Harper Valley PTA

Harper Valley PTA

"Harper Valley PTA" is a country music song written by Tom T. Hall. It was a major hit single for country songstress Jeannie C. Riley in 1968, and crossed over to the pop charts as well, eventually selling over six million copies as a single, making Riley the first woman ever to top the U.S. pop and country singles charts with the same song. (Her accomplishment would not be repeated until 1981, when Dolly Parton topped the country and pop singles charts with "9 to 5".)

The song tells the story of a junior high student who is sent home with a note to her widowed single mother from the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) of the school decrying her scandalous behavior by small-town standards. The mother decides to speak to a meeting of the PTA where she addresses various episodes of misbehavior on the part of several of its members, concluding, "This is just a little "Peyton Place" / And you're all Harper Valley hypocrites."

In an interview, Hall admitted his inspiration for the song was passing by the Harpeth Valley Elementary School in Bellevue, Tennessee, not far from his then-home in Franklin. He liked the sound of the name and decided to write a song using a similar place name.

The song was later the inspiration for a 1978 motion picture and a 1981 television series, both starring Barbara Eden, playing the heroine of the song, Stella Johnson.

Cover versions

*Country Music singer Margie Singleton is the original singer to record "Harper Valley PTA".
*Cover versions of the song appear on albums by virtually every female country singer of the period including Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Lynn Anderson, Norma Jean, Billie Jo Spears and Dottie West. It has been performed by Lorrie Morgan in concert and was also covered by Billy Ray Cyrus.
*"Harper Valley PTA" was translated into Norwegian and performed by Norwegian singer Inger Lise Rypdal. The story of the song is the same although the setting is more Norwegian; the PTA is replaced by the Board for High Morale and is part of the church.
* Country singer Martina McBride covered it for the "Desperate Housewives" soundtrack.

uccession

See also

* "Harper Valley PTA (TV series)"


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  • Harper Valley PTA — ist ein Lied aus dem Country Musik Genre, das von Tom T. Hall geschrieben wurde. Für die US amerikanische Country Sängerin Jeannie C. Riley war dieses Lied aus dem Jahr 1968 ihr größter Erfolg. Die Single wurde ein Millionenseller und schaffte es …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Harper Valley PTA (disambiguation) — Harper Valley PTA may refer to:* Harper Valley PTA , a country music song written by Tom T. Hall. * Harper Valley PTA , a 1978 comedy movie starring Barbara Eden. * Harper Valley PTA , an early 1980s TV series based on the movie …   Wikipedia

  • Harper Valley PTA (TV series) — infobox television show name = Harper Valley (PTA) caption = format = Sitcom runtime = approx. 0:30 (per episode) creator = starring = Barbara Eden Fannie Flagg Jenn Thompson Anne Francine Bridget Hanley Rod McCary Mills Watson George Gobel… …   Wikipedia

  • Harper Valley PTA (film) — Infobox Film name = Harper Valley PTA caption= Theatrical release poster. director = Richard C. Bennett producer = Phil Borack writer = George Edwards starring = Barbara Eden Nanette Fabray Ronny Cox cinematography = music = editing = distributor …   Wikipedia

  • Harper Valley — is the fictitious community named in the 1968 hit song Harper Valley PTA as well as the movie and television series of the same name. The community, supposedly located in Ohio near Cincinnati, was founded by the Harper family and in the movie and …   Wikipedia

  • Jeannie C. Riley — Infobox musical artist | Name = Jeannie C. Riley Img capt = Img size = Landscape = Background = solo singer Birth name = Jeanne Carolyn Stephenson Alias = Born = Birth date and age|1945|10|19|mf=y Died = Origin = Anson, Texas Instrument = Genre …   Wikipedia

  • Barbara Eden — Infobox actor name = Barbara Eden birthname = Barbara Jean Morehead caption = Barbara Eden with Howard Frank, October 2005. Photo: Howard Frank Archives birthdate = birth date and age|1934|08|23 birthplace = Tucson, Arizona, U.S.A.Barbara Eden… …   Wikipedia

  • Jeannie C.Riley — Jeannie C. Riley (gebürtig: Jeanne Carolyn Stephenson; * 19. Oktober 1945 in Anson, Texas) ist eine US amerikanische Country Sängerin. Nach Schulabschluss zog sie 1964 gemeinsam mit ihrem frisch angetrauten Ehemann Mickey Riley nach Nashville, um …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Barbara Eden — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Barbara Eden Bob Hope junto a Barbara Eden …   Wikipedia Español

  • Country-Musik 1968 — Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Events 2 Top Hits des Jahre 2.1 Number 1 Hits 2.2 Weitere Hits 3 Alben (Aus …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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