About the Songwriter
The scribe behind Mickey Gilley’s “ Headache Tomorrow (Or A Heartache Tonight” was a true “Okie from Muskogee.” Chick Rains moved to Los Angeles in 1966 to apply his craft. However, he was drafted into the service and spent the next few years in Vietnam. After serving the country, he returned to L.A. in 1972. It was also the time where one of his songs titled “You’re The Fingernail On the Blackboard Of My Heart” earned the “Stupidest Song Title Of The Year.” Thereafter, he was offered a part in the “The Watsons,” but he turned it down to pursue his career. In pursuit of his dreams, he landed in Jim Norman’s publishing company. There he wrote Janie Fricke’s No. 2 country hit “Down To My Last Broken Heart,” “Dreams Die Hard” for Gary Morris and one of Johnny Lee’s No. 1 Hit, “One In A Million.”
The Unusual Content
Mickey Gilley took “A Headache Tomorrow (Or A Heartache Tonight) to the top spot in the Country Chart making it the second No. 1 hit of Chick Rains. The song’s alcoholic lyrics was hardly unusual for a country, however, the reference to pills was. Having that said, there was no backlash to Mickey Gilley because of that.
The Song’s Success
This song gave Mickey Gilley the only Grammy Award of his career. In addition, did you know that “A Headache Tomorrow (Or A Heart Heartache Tonight) entered the Billboards Country Singles Chart on Valentine’s day of 1981? However, it only reached the peak of the chart on April 25, 1981, and became Mickey Gilley’s 11th chart-topper.
Another amazing country song from the past. A comforting song for the brokenhearted ones. Did you like the story? Let us know in the comments section below and don’t forget to share it with your family and friends. God Bless Your Heart!
Tags
Chick Rains, Mickey Gilley