What’s The Story Behind “I’ve Been Around Enough to Know” By John Schneider?

Dickey Lee and Bob McDill wrote the song “I’ve Been Around Enough To Know,” and John Schneider recorded it. This was just one of Schneider’s big hits when he decided to transition from TV to radio in the summer of 1981. John Schneider played the character of Bo Duke in the TV hit series “The Dukes of Hazzard.” His cover of Elvis Presley’s “It’s Now Or Never” became an instant hit. In fact, it reached number 4 on Billboard’s country singles chart and ranked number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. Schneider’s follow-up single entitled “Them Good Ol’ Boys Are Bad” also rose to number 13 on the country playlist.

Unfortunately, John Schneider‘s music career was deferred. Although there were succeeding singles, they sounded the same as “It’s Now Or Never.” And some people don’t like them, perhaps because they are more suitable for teenagers. At the same time, Schneider’s regular prime-time slot on TV created a negative impact. When interviewed by Billboard reporter Kip Kirby, he revealed that the music industry wasn’t particularly interested in promoting musicians that are also Hollywood actors. Most probably, they think that actors don’t take music seriously and they only make records during their spare time. However, John claimed that he was different and that he actually wanted to have a successful musical career.

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Although Schneider’s hit-making ability has stopped, the singer refused to give up. So, he acquired the services of top producer Jimmy Bowen, who recently left Warner Brothers Records. John wanted to record a new album and release it out of his own pocket. However, he got more frustrated when Music City’s publishers kept on giving him songs that had a resemblance to “It’s Now Or Never.” As John goes through the different demos at Welk Music, he finally suggests to the company representative Bob Kirsch to give him something that he personally loves yet does not feel like it was meant for him. So, Kirsch chose to play the eight-year-old song “I’ve Been Around Enough To Know,” and John Schneider instantly loved it and recorded it.

The original version of “I’ve Been Around Enough To Know” was recorded by Jo-El Sonnier. Bowen wanted to release John’s single in an unusual manner. Since Schneider has a famous teen-idol image, MCA delivered the copies to the 75 most relevant country music stations in the country without any identification. Although there were three programmers who instantly noticed that it was Schneider, however, others believed that it was George Strait. John Schneider’s “I’ve Been Around Enough To Know” rose to number 1 in the US Hot Country Songs on November 10, 1984.

Watch “I’ve Been Around Enough To Know” in the video below: