The Story Behind The Song: “What A Man My Man Is”

(written by Glenn Sutton)

Lynn Anderson (#1, 1974)

 

 “What A Man My Man Is” carried a familiar theme for Lynn Anderson since one of her earlier hits, “You’re My Man,” also celebrated a successful marital relationship. Both tunes were penned by her then-husband Glenn Sutton, who also served as her producer.
“It was the exact same thing,” acknowledged Lynn. “It’s Glenn writing a song for me to sing about Glenn! It sounds kind of egotistical when you put it like that, but I felt that way about him then and I didn’t mind performing a song that was singing his praises.”

Although the song might have summed up their relationship at the time, Sutton said he had other thoughts in mind when he first composed “What A Man My Man Is.” He initially wrote it for the Lennon Sisters, of all people! Glenn flew to Las Vegas to meet with them. He had an arrangement all worked out. The ladies liked the song and agreed to record it. Then their recording deal with Atlantic Records fell through, so Sutton decided to record the tune with Lynn.

“What A Man My Man Is” turned out to be Anderson’s last of her five Billboard #1 singles. It closed out 1974 by reaching the summit of Billboard’s country chart on December 28th, but then the hit supply dried up and it was five years before Lynn reached the Top Ten again with “Isn’t It Always Love,” marking the end of her long string of hits for Columbia.

In the meantime, Anderson’s personal life took precedence over her career. She divorced Sutton in 1977 and married oilman Harold “Spook” Stream the following year. She briefly retired from music to look after her children (one by Sutton, two by Stream) but divorced Stream in 1981.

 

Finally in 1983 Lynn returned to the music business once again with her album, “Back,” on Permian Records. She insisted that her biggest problem regarding the comeback was credibility. Columbia had put a lot of effort (time and expense) into building her career, only to have her walk away from it. Anderson rightfully understood the hesitation that companies were having with the idea of re-establishing her name.

 

Lynn did net a final Top Ten single in 1984 in a duet with Gary Morris called “You’re Welcome To Tonight,” but Permian folded and MCA ended up with Anderson’s contract. Promotion there was non-existent, however, and after a short tenure with Mercury Records, her name disappeared from the music charts, although she continued recording for many years afterward.