Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys

"Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys"
Single by Ed Bruce
from the album Ed Bruce
B-side	"It's Not What She's Done (It's What You Didn't Do)"[1]
Released	1975
Format	7" single
Genre	Country
Length	3:08
Label	United Artists #732
Writer(s)	Ed Bruce Patsy Bruce
Ed Bruce singles chronology
"July, You're a Woman" (1973) "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" (1975) "The Littlest Cowboy Rides Again" (1976)

"Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" is a country music song first recorded by Ed Bruce, written by him and wife Patsy Bruce. His version of the song appears on his 1976 self-titled album for United Artists Records. In late 1975–early 1976, Bruce's rendition of the song went to #15 on the Hot Country Singles charts. It is also featured in the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game soundtrack, on the fictitious radio station K-Rose.

Content

The narrator warns mothers not to let their children become cowboys because of the tough and busy life of cowboy culture.^[2]

Chart performance

Chart (1975–1976)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	15
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	36

Waylon Jennings/Willie Nelson version

"Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys"
Single by Waylon Jennings with Willie Nelson
from the album Waylon & Willie
B-side	"I Can Get Off on You"[3]
Released	January 1978
Format	7" single
Genre	Country
Length	2:31
Label	RCA
Writer(s)	Ed Bruce Patsy Bruce
Producer	Waylon Jennings Willie Nelson
Waylon Jennings chronology
"The Wurlitzer Prize (I Don't Want to Get Over You)" (1977) "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" (1978) "I've Always Been Crazy" (1978)
Willie Nelson chronology "Something to Brag About" (1977) "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" (1978) "If You Can Touch Her at All" (1978)

Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson covered the song on their 1978 duet album Waylon & Willie. This rendition peaked at No. 1 in March 1978, spending four weeks atop the country music charts. It also reached #42 on the Billboard Hot 100, and won the 1979 Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.^[3]

Chart performance

Chart (1978)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	42
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Singles	33
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1
Canadian RPM Top Singles	57
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks	42

Gibson/Miller Band version

"Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys"
Single by Gibson/Miller Band
from the album Red, White and Blue Collar
B-side	"Johnny Get Your Gun"[4]
Released	January 1978
Format	CD single
Genre	Country
Length	3:27
Label	Epic
Writer(s)	Ed Bruce Patsy Bruce
Producer	Doug Johnson Blue Miller
Gibson/Miller Band singles chronology
"Stone Cold Country" (1994) "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" (1994) "Red, White and Blue Collar" (1994)

In 1994, country music group Gibson/Miller Band recorded a cover version on its album Red, White and Blue Collar. This version peaked at #49 on the Hot Country Songs chart, and was featured in the soundtrack for the movie The Cowboy Way.^[4] It also appeared on the band's second and final studio album, Red, White and Blue Collar.

Chart performance

Chart (1994)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks	49
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	71

Preceded by "Don't Break the Heart That Loves You" by Margo Smith	Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single (Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson version) March 4 – March 25, 1978	Succeeded by "Ready for the Times to Get Better" by Crystal Gayle
Preceded by "To Daddy" by Emmylou Harris	RPM Country Tracks number-one single (Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson version) March 18 – April 1, 1978	Succeeded by "I Might as Well Believe (I'll Live Forever)" by Carroll Baker
Preceded by "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)" by Waylon Jennings	Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single of the year (Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson version) 1978	Succeeded by "I Just Fall in Love Again" by Anne Murray

References

1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 67. ISBN 0-89820-177-2. 
2. ^ Randall, Alice; Carter Little, Courtney Little (2006). My Country Roots: The Ultimate MP3 Guide to America's Original Outsider Music. Thomas Nelson, Inc.. pp. 92. ISBN 1595558608. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Whitburn, p. 209
4. ^ ^{a b} Whitburn, p. 159