42 Years Ago Today, Jerry Reed Hit No. 1 for the Final Time With a Scathing Divorce Satire Penned by a Future Nashville Executive
Jerry Reed’s “She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)” reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart on 20 September 1982, marking his final chart-topping single. The witty but bitter song portrays a divorce in which the husband works multiple shifts and survives on baloney while his former wife lives comfortably on alimony, blending comedy with genuine financial and emotional pain.
Future Arista Records executive Tim DuBois wrote the song after hearing a divorcing friend describe his marriage as a goldmine, though the idea remained unused for years. Reed recorded it as the third single from *The Man with the Golden Thumb*, reviving a country career that had been overshadowed by his acting work; the song earned a Grammy nomination but lost to Willie Nelson’s “Always On My Mind”.
- Jerry Reed’s final number-one country hit arrived in 1982.
- The song satirised an acrimonious, financially damaging divorce.
- Tim DuBois later became a major Nashville music executive.