“Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone”
Charley Pride
Written by Dave Kirby and Glenn Martin
Billboard
#1 (2 weeks)
April 18 – April 25, 1970
Charley Pride’s third No. 1 single came from his tenth album, which is his fifth chronological release to earn a gold certification.
Those stats are as boring as wallpaper in 2025, but in 1970, selling gold at all was a huge deal for a country artist. Music Row used to throw a party back then when an album sold 100,000 copies. Pride was one of the superstar artists who raised the bar for everyone.
That’s because he was making records that were every bit as charismatic and high quality as what was on pop radio at the time. Pride’s phrasing was next level, and brought a sophistication to the delivery of pure country material. I’m not sure there was another singer back then who could’ve made the “Arizona/ever known her” rhyme scheme work in the chorus, yet is sounds as natural as anything with Pride delivering it.
This is the first of many classic records from Pride that we’ll be covering this decade. What a revelation they must have been back then upon original release.
“Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone” gets an A.
Every No. 1 Single of the Seventies
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The first entry of the decade from Charley Pride and it happens to be one of his most iconic hits. I’ve also always been impressed with how seamlessly he pulls off the rhyme scheme of “Arizona” and “known her”. The performance certainly is charismatic and sounds ahead of its time like so many other Charley classics. I’m not someone who can identify the instrumental presence on most records, but whatever is driving the beat on this one is the centerpiece of this song’s pulse.
Charley was the headline act at Farmfest in my area back in 1988. I didn’t go but I certainly remember the months of hype leading up to it. Fortunately, I had my chance to see Charley in concert at my county fair in 2012. He still sounded great, and he performed this song as well as the majority of my favorites in his hour and a half set.
Grade: A
One of my favorite Charley Pride songs – a really great performance, an A+. This song received more pop airplay than any of Charley’s other songs except “Kiss An Angel Good Morning” and was covered many times. In fact, at the time I thought that this would prove to be his “career song”.
Dave Kirby, co-writer of the song, penned hits for many artists including Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Gene Watson among others. He was married to Leona Williams for many years until his death and he played guitar on many of Nashville’s hit records (see below).
https://secondhandsongs.com/artist/20226/works
Kiss An Angel Good Morning might be his signature song, but this will always be my favorite of his big hits. Probably one of the best fiddle lines you’ll find in a country song and as Kevin mentioned, his phrasing is stellar here. I’m really well versed in Charley Pride’s output, so I can’t wait to see the run of songs he’ll have in the 70s moving forward.
Love Charley and love this song.
The first time I ever heard this song was in early 1995 when I suddenly had a big interest and fascination with 8-track tapes after my step dad had dug out a bunch of old 8-tracks my mom had that were hiding in one of the closets in our basement. One of the tapes had a huge collection of 70s country songs by various artists on it, and besides “Is Anybody Going To San Antone,” it also had “Kiss An Angel Good Morning” and “I’m Just Me” by Charley Pride on it. I remember thinking the fiddle in the intro for this song sounded so cool and unlike anything I’d heard! It’s been one of my favorite Charley Pride songs ever since, and I still always think of hearing it on that 8-track first every time I hear it again. That tape was actually part of what sparked my interest in country music once again after two years of mostly listening to oldies stations instead. It will be cool to see if any more songs from that tape show up on this feature (I have a good feeling the other two Pride songs, plus a few others will).
Bonus Beats:
Here’s the version of “Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone” that the San Antonio legend Doug Sahm recorded for his 1973 album Doug Sahm and Band. This cover features backing vocals from none other than Bob Dylan. Here it is:
https://youtu.be/mu6iAjkF8j8
And here’s the version that Nancy Sinatra released as a B-side in 1971:
https://youtu.be/oBZb7B5PxqM
I was coming on here to mention Doug’s version is fantastic as well.
Great song and great performance. The only thing I was surprised was how short it is. Leaves me wanting more but I know songs in the 2-3 minute range was standard.
I am beyond excited to celebrate Charley Pride’s music this decade. I have been a huge fan ever since I brought his 1981 Greatest Hits collection on vinyl home from the Rockford Road Minnesota Public Library in Crystal, Minnesota. As a seven year old kid, Pride was right there with The Oak Ridge Boys, Marty Robbins, and Conway Twitty in my pantheon of country stars.
Charisma is rightfully mentioned several times throughout the review and the comments section as a defining aspect of this hit specifically. Pride led with his character his entire career and it audibly infuses his best performances. I always believed what Pride was singing.
This hit is an absolute gem.