Released September 1, 1993 Recorded 1992-1993 Length 3:47 | Format CD single Genre Country | |
B-side "I Would Have Loved You All Night Long" | ||
"I Don't Call Him Daddy" is a song written by Reed Nielsen. It was initially recorded by Kenny Rogers on his 1987 album I Prefer the Moonlight, and was released in September 1993 by Doug Supernaw as the third single from his debut album Red and Rio Grande. Supernaw's version was his only Number One hit, reaching its peak in December 1993.
Contents
Content
"I Don't Call Him Daddy" takes the point of view of a divorced father whose ex-wife now has a live-in boyfriend. In the first verse, the divorced father phones his son, who tells him that he cannot accept his mother's new boyfriend, because the boyfriend cannot "be like" the son's true father.
Recording history
The first version of the song was recorded by Kenny Rogers on his 1987 album I Prefer the Moonlight. Released in 1988 in support of the "Greatest Hits" album, [5] it peaked at #86 on the Billboard country singles charts that year. Doug Supernaw covered it in 1993 on his debut album Red and Rio Grande, and issued it late that year as his third single. It was his second Top 40 country hit, and his only Number One.
Reception
In his book Country Music: A Biographical Dictionary, author Richard Carlin describes Supernaw's version of the song as "raising the ire of stepfathers everywhere" because the son does not accept his stepfather. Michael McCall, reviewing Red and Rio Grande for Allmusic, called it an "anthem for divorced fathers."