Still the One


"Still the One" is a song written by Johanna Hall and John Hall, and recorded by the soft rock group Orleans on their album Waking and Dreaming, released in 1976, which made it to No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Country singer Bill Anderson recorded and released a successful cover version, peaking at No. 11 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart in 1977.

Song lyrics

The lyrics of the uptempo love song are of a man describing his feelings for a woman with whom he has a long lasting and, of course, intimate relationship and all the reasons why she is "Still the One" for whom he has feelings.

Background

Orleans bass player Lance Hoppen recalls that Johanna Hall wrote the lyrics for "Still the One" after a friend "asked her why somebody couldn't write a song about staying together, as opposed to breaking up"; Johanna Hall wrote the lyrics on an envelope which she then handed to John Hall who Hoppen says "created the music in about fifteen minutes". Johanna Hall's recollection is that the realization that there was a dearth of songs about long-term relationships came to her while she was doing laundry, and that she handed John Hall a napkin on which she'd written the song's lyric. John Hall would recall that "Still the One" was not an automatic choice for lead single from Waking and Dreaming saying rather that "we had several songs that were candidates. We were too close to it to see. Fortunately, our producer, Chuck Plotkin, had a strong feeling about the song."

In Popular Culture

In 1977, "Still The One" was used as a jingle by the American Broadcasting Company to promote the 1977-78 television season, and again in the 1979-80 television season, when the network was the highest rated in the country. The lyrics were sometimes adapted for local station promotional advertisements, sometimes awkwardly; e.g. "We're still having fun, Dayton Twenty-Two's the one."
The song was also used in adverts for the Nine Network of Australia from the late 1970s to the mid-2000s, and even though the song only charted at No. 61 in Australia in its original chart run, it is most remembered for its Nine Network ads.
In 2004, the Bush campaign played the song at campaign events until Orleans co-founder John Hall commented publicly that the campaign had never received permission to use the song. The campaign later dropped the song from its playlist. Hall expressed similar criticisms when John McCain used the song in his 2008 presidential campaign.
A remade version of the song has been used to promote Oklahoma City's Riverwind Casino throughout 2018-19.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions

Bill Anderson version

"Still the One" was notably recorded by American country singer-songwriter Bill Anderson. It was released as a single in 1977 via MCA Records and became a major hit the following year.
Anderson's version was recorded on December 13, 1976 in Nashville, Tennessee. The session was produced by Buddy Killen, who recently became Anderson's producer after many years of working with Owen Bradley. Killen would continue producing Anderson until his departure from MCA Records. "Still the One" was the only song recorded during this particular session.
"Still the One" was released as a single by MCA Records in October 1977. The song spent 12 weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Singles before reaching number 11 in June 1977. The single was among Anderson's final major hits as a recording artist in his career. His final top ten single would be released the following year. In Canada, the single also reached the top 20, reaching number 13 on the RPM Country Songs chart in 1977.
The song was among Anderson's final major hits as a recording artist. His final top ten hit would be released in 1978, followed by his final top 20 release in 1979. It was Anderson's second single that was a cover version of an original recording. His first was 1969's "But You Know I Love You," which reached the country top 10. It was first released on his 1977 studio album, Scorpio, which also included the major hit "Head to Toe."

7" vinyl single