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The 1981 entry was probably the least country song listed here, its title and the presence of George Jones notwithstanding
I’d say 2001′s entry is less country than 1981′s.
I’d go wth Razor on that.
If you were DJ’ing a party for a crowd of pop listeners who absolutely hate country music and you wanted to sneak one country record on there without having the crowd throw things at you and yell “Get this country crap off!,” I’d say Lonestar would be your best bet.
Great lineup of songs……up until the century changed.
To me Lonestar is “Rascal Flatts lite” which means that they suck just slightly less.
Many folks never realized that “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool” was not a “live” onstage recording. It was a studio recording with canned applause and an overdubbed guest vocal by George Jones. Though technically fabricated the final product is still a winner in my book and relatable to true country music fans who had to endure the dreadful Urban Cowboy era. I still laugh when I recall the cowboy hat & western shirt wearing posers who temporarily jumped on the country music bandwagon.
I read a few years ago that it was actually a studio recording. The reason given was they were already set to release a live album when they got this song, and knowing it would be a big hit, didn’t want to sit on it until the next studio release. So they recorded it “live in the studio” and then dubbed in the applause so it would match the rest of the live album.
Razor X:
Barbara Mandrell’s recording of the song in a Los Angeles studio and George Jones overdub session In Nashville were recorded during the early Spring (March/April) of 1981.
The single debuted in Billboard on May 9, 1981.
Barbara’s live album was recorded in the Roy Acuff Theatre at Opryland Park in Nashville on Sunday June 7, 1981. On that day Barbara’s single was already inside the Billboard top 20 well on it’s way to #1.
Perhaps MCA Records was anticipating the live album and added the audience effects to the studio single with the intent to include it on Barbara’s concert album. However the chronology doesn’t support the story that you quoted because the single sessions were recorded about two months before the live album.
The addition of George Jones’ to this recording was HUGE. George was in the midst of a major career comeback after “He Stopped Loving Her Today” became a major award-winner for him the previous year. The song would probably not have done as well without George’s contribution. By the way, Ernest Tubb was first considered to be the guest vocalist on that recording. However Barbara extended the invitation to a very willing George Jones after their chance encounter during a cross-country airplane flight.
You’re right. I re-checked my Billboard Book of #1 Country Hits, which I should have done in the first place instead of relying on my memory. I suppose they needed an advance single and thus couldn’t wait for the album to be recorded. Plus George Jones probably wouldn’t have been available to perform the song live in concert.
The biggest challenge would be getting George to show up at that concert in shape to perform his part. Sadly despite George’s newfound success and resurgent popularity he remained extremely erratic and undependable.