Melodyland
Songwriter Bobby David penned "Devil in the Bottle," which tells the tale of a man giving in to alcohol, even as it harms his wife. With lines such as
"And she knows the hell I'm going through / In this world inside my head / There's a devil in the bottle / And he wants to see me dead," the song set a precedent for Sheppard for recording songs with substance and a message.
Sheppard followed up "Devil in the Bottle" with "Tryin' to Beat the Morning Home," which also went straight to No. 1; he then released 11 Top 20 singles before reaching the top spot on the chart again, with "Last Cheater's Waltz," in 1979.