O.C. Smith - Little Green Apples (performed live September 9th,1968)(Stereo Mixed)

editor's note: Even with efforts to mix the best possible stereo audio from a mono track,because of the age of the video & the initial low audio output,some slight hiss or noise may be noticeable in a couple of spots in song. "Little Green Apples" is a song written by Bobby Russell that became a hit for three different artists, with their three separate releases, in 1968. Originally written for and released by American recording artist Roger Miller, "Little Green Apples" was also released as a single by American recording artists Patti Page and O. C. Smith that same year. Smith's version became a #2 hit on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles charts, while Miller's version became a Top 40 hit on the Hot 100 as well as the UK Singles Chart (and a #6 hit on the Billboard Country chart). Page's version became her last Hot 100 entry. The song earned Russell a Grammy Award for Song of the Year and for Best Country Song. In 2013, "Little Green Apples" was covered by English recording artist Robbie Williams featuring American recording artist Kelly Clarkson, which became a top 40 hit in Mexico. According to Buzz Cason, who partnered Bobby Russell in the Nashville-based Rising Sons music publishing firm, Russell wrote both the songs "Honey" (a #1 hit for Bobby Goldsboro in 1968) and "Little Green Apples" as "an experiment in composing", anticipating a potential market for true-to-life story songs...with more 'meat' in the lyrics [than was] standard" for current hits.Russell wrote "Little Green Apples" for Roger Miller to record and Miller made the first recording of the song on January 24, 1968 in a session produced by Jerry Kennedy at Columbia Recording Studio Nashville. Released as the lead single from the album A Tender Look at Love, "Little Green Apples" afforded Miller his final Top Ten C&W hit at #6 and also his final Top 40 crossover reaching #39 on the Hot 100 in Billboard. In the UK, Miller's "Little Green Apples" reached #19 in the spring of 1968 – when it also reached #46 in Australia – and in the spring of 1969 the track returned to the UK chart reaching #39. O. C. Smith had recorded "Little Green Apples" at Columbia Studios LA for Hickory Holler Revisited, the parent album of his Top 40 hit "Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp". The track "Main Street Mission" was originally issued as the follow-up single, but as Buzz Cason recalls "a disc jockey in Detroit played the album cut [by O. C. Smith] of 'Little Green Apples' one morning". That single spin triggered "such a reaction and rash of phone requests [as to] prompt [the deejay] to call Steve Popovich, head of promotion for Columbia in New York [City]", and "Little Green Apples" replaced "Main Street Mission" as Smith's then current single. Smith's version was a #2 hit on the Hot 100, behind "Hey Jude" by the Beatles, and likewise peaked at #2 on the R&B chart in Billboard and was certified Gold for domestic sales of one million units.The song won its composer Bobby Russell the 1969 Grammy Award for Song of the Year and the Grammy Award for Best Country Song. Lyrics Whoa, I wake up in the mornings With my hair down in my eyes and she says, "Hi" And I stumble to the breakfast table While the kids are goin' off to school, goodbye And she reaches out and takes my hand And squeezes it and says, "How you feelin', hon'?" And I look across at smilin' lips That warm my heart and I see my morning sun And if that's not lovin' me (lovin' me) Then all I've gotta say (gotta say) Is God didn't make little green apples And it don't rain in Indianapolis in the summertime There's no such thing as Dr. Seuss No Disneyland, Mother Goose, there's no nursery rhyme No God didn't make little green apples And it don't rain in Indianapolis in the summertime And when my self is feelin' low I think about her face aglow and ease my mind Sometimes I call her up at home knowin' she's busy (she's busy) And I ask her if she could get away and meet me And grab a bite to eat (a bite to eat) Whoa, and she drops what she's doin' And she hurries down to meet me and I'm always late She sits waitin' patiently, smiles when she first sees me She's made that way (made that way) And if that's not lovin' me (lovin' me) Then all I've gotta say (gotta say) Is God didn't make little green apples And it don't snow in Minneapolis when the winter comes There's no such thing as make-believe No puppy dogs and no autumn leaves and no BB guns (no, no) No God didn't make little green apples And it don't rain in Indianapolis in the summertime And when my self is feelin' low I think about her face aglow and ease my mind God didn't make little green apples And it don't rain in Indianapolis in the summertime Source: LyricFind Songwriters: Robert Russell

Added 2 Aug 2026