The Greatest Oldies Music

Country

Daytime Friends – Toby Keith

Toby Keith's Country Comes To Town Tour 2021 - YouTube

About the Song

Toby is quarantined down in Mexico and forgot his guitar in the 405, so he stopped by a furniture store and picked up an old guitar. Here’s his rendition of Kenny Roger’s “Daytime Friends”.

Kenny Rogers’ smooth baritone voice and heartfelt lyrics have endeared him to audiences for decades. One of his most beloved songs, “Daytime Friends,” showcases his ability to craft poignant ballads that resonate with listeners of all ages. Released in 1981 as part of his album “Gipsy”, this track quickly became a popular hit.

The song tells the story of a man who has grown accustomed to a casual relationship with a woman. They share their days together, enjoying each other’s company but never crossing the line into a deeper commitment. The narrator is content with this arrangement, finding comfort in their “daytime friendship.”

Rogers’ delivery of the song is both tender and melancholic. His voice conveys a sense of longing and regret, as he acknowledges that their relationship may never evolve into something more. The lyrics are filled with poetic imagery and metaphors, painting a vivid picture of their shared experiences.

“Daytime Friends” is a classic example of Rogers’ ability to write songs that are both relatable and emotionally resonant. The song’s universal theme of unrequited love has struck a chord with countless listeners over the years. Its melodic beauty and introspective lyrics have made it a favorite among fans of country and pop music.

One of the most striking aspects of “Daytime Friends” is its ability to evoke a sense of nostalgia and longing. The song’s wistful melody and reflective lyrics create a mood of bittersweet contemplation. The narrator’s bittersweet acceptance of his situation is both poignant and relatable.

Kenny Rogers’ “Daytime Friends” is a timeless classic that continues to resonate with audiences today. The song’s message of unrequited love and the bittersweet beauty of a casual relationship remains as relevant as ever. Whether you are a longtime fan of Rogers’ music or are discovering his work for the first time, “Daytime Friends” is a song that is sure to leave a lasting impression.

Video 

Lyrics: Daytime Friends

And he’ll tell her he’s working late again
But she knows too well there’s something going on
She’s been neglected and she needs a friend
So her trembling fingers dial the telephoneAnd Lord it hurts her, doing this again
He’s the best friend that her husband ever knew
When she’s lonely, he’s more than just a friend
He’s the one she longs to give her body toDaytime friends and nighttime lovers
Hoping no one else discovers
Where they go, what they do
In their secret hideawayDaytime friends and nighttime lovers
They don’t want to hurt the others
So they love in the nighttime
And shake hands in the light of dayAnd when it’s over, there’s no peace of mind
Just a longing for the way things should have been
And she wonders why some men never find
That a woman needs a lover and a friendDaytime friends and nighttime lovers

 

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A cot waited in a rehearsal hall at RCA Victor’s New York studio while Jimmie Rodgers made his final recordings. Between songs, he lay down to recover enough strength for another take. It was May 1933. Rodgers was 35 and had battled tuberculosis since 1924. As his health deteriorated, his earnings had dwindled. Victor was paying $250 per recorded side, and he wanted to provide for his wife, Carrie, and their daughter, Anita. The sessions started on May 17. Within days, standing to sing became impossible. He worked from an easy chair, supported by pillows that brought him close enough to the microphone, then returned to the cot. On May 24, two musicians accompanied him through three songs. After they left, Rodgers recorded one more with only his guitar: “Years Ago.” He had completed twelve songs in eight days. The following night at the Taft Hotel, severe coughing gave way to hemorrhaging in his lungs. The hotel doctor could not be located. Rodgers fell into a coma and died on May 26, roughly 36 hours after his last recording. Before music made him famous, he had worked as a railroad brakeman. A Southern Railway train carried his body home to Meridian, Mississippi, in a baggage car. According to accounts of the journey, the engineer kept sounding the whistle along the way.

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Randy Owen sometimes stopped his tour bus at truck stops to call radio DJs from pay phones. Alabama had already made him a country star. These calls were about persuading stations to help children at St. Jude. He knew what it meant to grow up with little. On his family’s sharecropper farm near Fort Payne, Alabama, he picked cotton and corn to help put food on the table. At school, other children mocked his scarred hands and the cotton dust on his clothes. Years later, after millions of record sales, Owen met St. Jude founder Danny Thomas in Atlanta. Thomas asked him to bring the country music community into the hospital’s fundraising work. When illness prevented Thomas from speaking at Nashville’s Country Radio Seminar, Owen took his place and proposed a nationwide radio effort. Winning support required persistence. He later described himself as “begging, pleading” with DJs. Some stations remained unconvinced. The first Country Cares radiothon aired on November 19, 1989: twelve hours, 45 artists and more than 800 stations. It raised approximately $1 million. By its 35th year in 2024, the initiative had brought in more than $1 billion. Owen has said helping St. Jude may be his most important work beyond being a husband and father. That enormous total began with individual requests, including calls made beside the highway between shows. Owen kept asking stations to participate. Across the country, their listeners kept answering.

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Lorrie Morgan saved the card Keith Whitley gave her at the Nashville airport for her flight home. When she finally opened it, her husband was dead. It was early May 1989. Lorrie was heading to Alaska to promote her first RCA album, while Keith was enjoying the strongest run of his career. Just weeks earlier, “I’m No Stranger to the Rain” had become his third consecutive No. 1. At home, success had brought little reassurance. Keith had struggled with alcohol for years. A period of sobriety beginning in 1987 lasted about six months. Lorrie later described the fear surrounding his drinking as living with a ticking time bomb. In her 1997 memoir, she recalled tying her leg to his while they slept so she would know if he got up to drink. During her trip, he began drinking again that weekend. On Tuesday morning, May 9, his brother-in-law, Lane Palmer, visited the house in Goodlettsville. They drank coffee and discussed golf and lunch. Palmer left around 8:30 a.m. When he returned roughly an hour later, Keith was lying on the bed, fully dressed and unconscious. The medical examiner determined that he died from acute alcohol poisoning. Traveling back to Nashville, Lorrie read the card she had set aside. She later said its words left her feeling that Keith had been trying to tell her something—a feeling she was left to carry without the chance to ask him.

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