"Southern Nights" is a song written by Allen Toussaint and
most famously recorded by country-pop singer Glen Campbell. The
song enjoyed immense popularity with both country and pop
audiences when Campbell covered it in 1977.
Campbell had been a leader in crossover music during the
1960s and 1970s, and continued that trend when he recorded
Toussaint's "Southern Nights." Toussaint recalled his memories
of visiting relatives in the Louisiana backwoods when writing
the song; often, while listening to stories from his elderly
relatives, the young Toussaint would look up in the clear
nighttime, star-filled sky.
Campbell listened to Toussaint's recording of the song and
identified with its lyrics, as it reminded him of his days as
an Arkansas farm youth. "My dad told me when I was a kid,
'You're having the best time of your life, and you don't even
known it.' Sure enough, he was right."
After some modifications to the lyrics, Campbell recorded
the song.
Released in January 1977, "Southern Nights" immediately
caught on with both country and pop audiences. The song spent
the late winter and early spring climbling both the
Billboard magazineHot Country Singles and Billboard Hot
100 charts.
Toward the end of March, the song spent two weeks at No. 1
on the country chart, and at the end of April, one week at No.
1 on the Hot 100. On both charts, it was Campbell's final #1
song, his fifth on the country chart, and second on the pop
chart. In addition, the song rose to #1 on the adult
contemporary chart, where it remained for four weeks; this was
Campbell's seventh #1 on this chart.
"Southern Nights" was Campbell's final Top 10 hit on the
BillboardHot 100. However, he would continue to enjoy
success on the country chart, scoring Top 10 hits through the
end of 1989.
"Southern Nights" was certified gold for sales of 1 million
units by the Recording Industry Association of America. [3]
The song was nominated for Song of the Year in 1977 by the
Country Music Association, but did not win.