Roy Clark – Come Live with Me

“Come Live with Me” is a country song recorded by Roy Clark and released as a single in early 1973. The track served as the title song for Clark’s album of the same name and became one of the most commercially prominent recordings of his career. Issued on Dot Records, the single arrived at a moment when Clark’s profile combined musical virtuosity and broad popular visibility, and it quickly became a defining entry among his recorded works.

Roy Clark had by then established a dual reputation as both an instrumentalist and a television performer, known to wide audiences through appearances on variety programs and the country-comedy series Hee Haw. That public presence helped his records reach listeners beyond traditional country audiences. For “Come Live with Me,” Clark selected material by established writers and recorded it in a straightforward production style intended to emphasize vocal warmth and melodic clarity.

Musically, the recording is presented as a midtempo country ballad with modest, supportive arrangement. Acoustic and electric guitars form the primary texture, supported by steady rhythmic backing and occasional melodic fills; the production keeps ornamentation to a minimum so the vocal line and the song’s romantic premise remain central. Clark’s delivery is warm and direct, using his characteristic phrasing to convey the song’s invitation without excessive embellishment.

Lyrically, “Come Live with Me” is a direct romantic appeal. The narrator extends a simple invitation to domestic partnership and shared daily life, phrasing the idea as a practical, immediate offer rather than a highly romanticized gesture. The plainspoken wording and repeated refrain make the song easy for listeners to follow and sing along with, which contributed to its radio friendliness and appeal across a range of adult-oriented playlists.

Commercially, the single achieved strong success on country radio. It reached the top position on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, becoming a number-one country hit for Roy Clark. The record also registered crossover airplay and appeared on broader national charts, including placements on adult contemporary playlists and lower regions of the pop singles listings, reflecting its accessibility to audiences beyond strictly country formats.

The single was supported by an album campaign that placed the song at the center of the record’s promotional cycle. The album collected other tracks recorded in the same sessions and benefited from Clark’s ongoing visibility through television and live appearances. Subsequent reissues and greatest-hits compilations have kept the recording available to new listeners and have maintained its presence in retrospective accounts of Clark’s career.

Today “Come Live with Me” is commonly cited as one of Roy Clark’s signature commercial achievements: a number-one country single that also demonstrated his ability to reach adult-contemporary audiences. The song remains part of his standard compilation packages and streaming catalogs and is often referenced when summarizing Clark’s mid-career balance of instrumental skill, television fame, and effective, audience-friendly song choices.