“Just When I Needed You” is a country and bluegrass heartbreak song credited to Clyde Baum, Jack Anglin, and Johnny Wright. It was introduced on record in 1949 by Johnnie and Jack — the duo of Johnnie Wright and Jack Anglin — with their band the Tennessee Mountain Boys.
The lyric works a theme of bitter timing: a love that failed at the worst possible moment, leaving the singer abandoned just when support was needed most. That sense of betrayal in a moment of weakness gave the song its sting.
The song settled into the bluegrass repertoire and was revived by the Bluegrass Album Band, the all-star group whose recordings of traditional standards reintroduced many such songs to younger players.
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