The Party's Over

"The Party's Over" is a song written and recorded by American country music singer Willie Nelson during the mid-1950s. After arriving in Houston, Texas, Nelson was hired to play for the Esquire Ballroom band, where he would be allowed to close the shows singing the song. Guitar instructor and Nelson's friend Paul Buskirk forwarded the song to singer Claude Gray, who recorded the original version of the song, released as "My Party's Over" in 1959. Nelson recorded the song himself in 1966, which was released as a single in February 1967. It reached number twenty-four on Billboard's Hot Country Singles, and it was included as the title track of Nelson's album. The song was later popularized by former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and Monday Night Football host Don Meredith, who often sang the first line of the song on the broadcasts when a team established an insurmountable lead. Background In 1956, Nelson moved from Fort Worth, Texas to Portland, Oregon. He soon found a job on KVAN, in Vancouver, Washington, hosting the show The Western Express. Nelson became a popular DJ, while he continued to make live performances. During this time he wrote "The Party's Over". When he moved to Houston, Texas, Nelson stopped by the Esquire Ballroom to sell his original songs to house band singer Larry Butler. Butler refused to purchase the songs, and instead signed Nelson to his band. Butler would at the end of the show let Nelson sing solo "The Party's Over" as a closer.