Remember When Patty Loveless and George Jones Released a Song Together in the 90s?

Patty Loveless didn’t do a lot of songs with other artists, which is what makes the ones she did stand out so much. In 1997, Loveless had a Top 20 single with “You Don’t Seem To Miss Me”, a song that features George Jones. “You Don’t Seem To Miss Me”, written by Jim Lauderdale, is on Long Stretch Of Lonesome, her ninth studio record.

“You Don’t Seem To Miss Me” says, “It’s a long way off from where I should be goin’ / And every time I hate to leave your side / But now when I return, there’s something missing / When I’m gone, you don’t seem to miss me.”

Loveless and Jones won a CMA Award for Vocal Event of the Year for “You Don’t Seem To Miss Me”. One year later, Loveless won again in the same category. That trophy was for her “My Kind Of Woman/My Kind Of Man” duet with Vince Gill.

In 2020, Josh Turner covered this song for his Country State Of Mind record. A compilation of some of his favorite cover songs, Runaway June sings with Turner on his version of this song.

The Story Behind “You Don’t Seem To Miss Me” by Patty Loveless and George Jones

Lauderdale, a prolific country music songwriter, wrote “You Don’t Seem To Miss Me” while in a desert out west.

“I wrote it out in the desert in a place called Pioneertown, up in Yucca Valley, California, out near Joshua Tree,” Lauderdale tells Songfacts. “And it’s a place where I really enjoy writing. That one was kind of a quick one, one time. Melodies will kind of come to me at odd times or at places; it could be anywhere. But it’s nice to have an environment you feel comfortable in.”

In a separate interview, Lauderdale recalls the conversation that led to him writing “You Don’t Seem To Miss Me”.

“I was out in the desert in California,” Lauderdale tells Taste of Country. “And I was talking to my friend, Victoria Williams. In our conversation, something similar to that title came up.”

Lauderdale originally thought he would write “You Don’t Seem To Miss Me” with Williams, a collaboration that never happened.

“I proposed that idea to her that we write that song,” he recalls. “But we didn’t get around to it, so I thought I’d do it on my own.”

Lauderdale also released music as a singer-songwriter. He originally wrote “You Don’t Seem To Miss Me” for himself. But Loveless and her husband Emory Gordy, who also produced her records, heard the song and convinced him to let Loveless record it instead.

Photo by Paul Natkin/WireImage

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