"One Day at a Time" is a popular country and western-style Christian song written by Marijohn Wilkin and Kris Kristofferson. It has been recorded by over 200 artists and has reached No. 1 in several territories. Scottish singer Lena Martell had a UK Singles Chart number one with her version in 1979.
The song was first recorded by American country singer Marilyn Sellars in 1974.[1] This version became a US top 40 hit and top 20 hit on the Country charts. Following this, it won the 1975 Gospel Music Association (GMA) Dove Awards for best song.[2]
"One Day at a Time" was recorded by Gloria who released it as a single in August 1977. The song originally peaked at No.5 in the Irish singles charts, before being re-released a year later. From here it peaked at No.1 (over a year after it had entered the chart) and remained on the charts throughout the whole of 1979 and into 1980, eventually spending a total of 90 weeks in the Irish top 30 - the longest run by any song in Irish Chart history.[3]
Scottish singer Lena Martell recorded the song for the UK market in 1977. The song failed to chart in its first release, but a re-release two years later became a big success and reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in October 1979 for three weeks,[4] and No. 27 in Ireland.[5]
"One Day at a Time" became best known among country fans when recorded by American country gospel singer Cristy Lane. Lane had started enjoying mainstream success in the late 1970s through the release of several secular hits, including "Let Me Down Easy" and "Simple Little Words." In 1979, Lane recorded the song after it became a No. 1 hit in the United Kingdom by Lena Martell. At first, United Artists Records balked at releasing the song, despite its previous track record of success, but Lane's husband-manager, Lee Stoller, predicted the song would be successful, and UA relented. The song was released in the late winter of 1980, and by the end of the spring, the song was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.[6]
"One Day at a Time" was Lane's only No. 1 hit. For Kristofferson, the song was his sixth No. 1 as a songwriter and first in six years (his last being 1974's "Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends" by Ronnie Milsap).
The song went on to be recorded by many artists, including the Alexander Brothers, Judy Collins, Phil Coulter, Floyd Cramer, Carlene Davis, Florida Boys, Roger Whittaker, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Foster and Allen, Bill Gaither, Lynda Randle, Ivan Parker, Don Gibson, Arthur Greenslade, Lee Greenwood, Roy Drusky, George Hamilton IV, Lulu Roman, and Brotherhood of Man.
The Quebec country singer André Breton recorded the French version "Un jour à la fois".[9] Paulino Bernal and Ricardo Mejia were the first to record the song in Spanish titled "Un dia a la vez" from the album Misioneros De Cristo. The Welsh folk singer Trebor Edwards released a Welsh-language version "Un Dydd Ar Y Tro" in 1980 with the words translated by Margaret Edwards. It was included on his album of the same name and a single was released in 1981.[10]