Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye

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B-side"I Still Love You"
ReleasedDecember 1966
GenreDoo-wop
Length3:09
"Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye"
Single by The Casinos
from the album Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye
B-side"I Still Love You"
ReleasedDecember 1966
GenreDoo-wop
Length3:09
LabelFraternity 977
Songwriter(s)John D. Loudermilk
Producer(s)Gene Hughes
The Casinos singles chronology
"Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye"
(1966)		 "Bye Bye Love"
(1967)

"Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" is a song written by John D. Loudermilk. It was first released in 1962 by Don Cherry, as a country song[1] and again as a doo-wop in 1967 by the group The Casinos on its album of the same name, and was a number 6 pop hit that year. The song has since been covered by Eddy Arnold, whose version was a number 1 country hit in 1968, and by Neal McCoy, whose version became a Top 5 country hit in 1996.

The song was written by Loudermilk, who also recorded it for his 1967 album, Suburban Attitudes in Country Verse.[2] It is played as a slow 12/8 shuffle, its lyric addressing a female lover at the beginning of a relationship.

The Casinos version

The Casinos version of "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" - which became the title track of the group's debut album - reached number 6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in March 1967,[3] becoming the group's only Top 40 hit. Casinos' frontman Gene Hughes would recall that he'd heard the 1964 Johnny Nash recording of "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" on the John R. Show broadcast on WLAC out of Nashville and that the Casinos had been performing it in their club act for several years (Gene Hughes quote:)"So, while we were in the studio in the King Studios in Cincinnati, cutting this instrumental [King Curtis’] ‘Soul Serenade’ for a disk jockey, we used the time to [also] cut ‘Then You Can Tell Me'."[4] Musicians on the track included Bob Armstrong on organ, Mickey Denton on guitar, Ray White on bass, and Bob Smith on drums. The track also featured a brass section of trumpets and trombones.[5] It was also a number 28 pop hit in the United Kingdom.[6]

Chart history

Chart (1967) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[7]6
UK Singles Chart 28
Canadian Singles Chart[8] 4

Eddy Arnold version

"Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye"
Single by Eddy Arnold
from the album Walkin' in Love Land
B-side"Apples, Raisins and Roses"
ReleasedAugust 31, 1968
GenreCountry
Length2:47
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)John D. Loudermilk
Producer(s)Chet Atkins
Eddy Arnold singles chronology
"It's Over"
(1968)		 "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye"
(1968)		 "They Don't Make Love Like They Used To"
(1968)

In 1968, country music artist Eddy Arnold covered "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" on his album Walkin' in Love Land.[9] Arnold has said that he was inspired to record the song after hearing Loudermilk perform it.[10] Arnold's rendition was a Number One hit on both the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles (now Hot Country Songs) charts and RPM Country Tracks charts, as well as reaching number 84 on the U.S. pop charts.

Chart history

Chart (1968) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles[11] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[12]84
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening 6
Canadian RPM Country Tracks[13] 1
Canadian RPM Top Singles[14] 57

Neal McCoy version

"Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye"
Single by Neal McCoy
from the album Neal McCoy
ReleasedMay 18, 1996
GenreCountry
Length3:17
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)John D. Loudermilk
Producer(s)Barry Beckett
Neal McCoy singles chronology
"You Gotta Love That"
(1996)		 "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye"
(1996)		 "Going, Going, Gone"
(1996)

Neal McCoy covered the song in 1996 on his self-titled album. Released in May of that year as that album's lead-off single, it reached number 4 on the U.S. Billboard country charts and number 7 on the Canadian RPM country charts, as well as number 7 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100. McCoy's cover was the seventh Top Ten country hit of his career.

Chart history

Chart (1996) Peak
position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[15]7
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 (Billboard)[16]107
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[17]4

Year-end charts

Chart (1996) Position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[18] 72
US Country Songs (Billboard)[19] 44

Other versions

See also

References

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