About The Song
“The Wurlitzer Prize (I Don’t Want to Get Over You)” is a song performed by Waylon Jennings, released in September 1977 as the first single from the album Waylon & Willie on RCA Records. Written by Chips Moman and Bobby Emmons, the song became Jennings’ sixth number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, peaking on November 19, 1977, and staying at the top for two weeks, charting for a total of eleven weeks. The 2:08 track captures the pain of lingering heartbreak, with lyrics like: “I’m not here to forget you, I’m here to recall / The things we used to say and do.”
Jennings recorded the song in 1977 at American Sound Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, produced by Chips Moman. The session featured The Waylors, with Ralph Mooney on steel guitar, Reggie Young on guitar, and Richie Albright on drums, alongside session musicians from the Memphis scene. The arrangement includes a gentle steel guitar, a steady rhythm, and Jennings’ emotive vocals, blending country with a touch of soul, reflecting Moman’s production style. The album Waylon & Willie, a collaboration with Willie Nelson, reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and sold over 1 million copies by 1978, earning platinum certification from the RIAA.
The song’s creation stemmed from Moman and Emmons’ collaboration, aiming to capture the raw emotion of refusing to move on after a breakup. Jennings, known for his outlaw country stance, connected with its theme of nostalgia and longing, recorded during a period when he was exploring more personal material. The track gained exposure through its inclusion in the 1978 television special Waylon & Willie: Live in Concert, aired on PBS, featuring a live performance. It was also performed at the 1977 Country Music Association Awards, broadcast on CBS, where Jennings and Nelson showcased their partnership.
Covers of the song include a 2017 version by Kacey Musgraves for a tribute show to Jennings, released on the live album Outlaw: Celebrating the Music of Waylon Jennings. A live performance by Jennings from a 1978 Grand Ole Opry appearance was released on the 2009 album Waylon Live: Expanded Edition, per SecondHandSongs. The song appeared in the 1979 film The Rose, used in a bar scene, and in a 2018 episode of This Is Us, featured during an emotional flashback. Jennings performed it with Willie Nelson at the 1978 Fourth of July Picnic in Gonzales, Texas, a notable moment in outlaw country history.
Jennings frequently included “The Wurlitzer Prize (I Don’t Want to Get Over You)” in his live sets, notably at the 1985 Farm Aid benefit concert in Champaign, Illinois, where it resonated with the audience. The song was featured in a 2020 documentary, Waylon Jennings: Outlaw Legacy, aired on PBS, exploring his emotional depth. The track remains a classic in Jennings’ catalog, often paired with other heartbreak ballads, reflecting his ability to convey raw emotion through his music.
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Lyric
I’m not here to forget you, I’m here to recall
The things we used to say and do
I don’t want to get over you
I don’t want to get over youI haunt the same places we used to go
Alone at a table for two
I don’t want to get over you
I don’t want to get over youThey ought to give me the Wurlitzer prize
For all the silver I let slide down the slot
Playing those songs sung blue
Help me remember you
I don’t want to get over youA fresh roll of quarters, same old song
Missing you through and through
I don’t want to get over you
I don’t want to get over youI don’t want to get over you
I don’t want to get over you