Favorite country songs of the 1980s, Part 2

The 1980s were a mixed bag, with the early 1980s producing some of the lamest country music ever recorded, as the Urban Cowboy movie wreaked havoc on the genre. Fortunately, there was still good country music being released. The first flowering of the late 1980s “New Traditionalist” movement arrived in 1981 with the first hits of Ricky Skaggs and George Strait, but they remained outliers until 1986 as far as good new artists were concerned. The latter part of the decade, however, produced some truly excellent country music with the 1986 arrival of Randy Travis and company.

This list is meant neither to be a comprehensive list of great country songs from the 1980s, nor any sort of ranking of records. It’s just a list of some songs that I liked and remember. See if you recall any of these records.

“Walk On By“– Donna Fargo
A nice cover of the 1961 Leroy Van Dyke hit, by the time this record was released Donna had already pulled back on her career due to being stricken with Multiple Sclerosis in 1979. Released in March 1980, the song reached #43. Donna is still alive and you can find out more about her at her website www.donnafargo.com

“Crying Over You” – Rosie Flores
Rosie’s never had much chart success but this self-proclaimed ‘Rockabilly Filly’ is a popular concert draw and a dynamic live performer. This song was her career chart highwater reaching #51 in 1987.

“Just In Case ”  – The Forester Sisters
Katie, Kim, June and Christie had a five year run of top ten hits from 1985 through 1989 with fourteen straight top ten records, including this song, their second of five number one records . Released in 1985, this topped the charts in early 1986.

“Crazy Over You”– Foster & Lloyd
Songwriters Radney Foster and Bill Lloyd joined forces as a duo in 1987. This was their first and biggest chart record reaching #4 in the summer of 1987.

“Always Have, Always Will” – Janie Frickie (or Janie Fricke)
This 1986 #1 was her ninth (and last) #1 record. This bluesy number was an excellent record coming after a long string of successful but insubstantial fluff. A former session singer, Janie’s career hit high gear during the 1980s, a decade which saw her tally 26 chart records with 17 top ten records and eight #1s.

“Beer Joint Fever” – Allen Frizzell
A younger brother of both Lefty and David Frizzell, Allen today writes and sings predominantly Christian music, although he will perform a Lefty Frizzell tribute (omitting Lefty’s rowdier songs). This song charted in 1981 – the follow up was titled “She’s Livin’ It Up (and I’m Drinkin’ ‘Em Down)”, neither of them songs Allen would dream of performing today.

“I’m Gonna Hire A Wino To Decorate Our Home” – David Frizzell
The early 1980s were David Frizzell’s commercial peak, both as a solo artist and as part of a duet with Shelly West. This unforgettable 1982 novelty was David’s sole #1 record, although my personal David Frizzell favorites were the follow up “Lost My Baby Blues” and his 1999 recording of “Murder On Music Row”.

“You’re The Reason God Made Oklahoma” – David Frizzell & Shelly West
A huge record, this song came from the Clint Eastwood film Any Which Way You Can and topped the charts in early 1981

“Houston (Means I’m One Day Closer To You)” – Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers

After a dominant streak from 1975 in which seven songs reached #1 on one or more of the major charts, Larry and his brothers hit a rough patch in which their singles charted, but few reached the top ten. Finally in late 1983 this song reached #1, and kicked off a brief resurgence fueled by a large infusion of western swing. The two records that followed this record (“Denver” and “The Lady Takes The Cowboy Every Time”) would have made Bob Wills proud.

“You and I” – Crystal Gayle & Eddie Rabbitt
Crytal Gayle had a run of thirty-four top ten records that ran from 1974 to 1987. I’m not that big a Crystal Gayle fan but I really liked her 1982 duet with Eddie Rabbitt which reached #1 country / #7 pop.

“Somebody’s Knocking” – Terri Gibbs
Released in 1980, this song peaked at #8 (#13 pop / #3 AC) in early 1989. Blind since birth, Terri really wasn’t a country singer and soon headed to gospel music . This was her biggest hit, one of four top twenty records.

“Sweet Sensuous Sensations” – Don Gibson
Not a big hit, this was Don’s next-to-last chart record, reaching a peak of #42 in April 1980. Don’s chart career ran from 1956-1981. His influence as a songwriter is still felt today.

“Oklahoma Borderline” – Vince Gill
It took Vince a while for his solo career to take off after leaving Pure Prairie League. This song reached #9 in early 1986 and was his second top ten recording. The really big hits would start in 1990 with “When I Call Your Name”.

“A Headache Tomorrow (Or A Heartache Tonight)” – Mickey Gilley
Mickey Gilley was a second cousin to Jerry Lee Lewis and Jimmy Swaggart as his piano playing amply demonstrates. This song reached #1 in 1981. Mickey’s long string of hits consisted of some original material (such as this song and “Doo-Wah Days”) and some covers of pop hits such as his next record “You Don’t Know Me” (a cover of a Ray Charles hit covering an Eddy Arnold hit) and prior hits “True Love Ways” and “Stand By Me”.

“White Freight Liner Blues” – Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Jimmie Dale Gilmore looks like a renegade hippie from the sixties and sounds like one of my honky-tonk specialist from the fifties. He’s never had much chart success (this song reached # 72 in 1988) but his albums are terrific and his vocals solid country through and through. Probably the most underrated performer of my generation.

“If I Could Only Dance With You” – Jim Glaser
A part of the famous trio Tompall and The Glaser Brothers, Jim’s voice was midway in range between brothers Chuck and Tompall with significant overlap on both ends.  Also, Jim was part of the vocal trio on Marty Robbin’s classic hit “El Paso” and wrote the pop hit “Woman, Woman” (#4 pop hit for Gary Puckett and The Union Gap).  Jim released a number of chart records under his own name form 1968-1977, but his real success began after Tompall & The Glaser Brothers split up (again) in 1982 and Jim signed with Noble Vision Records. After the first three records for Noble Vision went top thirty, this 1984 single reached #10. The follow up “You’re Getting To Me Again” went to #1 but then Noble Vision started having financial problems. Jim would subsequently sign with MCA in 1985 but the momentum had been lost (not to mention that by then Jim was already 47 years old).

“Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again)” – Tompall & The Glaser Brothers
Tompall and The Glaser Brothers were one of the most impressive live singing groups to ever take the stage. Unfortunately, their stage show did not translate into recording success. The group was together from 1959 until about 1974, recording many fine records but only one top ten hit in “Rings” which reached Record World’s #1 slot in 1971. The group briefly reunited in 1980 and had their career record with this Kris Kristofferson song which reached #2 Billboard / #1 Cashbox in 1980.

“Today My World Slipped Away” – Vern Gosdin
Recorded for the small AMI label, this gem reached #10 in early 1983, just as AMI was going down the toilet. It’s hard for me to pick out just one favorite Vern Gosdin song, but this one would be in my top three. From here Vern would go to another small label Compleat where he would have his biggest hit in 1987’s “I Can Tell By The Way You Dance (You’re Gonna Love Me Tonight”).

“Diamonds In The Dust”- Mark Gray
Mark Gray and Vince Gill were the two young male singers most highly touted to make it big in the early 1980s. Both were associated with bands that had some success (Mark was a member of Exile for a few years, Vince a member of Pure Prairie League). Then Nashville took a traditionalist turn leaving Gray, not as versatile a performer as Vince Gill, stranded. Still, Gray almost made it. This song was Gray’s third top ten record, reaching #9 in late 1984. The follow up “Sometimes When We Touch”, a nice duet with Tammy Wynette reached #6. Then came the Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakam, et al floodwaters of 1986.

“When A Man Loves A Woman” – Jack Grayson
Nice 1981 cover of a #1 pop hit for Percy Sledge in 1966. This song peaked at #18 in early 1982. This was Grayson’s only top twenty recording out of thirteen charted records.

“The Jukebox Never Plays Home Sweet Home” – Jack Greene
This 1983 single barely cracked the top 100 for Jack but it was a pretty good recording that probably would have been a big hit had Jack recorded it a dozen years earlier. This was Jack’s thirty-third chart record. He would have three more before fading off the charts for good. His 1966 single was #1 for seven weeks in 1966-1967 and was the CMA Single of The Year in 1967. Jack also took home the Male Vocalist honors for 1967. Jack is now 82 years old and still performs, but mostly on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry.

“I.O.U.”– Lee Greenwood
This single reached #6 in 1983, his fourth consecutive top ten single, and still my favorite Lee Greenwood song. Lee was the first artist to record “Wind Beneath My Wings” and had it planned as the second single from the I.O.U album. Gary Morris dashed into the studio and got his version recorded and released before “I.O.U.” finished its chart run. Lee’ version was better (and better than the pop version that came out in 1989).

“Lone Star State of Mind” – Nanci Griffith
Nanci is a fine songwriter/poet having written many fine songs. As a singer, she’s not much. This song reached #36 in 1987, her biggest chart hit of the 1980s. She did a nice recording of “Love At The Five & Dime”, but even that song was better in a cover version, as recorded by Kathy Mattea.

“Still The Same” – Bonnie Guitar
Nine years after her last chart entry and twenty years after her last top forty recording , country music’s ‘Renaissance Woman’ snuck onto the charts in 1989 with a nice version of a Bob Dylan song.

“Trains Make Me Lonesome”– Marty Haggard
Marty’s career almost ended before it started when he picked up a hitch hiker who shot him and left him for dead. A long recovery followed with an extended period of recovery. This song reached #57 in 1988 for the soon to be defunct MTM label. Written by Paul Overstreet and Thom Schuyler, this song was recorded by a number of artists including George Strait on his 1992 album Holding My Own. Marty’s version is better and would have been a big hit had it been released in 1958 rather than 1988.

“A Better Love Next Time – Merle Haggard
This was Merle’s 100th chart single reaching #4 in 1989. What else is there to say?

“Song of The South” – Tom T. Hall & Earl Scruggs
Tom T. Hall’s days as a hit maker were largely over by 1982 and Earl Scruggs never was a hit maker – he was of far greater importance than that. These two music masters combined for a wonderful album titled The Storyteller and The Banjo Man in 1982 from which emerged this single. Alabama would have a big hit with this song a few years later but the Alabama version lacks the personality and charm of this rendition.

“She Says” – George Hamilton V
The only chart record for the son of George Hamilton IV, this tune reached #75 in early 1988.

“There’s Still A Lot of Love In San Antone” – Connie Hanson with Darrell McCall
A cover of Darrell’s 1974 hit, this version peaked at # 64 in early 1983.

“After The Last Goodbye ” – Gus Hardin
This 1983 recording was the only solo top ten for the smoky voiced Ms. Hardin. A longtime favorite in Tulsa, Gus broke through with a major label contract (RCA) and charted eight solo singles and two duets. Released in 1984, her duet with Earl Thomas Conley “All Tangled Up In Love” peaked at #8 in early 1985. Her 1985 duet with David Loggins “Just As Long As I Have You” reached #72.

“I’m Moving On ” – Emmylou Harris
Emmylou had 26 top ten recordings between 1975 and 1988. This 1983 live cover of Hank Snow’s 1950 hit (in fact, the biggest chart hit in the history of country music) reached #5. During the 1980s, most of Emmylou’s best recordings were duets – “That Loving You Feelin’ Again” (with Roy Orbison) and “If I Needed You” (with Don Williams) come readily to mind, but there were more.

“Sure Thing” – Freddie Hart
After a hugely successful first half of the 1970s, Freddie hits got progressively smaller. By 1979 Freddie had been dropped by Capitol and signed by Sunbird, the same label that launched Earl Thomas Conley. The label failed to re-launch Freddie’s career but did provide a few good recordings, including this song, which reached #15 in 1980 and would prove to be Freddie’s last top twenty hit.

“Key Largo” – Bertie Higgins
Just when it seemed that the ‘Gulf & Western’ subgenre had been strip mined of hits by Jimmy Buffett, along comes this nostalgic hit which became a #8 pop hit in 1982 (topped out at #50 on the country chart).

“Whiskey, If You Were A Woman” – Highway 101
Highway 101 exploded onto the country music scene in January 1987 running off a string of ten consecutive top tens through early 1990. This one is my personal favorite with Paulette Carlson’s voice seemingly tailor made for the song, which reached #2 in 1987. Typical story – Carlson left the band in late 1990 seeking solo stardom and the band never recovered its momentum (plus Carlson did not succeed as a solo act). I was torn between this song and one of the group’s #1 hits “Somewhere Tonight”.

“Jones On The Jukebox” – Becky Hobbs
The inability of the Hobbs to break through at radio has always bugged me. Other than a duet with Moe Bandy (“Let’s Get Over Them Together” – #10 in 1983), Ms Hobbs was unable to break the top thirty. The closest she got was this song, which peaked at #31 in 1988.

“Texas Ida Red” – David Houston
David’s 60th (and next to last) chart record, this recording peaked at #69 on the small Excelsior label in 1981. This was a pretty good western swing record. Houston would have one more chart record in 1989. His 1966 hit “Almost Persuaded” was (according to Billboard) the biggest chart record of the last fifty years, spending nine weeks at #1.

“All American Redneck” – Randy Howard
#84 in 1983 – what more need I say.

“Til You And Your Lover Are Lovers Again” – Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert is one of the truly great vocalists of my generation. His greatest decade was the 1960s when he made international huge pop hits out of country classics such as “Release Me”, “There Goes My Everything” and “Am I That Easy To Forget” as well as covering other country songs on his albums. This song peaked at #39 in 1983.

“Oh Girl” – Con Hunley
This cover of a Chi-Lites hit from 1972 reached #12 in 1982 and featured the Oak Ridge Boys on backing vocals. Con’s voice was too smoky and too distinctive to have achieved much success during the early 1980s but this was a fine recording, even if not very country. Con’s biggest hit came the year before when “What’s New With You” peaked at #11.

“Talk To Me Loneliness” – Cindy Hurt
This song reached #35 in 1982. Her biggest hit was “Don’t Come Knocking” which topped out at #28 earlier in the year. Cindy charted seven records between 1981 and 1983, then disappeared.

Country Heritage: Freddie Hart

If asked in 1969, a casual country music fan likely would have been unable to identify Freddie Hart. A more knowledgeable county music fan might have identified him as a good journeyman country singer, one who had made a lot of solid country recordings without ever scoring a major hit.

In 1969, “journeyman” would have been an extremely accurate description as Hart had been knocking about Nashville for nearly 20 years, chalking up some hits as a songwriter and charting a few records himself here and there on various labels without ever achieving sustained success. During that period he recorded for Capitol, Columbia, Monument and Kapp.

Born in Loachapoka, Alabama – an early Christmas present to his parents on December 21, 1926 – Fred Segrest arrived in a world of near poverty, one of 15 children from a poor sharecropper’s family that struggled to make ends meet. While money was in short supply, however, a love of music, particularly country music ran deep in the Segrest family. Hart began playing guitar at the age of five, and joined the Civilian Conservation Corps at 12. At just 14 years of age he managed to enlist in the Marines and fought in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II, which included action at Guam and Iwo Jima. While in the military, he earned black belts in judo and jujitsu, and made his first public appearances singing at officers clubs.

After leaving the military in 1946, Hart pursued a career in country music, both as a performer and as a songwriter. In 1948, he had the opportunity to meet Hank Williams, who apparently taught him something about songwriting. As Hart himself puts it, “I try to put down in my songs what every man wants to say, and what every woman wants to hear.” One of his songs, “Every Little Thing Rolled Into One,” was recorded by George Morgan during this period.

In 1951, Hart joined Lefty Frizzell’s band. By this time Freddie Segrest had adopted the name Freddie Hart. With the help of Frizzell and Wayne Raney, he was signed to Capitol Records in 1953. At an early Capitol session he recorded a song he had written titled “Loose Talk.” While Freddie did not score a big hit with the record, Carl Smith, one of the three or four biggest stars of the time, covered the song, taking it to #1.

Hart moved to Columbia Records in 1956 and appeared regularly on the Town Hall Party, a Los Angeles television program with Lefty Frizzell, Johnny Bond, and other country stars. Unfortunately, his records did not sell especially well for Columbia, either, although he still was writing songs that other artists recorded. During the late 1950s and early 1960s modest chart success finally occurred when songs such as “The Wall,” “Chain Gang” and “The Key’s in the Mailbox” charted. “The Wall,” a self-penned number, is probably best remembered today as one of the songs sung by Johnny Cash on the classic Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison album.

During this same period, a number of Freddie Hart-penned songs became hits for other artists including “Willie the Weeper,” a #5 hit for Billy Walker; “Loose Talk,” a #4 hit for the duo of Buck Owens & Rose Maddox; “My Tears Are Overdue,” a #15 hit for George Jones; and, although not a hit, a significant copyright in “Lovin’ In Vain,” the B-side of Patsy Cline’s #1 hit “I Fall To Pieces.”

Hart moved to Monument Records in 1963 for two singles, followed by a move to Kapp Records in 1965, where he recorded some more great material, but found only modest hits with “Hank Williams’ Guitar” (1965), “Born A Fool” (1968) and “Togetherness” (1968). During this period, Porter Wagoner scored a #3 hit with Hart’s “Skid Row Joe.”

Hoping for bigger and better things, he re-signed with Capitol in 1969, where the first three singles issued showed some promise, leading Capitol to issue an album titled New Sounds. This was quickly followed by California Grapevine, with the title track being issued as the first single off the album. Unfortunately, “California Grapevine” stiffed as a single, reaching only #68 on the charts, far worse than any of three singles Capitol had previously released on Hart and worse than the singles on Kapp had performed. Consequently, Capitol dropped Freddie Hart from the label.

During the months following his drop from Capitol, disc jockey Jim Clemens at WPLO in Atlanta started playing an album track, buried on side two of the album, which he found interesting. Soon, other disc jockeys followed suit and before long the song was receiving massive airplay in some areas. The song contained the rather daring phrase (for the time) ‘so sexy looking’ in its lyrics. Capitol hastily re-inked Hart to the label and issued the former album track “Easy Loving” as a single (#1 Country/#17 Pop) and issued an album by the same name that gathered up all of the previous recent Capitol singles and about half of the California Grapevine album. This kicked off a six year run at the top for Freddie Hart that included a dozen top-five singles (including six #1s), two CMA awards, two ACM awards and a Grammy. Concurrent with signing to Capitol, Hart signed with Buck Owens’ management and publishing companies and provided the Buck Owens-Susan Raye duet with a #12 hit in “Togetherness.”

Since Hart was already nearly 45 years old by the time he hit it big, he figured to have a relatively short shelf life at the top, although he continued to have decent sized hits throughout the 1970s, and continued charting into the 1980s. His last top twenty hit occurred with “Sure Thing” on the Sunbird label in 1980.

Freddie Hart is now 85 years old and hasn’t been an active performer in recent years. His 1970s successes set him up financially to get into other endeavors, including recording some Gospel music. Somehow, I doubt that too many of today’s performers would have the patience to persevere for the 18 years it took Freddie Hart to break through, and I doubt that many would be given the opportunity to try. While he is largely forgotten today, Freddie Hart did get to experience his day in the sun and is still remembered by some including the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, where he was inducted in 2001.

He made some truly unforgettable music.

Discography

Singles

Freddie Hart charted 48 times from 1953 to 1987. Here are some of the biggest hit singles:

•“The Wall” (1959 – #24)

•“Chain Gang (1960 – #17)

•“The Key’s In The Mailbox” (1960 – #18)

•“Hank Williams Guitar” (1965 – #23)

•“Togetherness” (1968- #24)

•“Born A Fool” (1968 – #21)

•“Easy Loving” (1971 – #1 for three weeks)

•“My Hang Up Is You” (1972 – #1 for six weeks)

•“Bless Your Heart” (1972 – #1 for two weeks)

• “Got The All Overs (For You All Over Me) ” (1972 – #1 for three weeks)

•“If You Can’t Feel It (It Ain’t There)” (1973 – #3)

•“Super Kind of Woman” (1973 – #1)

•“Trip to Heaven” (1973 – #1)

•“Hang In There Girl” (1974 – #2)

•“The Want-To’s” (1974 – #3)

•“My Woman’s Man” (1975 – #3)

•“The First Time” (1975 – #2)

•“I’d Like To Sleep Till I Get Over You” (1975 – #5)

•“The Warm Side of You” (1975- #6)

•“You Are The Song Inside Of Me” (1976 – #11)

•“That Look In Her Eyes” (1976 – #11)

•“Thank God She’s Mine” (1977 – #11)

•“The Pleasure’s Been All Mine” (1977 – #13)

•“Toe to Toe” (1978 – #21)

•“Why Lovers Turn to Strangers” (1977 – #8)

•“Sure Thing” (1980 – #15)

Albums

Freddie Hart released a number of worthwhile albums while with Kapp and Capitol, plus there are scattered albums on other labels.

Columbia issued only one album, The Spirited Freddie Hart, while Freddie was with the label, but subsequently issued several albums on the budget Harmony label

For my money, the best albums were on Kapp Records. Look for the titles Straight From The Heart, The Hart of Country Music, A Hurtin’ Man , Born A Fool, Togetherness and The Neon and The Rain.

The biggest hit recordings are on Freddie’s various Capitol albums. The Sunbird label release,

Sure Thing, contains Freddie’s last hits. The Capital albums sold well and are fairly easy to find and are generally named for the hit single contained within it. “Easy Loving” made its debut on California Grapevine, an album I liked better than the Easy Loving album.

The best single source for vinyl hunting (CDs too, for that matter) is Music Stack

www.musicstack.com

CDs

Like many 1970s County Music stars, Freddie Hart has been poorly served on CD.

There is an excellent Bear Family CD covering his early Capitol and Columbia years (1953-1962) titled Juke Joint Boogie. The CD is expensive (roughly $24) but it does contain 33 tracks and Bear’s product is always terrific.

For the Capitol years, in 1995 the Dutch label Disky issued a CD of the Capitol albums Easy Loving and its follow-up My Hang-Up Is You. There is also a self-produced CD (the “label” is Richard Davis Management) of the Capitol hits (original recordings) titled Hart to Hearts, containing 25 tracks including eleven of Freddie’s Capitol era hits, plus 14 other tracks. Hart to Hearts has tracks that sound as if they were dubbed from vinyl albums

Various EMI/Capitol labels have issued smaller hit collections containing ten songs (Ten Best, Best Of…, etc).

(Memo to Richard Weitze at Bear Family: a Freddie Hart box-set is needed!)

The Sunbird years at the end of Freddie’s career are represented by a Best of Freddie Hart collection issued by CEMA Special Markets in 1994.

Nothing is available for Freddie specifically covering the Kapp years.

Freddie does have an official website http://mreasylovin.com/ where he does have an online store which sells a small selection of CDS. The most recent CD is titled I Wouldn’t Trade America For the World.  Despite the title, this album contains only two patriotically themed songs. The remaining tracks are remakes of some of his hits plus a few covers.

Week ending 2/25/12: #1 singles this week in country music history

1952: Give Me More, More, More of Your Kisses — Lefty Frizzell (Columbia)

1962: Walk On By – Leroy Van Dyke (Mercury)

1972: It’s Four In The Morning — Faron Young (Mercury)

1982: Only One You — T.G. Sheppard (Warner Bros./Curb)

1992: What She’s Doing Now — Garth Brooks (Capitol)

2002: Good Morning Beautiful — Steve Holy (Curb)

2012: All Your Life — The Band Perry (Republic Nashville)

Week ending 2/18/12: #1 singles this week in country music history

1952: Give Me More, More, More of Your Kisses — Lefty Frizzell (Columbia)

1962: Walk On By – Leroy Van Dyke (Mercury)

1972: One’s On The Way — Loretta Lynn (Decca)

1982: Someone Could Lose A Heart Tonight — Eddie Rabbitt (Elektra)

1992: What She’s Doing Now — Garth Brooks (Capitol)

2002: Good Morning Beautiful — Steve Holy (Curb)

2012: All Your Life — The Band Perry (Republic Nashville)

Week ending 2/11/12: #1 singles this week in country music history

1952: Give Me More, More, More of Your Kisses — Lefty Frizzell (Columbia)

1962: Walk On By – Leroy Van Dyke (Mercury)

1972: One’s On The Way — Loretta Lynn (Decca)

1982: Lonely Nights — Mickey Gilley (Epic)

1992: A Jukebox With a Country Song — Doug Stone (Epic)

2002: Good Morning Beautiful — Steve Holy (Curb)

2012: You – Chris Young (RCA)

Week ending 2/4/12: #1 singles this week in country music history

1952: Give Me More, More, More of Your Kisses — Lefty Frizzell (Columbia)

1962: Walk On By – Leroy Van Dyke (Mercury)

1972: Carolyn – Merle Haggard (Capitol)

1982: The Sweetest Thing (I’ve Ever Known) — Juice Newton (Capitol)

1992: A Jukebox With a Country Song — Doug Stone (Epic)

2002: Good Morning Beautiful — Steve Holy (Curb)

2012: I Don’t Want This Night to End — Luke Bryan (Capitol)

Album Review: The Little Willies – ‘For The Good Times’

The Little Willies’ first album was released almost six years ago as a side project for velvety voiced jazz-pop chanteuse Norah Jones, then at the peak of her commercial success, whose reputation led, and continues to lead, the marketing of the group. That record allowed Jones to stray from the template of her solo work and pay tribute to the country music she also loved, along with some likeminded friends. It was never just a Jones project, with lead vocals shared with Richard Julian, whose voice is pleasant but unremarkable. Now a second volume has appeared, featuring an interesting mixture of the well worn and less familiar material.

The outstanding track is their exciting and varied reworking of Ralph Stanley’s ‘I Worship You’, with alternate high lonesome and rapid-fire sections, and mixture of solos from both Jones and Julian and close harmonies. Also exceptionally good is the delicately regretful ballad ‘Remember Me’ (a fairly obscure song originally recorded by 1930s husband-and-wife duo Lulu Belle and Scotty, better known for their classic ‘Have I Told You Lately That I Love You’, which like ‘Remember Me’ was written by Scotty (Wiseman)). Some more famous songs are also reworked successfully, with a sensuous interpretation of ‘For The Good Times’ working well, while ‘Jolene’ is effectively brooding.

The Little Willies sometimes come across as a jazz band playing country songs, with interesting, inventive re-imaginings of wellworn material. Examples include their languid, slowed down version of ‘Lovesick Blues’, which is very different from the original, but quite effective at conveying the “lovesickness” of the lyric. A playful approach to Lefty Frizzell’s ‘If You’ve Got The Money I’ve Got The Time’, in contrast, speeds it up, and is very entertaining. However, I did not enjoy the jazzy arrangement of the trucking song ‘Diesel, Smoke, Dangerous Curves’.

‘Fist City’ is enjoyable enough but Norah does not convince me that she would (or could) beat up a romantic rival in the way Loretta does, so her threats ring hollow. Julian’s best moments come on Willie Nelson’s ‘Permanently Lonely’ and ‘Wide Open Road’, a lesser-known but good Johnny Cash song; neither, however, is as good as his highly entertaining cover of ‘Tennessee Stud’ on the group’s first album.

The rather odd ‘Foul Owl On The Prowl’ (not a country song but a Quincy Jones composition which was on the soundtrack of the movie In The Heat Of The Night) is a bit dull and not to my personal taste. The mostly-instrumental ‘Tommy Rockwood’ allows the band members to stretch out.

Overall, this is an interesting record which is not mainstream country, but is worthwhile music in its own right, and a worthy tribute to the genre.

Grade: A-

Album Review: ‘The Very Best of David Frizzell & Shelly West’

One of the hottest male-female duet acts of the early 80s, David Frizzell and Shelly West released four studio albums together. None of them ever had a CD release, nor are they currently in print. However, this 2009 anthology includes all of their big hits, plus a few misses and some key alubm cuts, and provides a more than adequate overview of their duet career.

The younger brother of Lefty Frizzell, David had had a singles deal with Columbia from 1970 to 1976. Only one of those recordings, 1970′s “I Just Can’t Stop Believin’” (not included in this collection) cracked the Top 40; the rest languished in obscurity on the lower rungs of the charts. His younger brother Allen joined his band in 1977. Alan had been the lead guitarist for Dottie West, and had married West’s daughter Shelly. Shelly began performing with David, and eventually they caught the attention of producer Snuff Garrett. Their big break came in 1981 when their recording of “You’re The Reason God Made Oklahoma” was included in the Clint Eastwood film Any Which Way You Can. The song was written by the legendary Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, along with Larry Collins and Sandy Pinkard. It reached the #1 spot on the Billboard country singles chart. It was the duo’s biggest hit, telling the story of a couple dealing with a painful separation when one of them leaves their hometown for the bright lights of the big city. It’s a theme that the duo would explore a number of times, beginning with their follow-up hit “Texas State of Mind”, which peaked at #9 and the following year’s “Another Honky-tonk Night On Broadway”, which reached #8. Of the three songs, it isn’t difficult to see why “Oklahoma” is the best-remembered (the other two have been virtually forgotten); it is the best-written of the three songs and also managed to avoid some of the early 80s production excesses that marred the other two records; there is a somewhat intrusive string section on “Texas State of Mind”. While this is less of a problem on “Broadway”, “Oklahoma” sounds the least dated and would stand a reasonable chance at success today with very little tinkering to the arrangement.

In between “Texas State of Mind” and “Another Honky-tonk Night on Broadway”, Frizzell and West did an excellent cover version of Roger Miller’s “Husbands and Wives”, which peaked at #16. One of Miller’s more serious efforts, his original 1966 version had reached #5, as well as reaching #26 on the Hot 100. Brooks & Dunn would cover it again in 1998 and take it all the way to #1 on the country charts. Their version also reached the Hot 100, peaking at #36.

Frizzell and West stopped recording together after 1985. It was speculated that West’s acrimonious divorce from Allen Frizzell was a contributing factor, but the rest of the songs in this collection — and their performances on the charts — suggest that the official reason, a lack of good duet material, was probably the truth. The duo had only one more Top 10 hit, 1982′s “I Just Came Here To Dance”, a cover of an R&B hit by Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack. The Frizzell and West version is barely country, yet managed to reach #4. Their next release, the decent but somewhat overproduced “Please Surrender” only reached #43. 1983′s “Cajun Invitation” was a song that I liked a lot when it was first released, but it sounds very cheesy today. The duo reached the Top 20 two more times in 1984 with the beautiful “Silent Partners” and “It’s a Be-Together Night”. Their final single together “Do Me Right”, released in 1985, failed to chart at all.

Also included in this collection are some very good non-single releases. “Carryin’ On The Family Names”, which was the title track of their first duet album, name checks other stars such as Hank Williams Jr., Rex Allen Jr., Debby Boone, and Crystal Gayle, who, like David and Shelly, were trying to emerge from the shadows of their more famous relatives. Also quite good is a medey of “The Wild Side of Life” and “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky-tonk Angels” which are performed as a single song, much like Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter had earlier done. Missing the mark entirely, however is a cover version of the 1963 Ruby and the Romantics’ R&B hit “Our Day Will Come.”

The collection does not include any of David or Shelly’s solo hits, which is a shame, because there is sufficient room on the disc for “I’m Gonna Hire a Wino To Decorate Our Home”, “Lost My Baby Blues”, “Jose Cuervo” and “Flight 309 To Tennessee”. It does, however, include one solo performance by Shelly of “I Just Fall In Love Again”, which is very good, though it does not compare with Anne Murray’s version that topped the country charts for three weeks in 1979.

David and Shelly’s careers — as a duo and as solo artists — were largely over before the CD era, so very little of their work was ever released in that format. This collection appears to about the best that is currently available, and will suffice for all but the most die-hard fans.

Grade: B+

Spotlight Artist: 80s Duos

This month we’ve decided to do something a little different; instead of spotlighting a single artist for the entire month, we’ll be taking a look at the careers of several of the duos that came to prominence during the 1980s:

1.  David Frizzell & Shelly West

This duo’s pedigree was impressive; he was the younger brother of the legendary Lefty Frizzell, while she was the daughter of Dottie West and the wife of another Frizzell brother.   Together they charted 11 singles on the Billboard country charts between 1981 and 1985, the first and best known of which was “You’re The Reason God Made Oklahoma”.  That #1 single had been featured in the Clint Eastwood film Any Which Way You Can, and released on the Viva label, which was distributed by Warner Bros.   They were awarded the CMA’s Duo of the Year trophy twice, and both Frizzell and West scored some solo hits during this period, though neither’s career was to enjoy any longevity.  Shelly’s divorce from Allen Frizzell may have been partially responsible for the end of her professional relationship with David.

2.   The Judds

The most commercially successful of the duos we’re spotlighting this month, the story of this mother-daughter act is well known.  Record producer Brent Maher’s daughter was hospitalized and under the care of nurse Naomi Judd in the early 1980s, which provided the opportunity for Naomi to give Maher a demo tape, leading to a live audition and on-the-spot signing with RCA/Curb.   The Judds were an immediate success, scoring 15 #1 singles between 1983 and 1990.  During that time, they also won seven Academy of Country Music awards, nine CMA trophies, and five Grammys.   A bout with Hepatitis C prompted Naomi’s retirement in 1991, while Wynonna went on to enjoy a highly successful career as a solo artist.  During the 20 years since Naomi’s retirement, the two have occasionally reunited in concert and in the studio.

3.  Sweethearts of the Rodeo

Sisters Kristine Arnold and Janis Gill sang together as children in California and began performing as The Oliver Sisters when they were teenagers.  They later renamed their act after the title of the classic album by The Byrds.   Both women married musicians; Kristine’s husband is Leonard Arnold of the band Blue Steel,  while Janis is the ex-wife of Vince Gill.   The Sweethearts of the Rodeo signed with Columbia Records in 1986, and for a brief time were one of the hottest acts in country music.  Their debut single “Hey Doll Baby” peaked just outside the Top 20.  Their second single “Since I Found  You” reached the Top 10.  Six more Top 10 hits followed.   Though they were never top record sellers, they were staples at country radio in the late 80s.  Their first two albums for Columbia racked up a number of radio hits, but after that the hits began to taper off.   After two more albums failed to generate any more hits, Columbia dropped the Sweethearts from its roster in 1992.  They re-emerged the following year on Sugar Hill Records, for whom they recorded two critically acclaimed albums in 1993 and 1996.

4.  The O’Kanes

Jamie O’Hara and Kieran Kane recorded three albums for Columbia between 1986 and 1990.  Six of the nine singles released during that period charted in the Top 10, including their best known hit “Can’t Stop My Heart From Loving You”, which reached the #1 spot in 1987.  Jamie, a native of Toledo, Ohio, had penned “Older Women”,  which had been a #1 hit for Ronnie McDowell in 1981 and  The Judds’ signature hit “Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout The Good Old Days)”, which won a Grammy for Best Country Song in 1986.  The two met while working as songwriters for the same publishing company.   They disbanded in 1990 and resumed their solo careers.  Brooklyn-born Kane eventually went on to become one of the founders the independent Dead Reckoning Records.

5.  Foster & Lloyd

Country rockers Radney Foster and Bill Lloyd recorded three albums together for RCA between 1987 and 1990, and in the process scored nine charting singles, four of which reached the Top 10.   Prior to landing their own record deal, they wrote “Since I Found You”, which became the breakthrough hit for The Sweethearts of the Rodeo.   Foster & Lloyd’s biggest hit was 1987′s “Crazy Over You”, which rose to #4.  Perhaps a bit too offbeat for conservative country radio in the late 80s, they were more of a critical, rather than commercial, success and disbanded in 1990.   Lead vocalist Radney Foster subsequently signed with Arista Records and enjoyed a moderately successful solo career, while Bill Lloyd went back to earning a living as a session musician.  They reunited in 2011, with the release of It’s Already Tomorrow, their first album together in over 20 years.

As always, we hope that this spotlight will provide our readers with a pleasant trip down memory lane, or perhaps inspire them to explore music that they may have overlooked or are too young to remember.

Classic Rewind: Johnny Cash and Joni Mitchell – ‘Long Black Veil’

There doesn’t seem to be a live version of the incomparable Lefty Frizzell original of this classic Danny Dill/Marijohn Wilkin song , so this will have to do as a reminder of one of the greatest country songs ever written:

Week ending 10/29/11: #1 singles this week in country music history

1951: Always Late With Your Kisses — Lefty Frizzell (Columbia)

1961: Walk On By – Leroy Van Dyke (Mercury)

1971: How Can I Unlove You — Lynn Anderson (Columbia)

1981: Never Been So Loved (In All My Life) — Charley Pride (RCA)

1991: Anymore – Travis Tritt (Warner Bros.)

2001: Angry All The Time — Tim McGraw (Curb)

2011: God Gave Me You — Blake Shelton (Warner Bros.)

Week ending 10/22/11: #1 singles this week in country music history

1951: Always Late With Your Kisses — Lefty Frizzell (Columbia)

1961: Walk On By – Leroy Van Dyke (Mercury)

1971: How Can I Unlove You — Lynn Anderson (Columbia)

1981: Step By Step — Eddie Rabbitt (Elektra)

1991: Keep It Between The Lines — Ricky Van Shelton (Columbia)

2001: Where I Come From – Alan Jackson (Arista)

2011: Long Hot Summer — Keith Urban (Capitol)

Album Review: Merle Haggard – ‘A Working Man Can’t Get Nowhere Today’

It is not unusual for a record label to release material it has “in the can” after an artist has left for another label. What is unusual is for that material to be top-flight and perhaps even better than the artist’s current musical releases. A Working Man Can’t Get Nowhere Today is the first of two albums in which Haggard and Capitol wave goodbye to each other. The album made its chart debut on October 15, 1977, approximately five months after the release of his first album for MCA, Ramblin’ Fever.

Since the album didn’t have the promotional push of Capitol Records behind it, #28 was as high on the album charts as it would get and the singles released (“A Workin’ Man Can’t Get Nowhere Today”, “Making Believe” , and ”Running Kind”) all languished between #12 and #16 on the Billboard Country charts. Despite that the album remains one of my favorites.

More so than on his most recent Capitol releases, this album was founded on the blues. Since Haggard was already gone from Capitol, I assume that Ken Nelson was the guiding force behind the songs chosen for this album. If so, he did a magnificent job of protecting Hag’s legacy.

The album opens up with the title song, a song which echoes the sentiments of working people everywhere:

“A working man can’t get nowhere today
A working man ain’t got no time to play
Today I work my fanny off and leave it lay
A working man can’t get nowhere today”

The next track is one familiar to country fans of my generation and older, a song which was a major hit for Kitty Wells and Emmylou Harris, the Jimmy Work-penned “Making Believe”. An older generation would remember “Blues Stay Away From Me” as a major hit for Alton & Rabon Delmore.

“Life is full of misery
Dreams are like a memory
Bringing back your love that used to be”

Some have referred to the Delmore Brothers recording of this song as the first real rock and roll song; I think that is pushing it a bit, but it certainly is an excellent (and depressing song).

“Got A Letter From My Kid Today” was an old Tin Pan Alley song, with lyrics by Hy Zaret, who also wrote the Al Hibbler hit “Unchained Melody”. Bob Wills recorded and released it during the early years of WW2 but shellac shortages limited its distribution:

“Got a letter from my kid today
They let me read a line or two
I lost my teddy bear, I can’t remember where
Daddy is he there with you?”

“When My Last Song Is Sung” is a Haggard original, a highly introspective song about a singer looking back at his career and giving thanks to his maker. “Moanin’ The Blues” is the Hank Williams classic – not one of Hag’s stronger efforts but a nice recording anyway.

Merle Haggard’s boyhood idol was Lefty Frizzell. “Goodbye Lefty” is Merle’s goodbye to his recently departed idol and mentor. The song is a little gimmicky, working in various Lefty Frizzell song titles into the lyrics, but it works and is a thoughtful tribute to one of the greatest country singers of all time:

“I’d love to hear a jukebox play ‘I love you a thousand ways’
Or ‘If you’ve got the money I’ve got the time’
I’d walk a mile for mom and dad and the good times that we had
‘Look what thoughts will do’ when you sing ‘old pal of mine’.”

“Blues For Dixie” is a song recorded by Bob Wills in 1947 that has a Dixieland Jazz feel but a lyric consistent with the blues. “Running Kind” was a single that probably could have been a big hit with the proper promotional push behind it. Like many of Haggard’s best songs, it reflects the angst in his soul:

“I was born the running kind, leaving always on my mind
Home was never home to me at anytime
Every front door found me open I would find the back door open
There just had to be a lesson for the running kind

Within me there’s a prison, surrounding me alone
As real as any dungeon with a wall of stone
I know running’s not the answer, but running’s been my nature
And a part of me that keeps me moving on”

The best songs spring from unhappiness, despair and uneasiness. While this fact has made for some great songs, it also explains why it took Haggard so long to ever really settle down.

The title of “I’m A White Boy” is much less controversial than the title might suggest. Merle could easily have titled it ‘I’m A Poor Boy’ although the lyrical value would have been affected.

Haggard was always at his best when singing blues-based lyrics and this album gives him some outstanding songs to sink his teeth into. Haggard had gotten into a rut with his previous three or four Capitol albums, and the first two MCA albums Rambling Fever and My Farewell To Elvis really didn’t pull him out of it, although an artist rebirth was just around the corner.

Capitol would dredge up one more Haggard album before giving up, a tribute to Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell titled The Way It Was in ‘51.

Grade: A

Album Review: Merle Haggard – ‘My Love Affair With Trains’ and ‘The Roots Of My Raising’

After over a decade on Capitol, 1976 saw Haggard calling a halt to his association with the label. He was still at his peak, and that year he was to release three albums, two of which are avilable on one CD reissue. One of these was his first thematic concept album (as opposed to his tributes to two of the musical heroes who had inspired him), My Love Affair With Trains. Haggard wanted to document his lifelong love of trains at a time when this important element of American history was being swept away, and to pay tribute to the men who had worked and lived on the railroads.

It opens with an acoustic snippet from ‘Mama Tried’ with its reference to his childhood dreams of trains, leading into the first of a series of spoken reminiscences and comments over a selection of genuine train and whistle sounds, which are interspersed with the songs. Proceedings open with the Dolly Parton-penned title track, a cheerful mid-tempo number with solid train rhythms which belies the generally elegiac mood. The subdued and melancholy ‘Union Station’, written by Ronnie Reno (the bluegrass singer and musician who was then a member of the Strangers) about a station threatened with demolition, exemplifies the overall tone.

Perhaps surprisingly, given the obvious personal resonance of the subject matter, only one song is a Haggard original. That self-penned song is the firmly autobiographical ‘No More Trains To Ride’, a catchy mid-tempo song, with somewhat wistful lyrics as Merle reflects on his father’s railroad career and the hoboes in a vanished world. Red Lane’s ‘The Coming And Going Of The Trains’ narrates the story of the railways over history by dipping into the lives of those affected. There is the arrival of the railroads, displacing the Native Americans, providing a lifeline for drought stricken farmers in Texas, giving hope to prisoners measuring time by counting off trains, and finally the regret of an engineer about to be pensioned off. Mark Yeary’s ‘I Won’t Give Up My Train’ is a first person story song about a railroad engineer who can’t bring himself to leave the travelling life even when it conflicts with his family responsibilities.

Album Review: Merle Haggard & The Strangers – ‘It’s Not Love (But It’s Not Bad)’ and ‘If We Make It Through December’

1972′s It’s Not Love (But It’s Not Bad) was Merle Haggard’s 15th studio album for Capitol Records. Like his previous efforts, it was produced by Ken Nelson and Fuzzy Owen. It was recorded entirely at California — part of it as early as 1970 — at Capitol Records Studio and United Recording Studio in Hollywood, and Buck Owens Studio in Bakersfield. He wrote five of the album’s eleven tracks, relying on writers such as Hank Cochran, Glenn Martin, Tommy Collins, and Red Lane to supply the rest of the album’s songs. Cochran and Glenn supplied the title track, which became Merle’s 13th #1 hit. It’s one of my favorite Merle Haggard tunes that he didn’t write himself. Emmylou Harris revived it a decade later when she included a version on her live Last Date album.

The title track was the only single released from the collection, so most of the tunes here will be unfamiliar to many fans; however, this is an excellent collection without a single dud among its eleven tracks. Haggard’s own “My Woman Keeps Lovin’ Her Man” and “New York City Blues” which finds him homesick in Yankee territory, are both excellent, with the latter showing a strong Jimmie Rodgers influence. Another Haggard original, “A Shoulder To Cry On” would become a #1 hit for Charley Pride a few months later. Pride had expressed an interest in the song upon hearing Haggard perform it shortly after it was written. Merle generously allowed Charley to record the song and release it as a single. Had he kept it for himself, it’s a safe assumption to say that his own version would have reached the top of the charts.

“Dad’s Old Fiddle” sounds like a Haggard-penned tune, but it was actually written by Glenn Martin, most likely with Merle in mind. It tells the story of a man who inherits his father’s fiddle and learns to play it. Merle’s own father had played the fiddle in Oklahoma, but gave it up before Merle was born, and Merle later taught himself how to play the instrument when he was preparing to record his Bob Wills tribute album.

Week ending 10/15/11: #1 singles this week in country music history

1951: Always Late With Your Kisses — Lefty Frizzell (Columbia)

1961: Walk On By – Leroy Van Dyke (Mercury)

1971: How Can I Unlove You — Lynn Anderson (Columbia)

1981: Party Time — T.G. Sheppard (Warner Bros./Curb)

1991: Keep It Between The Lines — Ricky Van Shelton (Columbia)

2001: Where I Come From – Alan Jackson (Arista)

2011: Made In America — Toby Keith (Show Dog-Universal)

Album Review: Merle Haggard – ‘Same Train, A Different Time: A Tribute To Jimmie Rodgers’

Merle Haggard was extremely fortunate that he landed with Capitol Records where he was granted considerable musical independence by his producer Ken Nelson. Nelson believed in letting his artists have freedom of expression. Nelson was there to ensure a quality production job and to give direction if needed, but to otherwise stay out of the way. In the case of artists such as Sonny James, Merle Haggard and Buck Owens, this approach paid enormous dividends. It is difficult to imagine a different producer allowing one of his artists to issue as many non-commercial albums as Nelson allowed Haggard.

I was living in England when this album was issued in 1969 and purchased the single album British condensation of the US two-record set. When I got back Stateside I purchased the two record set, which I have to this day. I was delighted to find it on CD but when I’m home I still listen to the LP, reserving the CD for use in the car.

Same Train, A Different Time is something of a travelogue through Jimmie’s career with twenty of Jimmie’s songs interspersed with five narrations penned by Hugh Cherry and read by Haggard. This album features Haggard’s Strangers, with Roy Nichols often playing blues harmonica, instead of his customary lead guitar. The band, augmented by legendary guitarist James Burton on dobro, does a reasonable good job of replicating the feel (if not necessarily the sound) of the JR originals, and Haggard’s vocals are clearly a labor of love, complete with yodels. I should note that Jimmie Rodgers recorded in a number of settings, ranging from a simple guitar accompaniment to a full orchestra, with at least one recording featuring jazz legends Louis Armstong (trumpet) and Lil Hardin (piano). Haggard does not attempt to replicate the more complex settings sometimes found on Rodgers’ recordings but focuses on a basic blues or country setting. He also tends to focus more on songs that are based on the blues than Jimmie’s other inspirations.

Looking from the vantage point of 2011, it is difficult to comprehend just how important Jimmie Rodgers was to the development of country music as we know it. Such diverse performers as Jimmie Davis, Ernest Tubb, Hank Snow, Bill Monroe, Grandpa Jones, Elton Britt, Wilf “Montana Slim” Carter and Lefty Frizzell all had Jimmie Rodgers as a primary influence in the development of their own musical styles – Snow and Tubb even worked overtime in helping establish the Jimmie Rodgers Festival Museum in Meridian, Mississippi.

Jimmie Rodgers (1897-1933) was a railroad man who worked for many of America’s railroads until tuberculosis left him too weak to work. Jimmie had the heart and soul of a wanderer, and found his inspiration wherever music was played, incorporating blues, Appalachian ballads, jazz, vaudeville tunes, Tin Pan Alley and English parlor songs into his repertoire and creating a synthesis that inspired generations to come. Although Haggard grew up hearing Jimmie’s songs performed by others (such as Ernest Tubb and Hank Snow) it wasn’t until 1951 when Lefty Frizzell issued a series of 78 rpm recordings in tribute to Jimmie Rodgers (later issued as an LP), that Haggard went to the trouble of looking up the actual recordings of Jimmie Rodgers.

Album Review: Merle Haggard & The Strangers – ‘Mama Tried’ and ‘Pride In What I Am’

Mama Tried was Merle Haggard’s third album release of 1968, following Sing Me Back Home and The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde, each of which added one more #1 hit to his growing list of accomplishments. By now his albums were relying more heavily on outside songwriters and Capitol was only releasing one single per LP, but that in no way suggests that there was a decline in quality. On the contrary, Haggard shows considerable skill in putting his own stamp on these songs. Case in point: Curly Putman’s “Green, Green Grass of Home” had previously been popularized by Porter Wagoner, Bobby Bare, Charley Pride, and Tom Jones, but Merle’s version, which ties in perfectly with the album’s prison theme, sounds as though it were written specifically for him. His interpretative ability is further tested as he tackles Dolly Parton’s “In The Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)”. It isn’t easy to convincingly sing a highly personal, autobiographical song that someone else has written, but Merle passes with flying colors and his version easily holds its own with Parton’s original version. No one could ever outdo Johnny Cash on “Folsom Prison Blues”, but Haggard comes close. In his heyday he was a superior vocalist to Cash, and it is quite possible that those who are unfamiliar with the original version might prefer Merle’s take on the song.

The album’s main attraction, is of course, the title track, which became Haggard’s fifth #1 record. “Mama Tried” is my all-time favorite Haggard tune, and it arguably would be his signature song had he not later recorded “Okie From Muskogee”. Though only semi-autobiographical, the song is clearly an attempt to make amends for the pain Merle caused his mother when he was sent to prison. Though the lyrics are mournful, this is an uptempo honky-tonk number, heavy on the pedal steel and featuring some excellent electric guitar work from Roy Nichols. It must have stood in stark contrast to most of the other records on the charts at the time, which were mostly in the Nashville Sound or countrypolitan style. Another highlight is the very traditional “I Could Have Gone Right”, another prison song that sounds like a Haggard original, but which was actually penned by a still relatively unknown Mel Tillis. “Two Many Bridges To Cross Over”, written by the great Dallas Frazier, closes out the original album. This 2-for-1 reissue contains two bonus tracks, “I’m Looking for My Mind” and the religious number “You’re Not Home Yet.”

Pride In What I Am was the first of three Haggard albums released in 1969. He changes direction slightly, taking a break from the convict theme which had dominated his music over the previous two years. It was a wise move, since he would have quickly been pigeon-holed had he continued to release prison songs, but overall, the more mellow Pride In What Am is less interesting than Mama Tried or the two or three albums that preceded it.

This time around, Haggard wrote six of the album’s twelve tracks, including the title track, which temporarily interrupted his string of #1 hits, peaking at #3. Throughout this album, Merle seems to be backing away a bit from the hard-edged Bakersfield sound that had characterized his earlier albums. Pride In What I Am is a little closer to what was being produced in Nashville at the time. It uses Nashville Sound-like vocal choruses but eschews the lush string arrangements which were still in vogue in Music City. The production on “I Take A Lot Of Pride In What I Am” reminds me somewhat of Glen Campbell’s “Gentle On My Mind” which had been a minor hit on the country charts about two years earlier. The album’s best track is the blues-tinged Haggard original “I Can’t Hold Myself In Line”. I’m also partial to “I’m Bringing Home Good News”, another Haggard-penned tune that brings some welcome energy to a largely mellow-sounding album.

Among the best of the non-Haggard written tunes are Merle’s tributes to his idols Lefty Frizzell and Jimmie Rodgers. He covers the former’s “It Meant Goodbye To Me (When You Said Hello To Him” and the latter’s “California Blues (Blue Yodel No. 4)”

The CD reissue contains three bonus tracks, “California On My Mind”, “White Line Fever” and “Streets of Berlin”. Germany is an unusual setting for a Haggard song; this sounds like a song that would have been better suited for Marty Robbins, and Merle’s vocal performance sounds as though it were heavily influenced by his good friend.

Mama Tried and Pride In What I Am are easy to find, both separately, and as a 2-for-1 CD or digital download (the 2-for-1 option is better value). Mama Tried is essential listening, and while Pride In What I Am doesn’t quite reach that lofty level, it is still worth a listen.

Grades:

Mama Tried: A
Pride In What I Am: B+

Week ending 10/8/11: #1 singles this week in country music history

1951: Always Late With Your Kisses — Lefty Frizzell (Columbia)

1961: Walk On By – Leroy Van Dyke (Mercury)

1971: Easy Loving — Freddie Hart (Capitol)

1981: Midnight Hauler — Razzy Bailey (RCA)

1991: Where Are You Now – Clint Black (RCA)

2001: What I Really Meant To Say — Cyndi Thomson (Capitol)

2011: Take A Back Road — Rodney Atkins (Curb)

Week ending 10/1/11: #1 singles this week in country music history

1951: Always Late With Your Kisses — Lefty Frizzell (Columbia)

1961: Walk On By – Leroy Van Dyke (Mercury)

1971: The Year Clayton Delaney Died — Tom T. Hall (Mercury)

1981: Tight Fittin’ Jeans — Conway Twitty (MCA)

1991: Where Are You Now – Clint Black (RCA)

2001: What I Really Meant To Say — Cyndi Thomson (Capitol)

2011: Take A Back Road — Rodney Atkins (Curb)