"Mommy, Can I Still Call Him Daddy"
Single by Dottie West
from the album Suffer Time
B-side"Suffertime"
ReleasedJuly 1966 (1966-07)
RecordedFebruary 10, 1966
StudioRCA Victor Studio
Genre
Length2:56
LabelRCA Victor
Songwriter(s)
  • Bill West
  • Dottie West
Producer(s)Chet Atkins
Dottie West singles chronology
"Would You Hold It Against Me"
(1966)		 "Mommy, Can I Still Call Him Daddy"
(1966)		 "What's Come Over My Baby"
(1966)

"Mommy, Can I Still Call Him Daddy" is a song originally written and recorded by American country artist Dottie West. Released as a single in 1966, it became a top 40 chart single on the US country music chart. It was also issued as the third single from West's 1966 studio album Suffer Time. The song featured West's son Dale singing on the chorus.

Background and recording

Dottie West broke through as a recording artist for the first time in 1964 with the single "Here Comes My Baby". Over the next ten years, West established herself as a Nashville Sound country artist known for her emotional delivery of material. A series of singles were issued during this period, some of which reached the top ten like "Would You Hold It Against Me" (1966) and "Paper Mansions" (1968).[2] Other singles included 1966's "Mommy, Can I Still Call Him Daddy", which was co-written by Dottie West and husband Bill West.[3]

The track shows how a divorce is played out through a child's observations.[4] The song was recorded on February 10, 1966 at RCA Victor Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. The session was produced by Chet Atkins. The recording featured West's son Dale, who was a young child at the time.[3] When reviewing West's Suffer Time LP, AllMusic's Greg Adams theorized that Atkins had a "tough time" recording the track because it sounds as if there are overdubs on the song.[4]

Release, chart performance and critical reception

"Mommy, Can I Still Call Him Daddy" was released as a single by RCA Victor in July 1966. It was backed on the B-side by the song "Suffertime". It was distributed as a seven-inch vinyl record.[3] The song was the third single issued from West's 1966 album Suffer Time.[5] Cashbox magazine called the single "a heart-jugging bluser" as well as a "tear-jerking stanza".[6] In later years, AllMusic's Greg Adams drew a similar comparison, commenting that it "could certainly drive its listeners to jump off a bridge. The wretched warbling of West's four-year-old son, Dale, renders nearly unbearable this maudlin tale of divorce as seen through the eyes of a child."[4] Upon its original release, "Mommy, Can I Still Call Him Daddy" debuted on the US Hot Country Songs chart on August 13, 1966. Spending a total of ten weeks there, it reached the number 24 position on October 1, 1966.[7]

Track listing

7 inch vinyl single[3]

  • "Mommy, Can I Still Call Him Daddy" – 2:56
  • "Suffertime" – 2:22

Chart performance

Chart (1966) Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[8] 24

References

  1. 1 2 ""Mommy Can I Still Call Him Daddy" by Dottie West: Track info". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  2. ↑ Ankeny, Jason. "Dottie West Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 West, Dottie (July 1966). ""Mommy, Can I Still Call Him Daddy"/"Suffertime" (7" vinyl single)". RCA Victor. 47-8900.
  4. 1 2 3 Adams, Greg. "Suffer Time: Dottie West: Songs, reviews, credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  5. ↑ West, Dottie (July 1966). "Suffer Time (Liner Notes and Album Information)". RCA Victor. LSP-3587.
  6. ↑ "Country Reviews" (PDF). Cashbox. July 23, 1966. p. 44. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  7. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  8. ↑ "Dottie West Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
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