April Fools Songs Top 15: Statue of a Fool (#11)

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Now the NCAAs are over (I’m really sorry Gonzaga didn’t win, but I didn’t have a horse in that race, so congrats to the Baylor Bears) we can focus on the important things in life: BASEBALL!!!!! Oh, and another song with “fool” in the title, in honor of April Fools Day. Country music warning! #11: Statue of a Fool - Jack Greene As I frequently say, I don’t do these countdowns just to amuse myself. I also get an education out of them! This was one of the big hits of 1969, and the second-biggest hit in Jack Greene’s career (behind the CMA award-winning “There Goes My Everything”). To this day, after the song was a hit for Greene in 1969 and Ricky Van Shelton in the 1990s, Jan Crutchfield (who was a good songwriter) is listed as the song’s writer. However, it is claimed by some that Temptations member David Ruffin wrote and recorded the song in 1958, when he was 17 years old. I can find no photo or recording of Ruffin’s version (under the pseudonym “Little Eddie Bush”) from 1958. Ruffin recorded the song in 1975, after he left the Temptations for a solo career, and put his name on the album as the song’s writer. BMI, the songwriting licensing agency, has Crutchfield listed and the writer, and pays royalties to his estate. As both Crutchfield and Ruffin are deceased (Crutchfield in 2006, Ruffin in 1990), the world will never know the truth behind the origins of this classic hit. Statue of a Fool Written by Jan Crutchfield Recorded by Jack Greene From Statue of a Fool, 1969 A gold tear should be placed: