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"Little Old Wine Drinker Me"
Single by Robert Mitchum
from the album That Man Robert Mitchum...Sings
B-side"Walker's Woods"
Released March 1967
RecordedJanuary 19, 1967
StudioFred Foster Sound Studio, Nashville, Tennessee
Genre Country
Length2:25
Label Monument
Songwriter(s) Hank Mills & Dick Jennings
Producer(s) Fred Foster
"Little Ole Wine Drinker, Me"
Single by Dean Martin
from the album Welcome to My World
B-side"I Can't Help Remembering You"
Released August 1967
RecordedJune 23, 1967
StudioUnited Recording Corporation Studios, Hollywood, California
Genre Country pop
Length2:47
Label Reprise
Songwriter(s) Hank Mills & Dick Jennings
Producer(s) Jimmy Bowen

"Little Old Wine Drinker Me" (sometimes rendered with a comma between the final two words) is a country pop song written in the 1960s by Hank Mills and Dick Jennings. The title parodied what was then a well-known catchphrase in TV commercials for an Italian Swiss Colony wine company: "The little old winemaker, me!". [1] The song is about a man trying to drink away his romantic troubles.

The song was first released by Charlie Walker in 1966 on the album Wine, Woman & Walker. [2] It became a hit when it was released by Robert Mitchum in early 1967, and by Dean Martin later that same year on his Welcome to My World album. Lefty Frizzell also recorded the song on his 1967 album Puttin 'On.

Mitchum's version spent two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 96 [3] while reaching No. 9 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart. [4]

Martin's version spent six weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 38, [5] while reaching No. 5 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart, [6] [7] and No. 4 on Australia's Go-Set chart. [8]

In Canada, Martin's version and Mitchum's version reached No. 32 on the RPM 100, in a tandem ranking. [9]

The Martin recording later became popular with the Scottish football club Clydebank. It can often be heard being chanted on the terraces, with ‘Tennessee’ replaced with ‘Kilbowie’ in homage to the club's former ground in the town.

References

  1. ^ "Italian Swiss Colony Wine Commercial Jingle" (video) – via YouTube.
  2. ^ Charlie Walker - Little Ole Wine Drinker Me, norwegiancharts.com. Accessed September 11, 2016.
  3. ^ Robert Mitchum - Chart History - The Hot 100, Billboard.com. Accessed September 11, 2016.
  4. ^ " Hot Country Singles", Billboard, July 29, 1967. p. 44. Accessed September 11, 2016.
  5. ^ Dean Martin - Chart History - The Hot 100, Billboard.com. Accessed September 11, 2016.
  6. ^ Dean Martin - Chart History - Adult Contemporary, Billboard.com. Accessed September 11, 2016.
  7. ^ " Billboard Top 40 Easy Listening", Billboard, September 30, 1967. p. 20. Accessed September 11, 2016.
  8. ^ Ed Nimmervoll, " GO-SET National Top 40", October 11, 1967. Accessed September 11, 2016.
  9. ^ " RPM 100", RPM Weekly, Volume 8, No. 3, September 16, 1967. Accessed September 11, 2016.