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(Top) 1 Other cover versions 2 Chart performance 2.1 Marty Robbins 2.2 Connie Smith 3 References

Ribbon of Darkness

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"Ribbon of Darkness"

SinglebyGordon Lightfoot

B-side

"Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues"

Released

1965

Label

United Artists

Songwriter(s)

Gordon Lightfoot

Gordon Lightfoot singles chronology

"I'm Not Sayin'"
(1965)

"Ribbon of Darkness"
(1965)

"For Loving Me"
(1966)

"Ribbon of Darkness"

SinglebyMarty Robbins

B-side

"Little Robin"

Released

March 22, 1965

Genre

Country

Length

2:30

Label

Columbia 4-43258

Songwriter(s)

Gordon Lightfoot

Marty Robbins singles chronology

"Turn the Lights Down Low"
(1965)

"Ribbon of Darkness"
(1965)

"Old Red"
(1965)

"Ribbon of Darkness" is a song written by Gordon Lightfoot that was released in 1965 as a single by Marty Robbins. The song was Robbins' eleventh number one on the U.S. country singles chart, where it spent one week at the top and a total of nineteen weeks on the chart.^[1]

Lightfoot's own version was released as single in 1965^[2] and included in his 1966 debut album Lightfoot! and again for his 1975 compilation album Gord's Gold. The latter recording features the song in a medley with "I'm Not Sayin'", as does the live recording from Lightfoot's 1969 Sunday Concert album.

Other cover versions[edit]

In 1969, Connie Smith made the top 20 on the country chart with her version, peaking at #13.^[3]
Crystal Gayle sang the song in her first television appearance. VideoonYouTube and she released as the first single from her twenty sixth studio album You Don't Know Me: Classic Country in 2019. Her first single in 16 years.
Jack Scott, 1950's rock 'n' roll legend, recorded the song for his 2015 release Way to Survive.
Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn contributed a cover of the song to the 2003 tribute album Beautiful: A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot.

Conway Twitty also covered Ribbon of Darkness on his 1966 album Conway Twitty Sings.

Chart performance[edit]

Marty Robbins[edit]

Chart (1965)	Peak position
USHot Country Songs (Billboard)^[4]	1
USBubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)^[5]	3

Connie Smith[edit]

Chart (1969)	Peak position
USHot Country Songs (Billboard)^[6]	13
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)^[7]	1

References[edit]

^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 294.

^ Wayne Francis. "Gordon Lightfoot 60's Singles". Lightfoot.ca. Retrieved 2016-09-29.

^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 320.

^ "Marty Robbins Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.

^ "Marty Robbins Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard.

^ "Connie Smith Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.

^ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 5980." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.

v t e Gordon Lightfoot
Studio albums	Lightfoot! (1966) The Way I Feel (1967) Did She Mention My Name? (1968) Back Here on Earth (1968) Sit Down Young Stranger (1970) Summer Side of Life (1971) Don Quixote (1972) Old Dan's Records (1972) Sundown (1974) Cold on the Shoulder (1975) Summertime Dream (1976) Endless Wire (1978) Dream Street Rose (1980) Shadows (1982) Salute (1983) East of Midnight (1986) Waiting for You (1993) A Painter Passing Through (1998) Harmony (2004) Solo (2020)
Compilation albums	Gord's Gold (1975) Gord's Gold Volume II (1988) Songbook (1999)
Live albums	Sunday Concert (1969) All Live (2012)
Singles	"I'm Not Sayin'" (1965) "Ribbon of Darkness" (1965) "Early Morning Rain" (1966) "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" (1967) "Bitter Green" (1968) "Me and Bobby McGee" (1970) "If You Could Read My Mind" (1970) "Beautiful" (1972) "Sundown" (1974) "Carefree Highway" (1974) "Rainy Day People" (1975) "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" (1976)
Related articles	Discography "Tears Are Not Enough" Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind (2019)

Marty Robbins

Albums

The Song of Robbins (1957)
Song of the Islands (1958)
Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs (1959)
More Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs (1960)
Return of the Gunfighter (1963)
R.F.D. (1964)
The Drifter (1966)
Tonight Carmen (1967)
I Walk Alone (1968)
It's a Sin (1969)
My Woman, My Woman, My Wife (1970)
Today (1972)
This Much a Man (1972)
El Paso City (1976)
Adios Amigo (1977)
The Performer (1979)

Notable singles

"Stairway of Love"
"I'll Go On Alone"
"I Couldn't Keep from Crying"
"That's All Right"
"Maybellene"
"Singing the Blues"
"Knee Deep in the Blues"
"A White Sport Coat"
"Ain't I Right"
"The Story of My Life"
"Just Married"
"She Was Only Seventeen"*
"The Hanging Tree"
"El Paso"
"Big Iron"
"Don't Worry"
"Devil Woman"
"Ruby Ann"
"Begging to You"
"Ribbon of Darkness"
"Tonight Carmen"
"I Walk Alone"
"It's a Sin"
"My Woman, My Woman, My Wife"
"Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got)"
"El Paso City"
"Among My Souvenirs"
"I Don't Know Why (I Just Do)"
"Return to Me"
"Some Memories Just Won't Die"
"Tie Your Dream to Mine"

v t e Connie Smith singles
Albums Singles Songs
1960s	"Once a Day" "Then and Only Then"/"Tiny Blue Transistor Radio" "I Can't Remember" "If I Talk to Him" "Nobody but a Fool (Would Love You)" "Ain't Had No Lovin'" "The Hurtin's All Over" "I'll Come Runnin'" "Cincinnati, Ohio" "Burning a Hole in My Mind" "Baby's Back Again" "Run Away Little Tears" "Cry, Cry, Cry" "Ribbon of Darkness" "Young Love" (with Nat Stuckey) "You and Your Sweet Love"
1970s	"I Never Once Stopped Loving You" "Louisiana Man" "Where Is My Castle" "Just One Time" "I'm Sorry If My Love Got in Your Way" "Just for What I Am" "If It Ain't Love (Let's Leave It Alone)" "Love Is the Look You're Looking For" "You've Got Me (Right Where You Want Me)" "Dream Painter" "Ain't Love a Good Thing" "Dallas" "I Never Knew (What That Song Meant Before)" "I've Got My Baby on My Mind" "I Got a Lot of Hurtin' Done Today" "Why Don't You Love Me" "The Song We Fell in Love To" "(Till) I Kissed You" "So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)" "I Don't Wanna Talk It Over Anymore" "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" "Lovin' You Baby" "Smooth Sailin'"
1980s	"A Far Cry from You"

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