About The Song
“1959” is a song written by Gary Gentry and recorded by American country music artist John Anderson. It was released on November 22, 1980, by Warner Bros. Nashville as the fifth single from his self-titled debut album, John Anderson. The B-side is “It Looks Like the Party Is Over.” The track runs 3:00 in length. Production was handled by Norro Wilson. Recording took place at Columbia Studios in Nashville, Tennessee.
The single peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, dated February 14, 1981. It reached number 4 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart. This marked Anderson’s first top-ten single on the Billboard country chart. The parent album John Anderson was released in July 1980 and produced several charting singles, including “Your Lying Blue Eyes,” “She Just Started Liking Cheatin’ Songs,” and “If There Were No Memories.”
Gary Gentry composed the song. Anderson’s version became the best-known commercial recording. The track was later covered by John Prine on the 2022 John Anderson tribute album Something Borrowed, Something New. Chart documentation confirms the number 7 peak on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart with no crossover onto the Billboard Hot 100.
Session personnel associated with the album and single include contributions from musicians such as Billy Sanford, Harold Bradley, Pete Drake, Pete Wade, Phil Baugh, Ray Edenton, Reggie Young, and Tommy Allsup on guitar; Bob Moore, Henry Strzelecki, and Tommy Cogbill on bass; Kenny Malone and Ralph Gallant on drums; Bobby Wood, David Briggs, and Hargus “Pig” Robbins on piano; Terry McMillan on harmonica; and Tommy Jackson on fiddle. Engineering and mastering credits include work associated with the Warner Bros. sessions of the period.
Publishing credits list Gary Gentry as the sole writer. Catalog editions preserve the original 1980 masters. The track later appeared on Anderson’s greatest-hits collections issued by Warner Bros. Anderson’s overall chart history includes five number-one Hot Country Songs hits and twenty top-ten entries between 1977 and 2006. This single stands as his first top-ten success and helped establish his early commercial presence.
The combination of Gentry’s composition, Wilson’s production, and the Nashville session work contributed to the single’s chart performance. Discography sources list the single under the Warner Bros. catalog. Subsequent reissues and digital releases continue to feature the recording as part of Anderson’s early catalog. The song remains a regularly anthologized track from his debut album period.
John Anderson signed with Warner Bros. Records in the late 1970s after earlier independent releases. The self-titled debut album and its singles, including this track, formed the foundation of his initial commercial run. The recording has been included in various compilation projects covering his Warner Bros. years.
Anderson’s early singles built momentum through the late 1970s and into 1980. “1959” followed “If There Were No Memories” in the release sequence and preceded “I’m Just an Old Chunk of Coal (But I’m Gonna Be a Diamond Someday).” The success of the single contributed to the visibility of the debut album and set the stage for subsequent top-ten releases in 1981.
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Lyric
Cigarettes were a quarter then
Bobby-socks and jeans were in
Elvis sang the songs that we loved so
And the most important thing to us
Was keepin’ gas in my old truck
So I could take us to the drive-in showThen graduation finally came
Uncle Sam called me away
You married someone else while I was gone
But I kept your letter all these years
And I can’t help but shed a tear
When I read the words you wrote me years agoBaby, I’m yours, I’ll love you always
I’m gonna stand by you until the end of time
Remember all of the good things that we shared together
Signed, “Love, Betty, 1959”I never will forget the day
When you and I went all the way
I was the first for you and you for me
I’ve still got the truck that we loved in
It takes me back there now and then
Back to ’59 in my memoryBaby, I’m yours, I’ll love you always
I’m gonna stand by you until the end of time
Remember all of the good things that we shared together
Signed, “Love, Betty, 1959”