Watching Scotty Grow

"Watching Scotty Grow" is a song written by country music singer-songwriter Mac Davis. Although featured on Davis' 1972 album I Believe in Music, a more famous version of the song was performed by Bobby Goldsboro in 1970 and included on Goldsboro's album We Gotta Start Lovin. Goldsboro had many pop music hit singles in the mid to late 1960s, including his chart-topping song, "Honey", in 1968. By the early 1970s, he had begun to achieve success on the country chart as well. According to Goldsboro, he met music producer Jerry Fuller one day in Los Angeles, and Fuller encouraged him to meet one of his associates in the music business, Mac Davis. When the two met, one of Davis' songs that stood out to Goldsboro was "Watching Scotty Grow", which Davis had written about his eldest son.[1] Goldsboro decided to record the song, but an executive with United Artists Records questioned the potential of releasing it as a single, stating that "I just don't think anyone will buy a record from a father to a son." After the release of Goldsboro's album We Gotta Start Lovin in late 1970, "Watching Scotty Grow" began to receive attention from radio stations in the United States. Goldsboro stated: "They put it out and within two weeks, it was being played like a single."[1] The record label quickly issued a 45rpm, and the song began ascending American record charts during the Christmas shopping season. It reached the top of the Billboard Easy Listening chart on January 9, 1971, where it remained for six weeks.[1] The song also peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February of that year[2] and climbed to the top ten on the Billboard country music chart as well. The song was Goldsboro's tenth top 40 hit on the U.S. pop chart.