research, Inc. p. 101. ISBN 978-0-89820-203-8.