My Maria

"My Maria"
Single by B. W. Stevenson
from the album My Maria
B-side	"August Evening Lady"
Released	August 1973
Format	7" 45 RPM
Genre	Rock
Length	2:25
Label	RCA Records
Writer(s)	B. W. Stevenson Daniel Moore
Producer	David Kershenbaum

"My Maria" is a song co-written by B. W. Stevenson and Daniel Moore. Stevenson released "My Maria" as a single in August 1973, and the song became a Top 10 hit, peaking at #9 on the US pop chart. It remained in the Top 40 for twelve weeks. In addition, "My Maria" spent one week at #1 on the US adult contemporary chart. The guitar portion of the track was played by Larry Carlton.^[1]

Content

A gypsy woman liberates a square man's soul, chasing away the blues that won't let the rambler alone. The man has moral vision problems but Maria cures those as well.^[2]

Chart positions

Chart (1973)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard East Listening Singles	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	9
Canada RPM Top Singles	7
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks	1

Brooks & Dunn version

"My Maria"
Single by Brooks & Dunn
from the album Borderline
B-side	"Mama Don't Get Dressed Up for Nothing"
Released	March 24, 1996[3]
Format	CD single, Cassette Single
Recorded	1995
Genre	Country
Length	3:30
Label	Arista 12993
Writer(s)	B. W. Stevenson Daniel Moore
Producer	Kix Brooks Ronnie Dunn Don Cook
Brooks & Dunn singles chronology
"Whiskey Under the Bridge" (1995) "My Maria" (1996) "I Am That Man" (1996)

When country duo Brooks & Dunn released a cover version of "My Maria" in 1996, the song reached #1 on the US country chart. Their version of the song appears on their album Borderline, released in 1996 on Arista Records. In addition, their version was the number one country song of the year 1996 according to Billboard, and won the duo its second Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Vocal Group or Duo.^[4] The song's b-side, "Mama Don't Get Dressed Up for Nothing," would later be released as the album's third single.

In addition, this song was performed as their last performance as a duo at the 2010 ACM Awards on April 18th, 2010.

Chart positions

"My Maria" debuted at #30 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of April 6, 1996.

Chart (1996)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	79
Canada RPM Country Tracks	1

Gear Daddies version

Gear Daddies released a version of the song on their 1992 album Can't Have Nothin' Nice.

References

1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)
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. ^ AOL Music profile for "My Maria"
4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 63. ISBN 0-89820-177-2. 

Preceded by "Loves Me Like a Rock" by Paul Simon	Billboard Easy Listening number-one single (B.W. Stevenson version) September 22, 1973	Succeeded by "I'm Coming Home" by Johnny Mathis
Preceded by "You Win My Love" by Shania Twain	Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks number-one single May 18-June 1, 1996	Succeeded by "Blue Clear Sky" by George Strait
Preceded by "It's Lonely I Can't Stand" by Charlie Major	RPM Country Tracks number-one single May 20-May 27, 1996	Succeeded by "If I Were You" by Terri Clark
Preceded by "Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)" by John Michael Montgomery	Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks number-one single of the year 1996	Succeeded by "It's Your Love" by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill