{{Short description|1949 song by Floyd Tillman}} {{Infobox song | name = Slippin' Around | cover = | alt = | type = single | artist = Floyd Tillman | album = | B-side = | released = 1949 | format = | recorded = | studio = | venue = | genre = Country | length = | label = Columbia | writer = Floyd Tillman | producer = }} "'''Slippin' Around'''" is a country music song written by Floyd Tillman. Tillman's original recording was released in 1949 and reached No. 5 on the ''Billboard'' folk best sellers chart. Two cover versions of the song, one by Ernest Tubb and the other by Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely, reached No. 1 on the folk best sellers or juke box charts. The Whiting-Wakey version spent 17 weeks at No. 1.<ref>{{cite book |title= The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006 |edition=Second |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=54}}</ref> The song became a country music standard that was recorded by numerous artists.
==Tillman's composition and recordings== Tillman's original version of the song was released in 1949 on the Columbia label. It peaked at No. 5 on the ''Billboard'' country best sllers chart and No. 6 on both the disc jockey and jukebox charts.<ref name=p324>Whitburn, p. 324.</ref>
Tillman's lyrics tell of a secret love in which th singer always had to "slip around" to be with his lover, in constant fear that they would be discovered. Both of them were committed to others, but he was so in love with her that he hoped someday to find a way to be with her without having to slip around.<ref>{{cite web|author=Gilliland, John |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1633226/m1/#track/3 |title=Pop Chronicles 1940s Program #23 - All Tracks |website=UNT Digital Library |date=197X |accessdate=March 1, 2021}}</ref>
Tillman also wrote a follow-up song, also released in 1949, "I'll Never Slip Around Again".
==Whiting-Wakely version== {{Infobox song | name = Slippin' Around | cover = | alt = | type = single | artist = Margaret Whiting, Jimmy Wakely | album = | B-side = | released = 1949 | format = | recorded = | studio = | venue = | genre = Country | length = | label = Capitol | writer = Floyd Tillman | producer = }} A cover version of '''Slippin' Around''' was recorded in 1949 by Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely. It was released on Capitol Records and spent 28 weeks on the ''Billboard'' folk best sellers chart, including 17 weeks as the chart's No. 1 record.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits|author=Joel Whitburn|publisher=Billboard Books|year=1996|page=340|isbn=}}</ref> The Whiting-Wakely also ranked No. 4 at year end on the Billboard Top Folk Records of 1949.<ref name=list>{{cite news|title=The Year's Top Folk Songs|newspaper=The Billboard|date=January 14, 1950|page=18|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9vUDAAAAMBAJ&dq=billboard+throwing+rice+castle+wedding+candy+kisses+bouquet+foley&pg=PT16}}</ref> {{-}}
==Ernest Tubb version== {{Infobox song | name = Slippin' Around | cover = | alt = | type = single | artist = Ernest Tubb | album = | B-side = | released = 1949 | format = | recorded = | studio = | venue = | genre = Country | length = | label = Decca | writer = Floyd Tillman | producer = }} Another cover version by Ernest Tubb was released on the Decca label in 1949. It reached No. 1 on the folk juke box chart, No. 4 on the folk best sellers chart, and spent 20 weeks on the chart.<ref>Whitburn, p. 329.</ref> {{-}}
==Other cover versions== The song has been covered by numerous other artists. A cover version by Texas Jim Robertson reached No. 13 on the folk best sellers chart in 1950.<ref>Whitburn, p. 273.</ref> A later cover version by George Morgan and Marion Worth reached No. 23 on the ''Billboard'' country chart in 1964.<ref>Whitburn, p. 368.</ref> Other notable cover versions include: *Doris Day *Dave Dudley *Jerry Lee Lewis *Benny Martin *Sammy Masters *Ray Price *Kai Winding *Perry Como (as "Bumming Around") *Betty Johnson *Joe South *Mack Abernathy (1988)
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-bef|before = "Why Don't You Haul Off and Love Me" by Wayne Raney}} {{s-ttl|title = Best Selling Retail Folk (Country & Western) Records<br>number one single by Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely|years = October 8, 1949 - January 14, 1950<br>(17 weeks)}} {{s-aft|after = "Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy" by Red Foley}} {{s-end}}
{{Floyd Tillman}} {{Margaret Whiting}} {{Ernest Tubb}} {{Authority control}}
Category:1949 songs Category:Margaret Whiting songs Category:Jimmy Wakely songs Category:Ernest Tubb songs Category:Floyd Tillman songs Category:Marion Worth songs Category:George Morgan (singer) songs Category:Roy Drusky songs Category:Priscilla Mitchell songs Category:Songs about infidelity