Little Green Apples

Upon arriving at work this morning, I espied 5 little green apples on the desk of my colleague who works in The Comptroller’s Division.  I immediately called out: “Hey look!  Little green apples!” I wasn’t expecting her to know that I was referencing a hit song from 1968 with the same name, but it just felt good to finally get a chance to actually match a group of little green apples to one of Americas most popular tunes.  Remember, I said “popular,” not necessarily “good.”

And since the maple sap is finally running in New England, this is a good time to investigate one of the more sappy songs in the Great American Songbook.

Nashville singer/songwriter Bobby Russell was said to have had a desire to write what he called “true-to-life story songs.”  You will soon know what that means.  Well, the creative sap must have REALLY been running for Russell as not only did he write “Little Green Apples,” he managed to write the song “Honey” the same year.  The two songs combined to produce prodigious amounts of musical syrup for dozens of other artists.  In fact, it’s hard to ascribe either song solely to the original singer because so many other artists took a stab at singing them, with some even charting in the Billboard Hot 100 in various genres.

The first version of Russell’s “Little Green Apples” was released by Roger Miller.  Readers may know Roger Miller from his distinctive voice and his string of hits including “King of The Road,” and some novelty songs such as “Do Wacka Do” and “I’m a nut.”  The “true-to-life lyrics” for “Little Green Apples” were pure Americana, with a nuclear family, kids running off to school, puppy dogs, God, bb guns, and, of course little green apples:

And I wake up in the mornin’

With my hair down in my eyes and she says hi

And I stumble to the breakfast table

While the kids are goin’ off to school, goodbye

And she reaches out and takes my hand

And squeezes it and says, how you feelin’ hon

And I look across at smilin’ lips that warm my heart

And see my mornin’ sun

And if that’s not lovin’ me then all I’ve got to say

God didn’t make little green apples

And it don’t rain in Indianapolis in the summertime

And there’s no such thing as Doctor Suess

And Disneyland and Mother Goose is no nursery rhyme

God didn’t make little green apples

And it don’t rain in Indianapolis in the summertime

And when myself is feelin’ low

I think about her face aglow and ease my mind

Sometimes I call her up at home knowin’ she’s busy

And ask her if she’d get away and meet me

And maybe we could grab a bite to eat

And she drops what she’s doin’

And she hurries down to meet me and I’m always late

But she sits waitin’ patiently

And smiles when she first sees me ’cause she’s made that way

And if that ain’t lovin’ me then all I’ve got to say

God didn’t make little green apples

And it don’t snow in Minneapolis when the winter comes

And there’s no such think as make believe

Puppy dogs, autumn leaves and BB guns

God didn’t make little green apples

And it don’t rain in Indianapolis in the summertime

Miller’s version of “Little Green Apples” made a good showing on Billboard and even had success in the UK and Australia, but for some reason, the version by soul singer and Louisiana native Ocie Lee (O.C.) Smith that came out the same year ended up being the million-seller.

The song became almost an obligatory cover for dozens of artists, in both vocal and instrumental form:

Bobby Goldsboro on his 1968 album Honey
Burl Ives on his 1968 album The Times They Are A-Changin’
Tony Joe White on his 1968 album Black and White
Frank Sinatra on his 1968 album Cycles
Stanley Turrentine on his 1968 album Always Something There
Dionne Warwick on her 1968 album Promises, Promises
Johnny Mathis on his 1968 album Those Were the Days
Glen Campbell and Bobbie Gentry on their 1968 album Bobbie Gentry & Glen Campbell
The Temptations on their 1969 album Puzzle People
Andy Williams on his 1969 album Happy Heart
Dean Martin on his 1969 album I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am
Tony Bennett on his 1970 album Tony Sings the Great Hits of Today!
Ben E. King on his 1970 album Rough Edges
Bloodstone on their 1972 self-titled album
Monica Zetterlund in 1969 as Små gröna äpplen, with Swedish lyrics written by ABBA’s manager Stig Anderson. Both the performance and the lyrics won Swedish Grammy awards.
Nancy Wilson on her 2004 album R.S.V.P. (Rare Songs, Very Personal)
Robbie Williams featuring Kelly Clarkson on his 2013 album Swings Both Ways.

One of my favorites is a reggae version by Dennis Brown:

In the next post, I will deal with the even-more sappy “Honey.”

Peach Out!