Country music from a fan's point of view since 2008
1957 (Sales): My Special Angel — Bobby Helms (Decca)
1957 (Disc Jockeys): My Special Angel — Bobby Helms (Decca)
1967: For Loving You — Bill Anderson & Jan Howard (Decca)
1977: Here You Come Again — Dolly Parton (RCA)
1987: Somewhere Tonight — Highway 101 (Warner Bros.)
1997: Longneck Bottle — Garth Brooks (Capitol)
2007: Our Song — Taylor Swift (Big Machine)
2017: Meant to Be — Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line (Warner Bros.)
2017 (Airplay): I’ll Name the Dogs — Blake Shelton (Warner Bros.)
1957 (Sales): My Special Angel — Bobby Helms (Decca)
1957 (Disc Jockeys): Wake Up Little Susie — The Everly Brothers (Cadence)
1967: For Loving You — Bill Anderson & Jan Howard (Decca)
1977: Here You Come Again — Dolly Parton (RCA)
1987: Do Ya — K.T. Oslin (RCA)
1997: Longneck Bottle — Garth Brooks (Capitol)
2007: Our Song — Taylor Swift (Big Machine)
2017: Meant to Be — Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line (Warner Bros.)
2017 (Airplay): Light It Up — Luke Bryan (Capitol)
1957 (Sales): My Special Angel — Bobby Helms (Decca)
1957 (Disc Jockeys): My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You — Ray Price (Columbia)
1967: It’s the Little Things — Sonny James (Capitol)
1977: Here You Come Again — Dolly Parton (RCA)
1987: The Last One to Know — Reba McEntire (MCA)
1997: From Here to Eternity — Michael Peterson (Reprise)
2007: So Small — Carrie Underwood (Arista)
2017: Meant to Be — Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line (Warner Bros.)
2017 (Airplay): Ask Me How I Know — Garth Brooks (Pearl)
1957 (Sales): My Special Angel — Bobby Helms (Decca)
1957 (Disc Jockeys): Wake Up Little Susie — The Everly Brothers (Cadence)
1967: It’s the Little Things — Sonny James (Capitol)
1977: Here You Come Again — Dolly Parton (RCA)
1987: Somebody Lied — Ricky Van Shelton (Columbia)
1997: Love Gets Me Every Time — Shania Twain (Mercury)
2007: So Small — Carrie Underwood (Arista)
2017: Greatest Love Story — LANco (Arista)
2017 (Airplay): Greatest Love Story — LANco (Arista)
Look Into My Teardrops was the second album Conway Twitty released in 1966, as well as his second release for Decca Records. The album consists of many covers of then-popular hits, as was the tradition at the time.
The album produced two low to mid charting singles. The title track, which peaked at #36 is a lovely mid-paced number co-written by Harlan Howard. “I Don’t Want To Be With Me,” a wonderfully catch up-tempo number with an engaging melody, was self-penned and hit #21.
Nat Stuckley’s “Don’t You Believe Her” was recorded by both Ray Price, with whom it is most associated, and Gene Watson. Twitty’s version is excellent, although I would hardly recognize it’s him singing if I didn’t already know.
“Almost Persuaded” had been a signature #1 hit for David Houston that same year. Twitty’s take on the steel-drenched ballad is excellent. The same is true for “I Made Her That Way,” co-written by George Jones. Twitty also included Jones’ “Take Me,” which is as good as one would expect.
Twitty follows with his fabulous take on “The Wild Side of Life,” which Hank Thompson had made iconic fourteen years earlier. “There Stands The Glass” is arguably one of the hardest country songs to sing and Twitty, unsurprisingly, knocks it out of the park.
“If You Were Mine To Lose,” the album’s other Twitty original, is very good. If you’ve been following our #1 singles this week in country music history posts, then you know Bobby Helms had a massive #1 with “Fraulein” sixty years ago this year. Twitty reprises it here, with smashing results.
Howard’s “Another Man’s Woman” is an additional track original to Twitty. While very good, the song is far from iconic. The album closes with “Before I’ll Set Her Free,” which falls along similar lines, but with a very engaging lyric.
As far as albums from the 1960s that I’ve reviewed go, Look Into My Teardrops is one of the better ones. Twitty does a wonderful job throughout tackling both iconic and new songs. I highly recommend seeking it out if you’ve never heard it.
Grade: A
1957 (Sales): Wake Up Little Susie — The Everly Brothers (Cadence)
1957 (Disc Jockeys): Fraulein — Bobby Helms (Decca)
1967: I Don’t Wanna Play House — Tammy Wynette (Epic)
1977: Heaven’s Just a Sin Away — The Kendalls (Ovation)
1987: The Way We Make a Broken Heart — Rosanne Cash (Columbia)
1997: How Your Love Makes Me Feel — Diamond Rio (Arista)
2007: Online — Brad Paisley (Arista)
2017: Body Like a Back Road — Sam Hunt (MCA)
2017 (Airplay): All the Pretty Girls — Kenny Chesney (Blue Chair/Columbia)
1957 (Sales): Fraulein — Bobby Helms (Decca)
1957 (Disc Jockeys): Fraulein — Bobby Helms (Decca)
1967: Turn The World Around — Eddy Arnold (RCA)
1977: Daytime Friends — Kenny Rogers (United Artists)
1987: You Again — The Forester Sisters (Warner Bros.)
1997: How Your Love Makes Me Feel — Diamond Rio (Arista)
2007: Take Me There — Rascal Flatts (Lyric Street)
2017: Body Like a Back Road — Sam Hunt (MCA)
2017 (Airplay): Small Town Boy — Dustin Lynch (Broken Bow)
1957 (Sales): : Fraulein — Bobby Helms (Decca)
1957 (Disc Jockeys): My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You — Ray Price (Columbia)
1967: Laura What’s He Got That I Ain’t Got — Leon Ashley (Ashley)
1977: I’ve Already Loved You In My Mind — Conway Twitty (MCA)
1987: Three Time Loser — Dan Seals (EMI America)
1997: How Your Love Makes Me Feel — Diamond Rio (Arista)
2007: Take Me There — Rascal Flatts (Lyric Street)
2017: Body Like a Back Road — Sam Hunt (MCA)
2017 (Airplay): Small Town Boy — Dustin Lynch (Broken Bow)
1957 (Sales): : Fraulein — Bobby Helms (Decca)
1957 (Disc Jockeys): Fraulein — Bobby Helms (Decca)
1967: Laura What’s He Got That I Ain’t Got — Leon Ashley (Ashley)
1977: Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue — Crystal Gayle (United Artists)
1987: This Crazy Love — The Oak Ridge Boys (MCA)
1997: There Goes — Alan Jackson (Arista)
2007: Take Me There — Rascal Flatts (Lyric Street)
2017: Body Like a Back Road — Sam Hunt (MCA)
2017 (Airplay): Small Town Boy — Dustin Lynch (Broken Bow)
1957 (Sales): Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On — Jerry Lee Lewis (Sun)
1957 (Disc Jockeys) (tie): Fraulein — Bobby Helms (Decca)
My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You — Ray Price (Columbia)
1967: My Elusive Dreams — David Houston & Tammy Wynette (Epic)
1977: Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue — Crystal Gayle (United Artists)
1987: Make No Mistake, She’s Mine — Kenny Rogers & Ronnie Milsap (RCA)
1997: She’s Got It All — Kenny Chesney (BNA)
2007: More Than a Memory — Garth Brooks (Big Machine/Pearl)
2017: Body Like a Back Road — Sam Hunt (MCA)
2017 (Airplay): Small Town Boy — Dustin Lynch (Broken Bow)
It should be no surprise to anyone that my tastes in country music run very traditional. While much of the music of the “New Traditionalists” movement of 1986-1999 remains available, as it should since it was digitally recorded, the music of the “Old Traditionalists (roughly 1925-1975) is another story.
When radio converted to digital starting in 1986, most radio stations, particularly FM stations, refused to play anything that was not on compact disc. As a result, a country oldie to these stations meant Alabama, Crystal Gayle, Ronnie Milsap and Kenny Rogers (artists whose back catalogue made it to digital formats) while the likes of such superstars as Charley Pride, Sonny James, Ray Price, Carl Smith, Ernest Tubb and Webb Pierce were lost to posterity.
Over time, the older country music began to be available, although often the availability was that of a four plus discs sets from Bear Family that was decidedly overkill for all but the most diehard fans. I am not knocking Bear, which in recent years has begun to issue some single disc collections. The Bear sets are as good as humanly imaginable, terrific sound, fabulous books and many of the discs have 85-87 minutes of music. They are great, but they run $22-$25 per disc.
Eventually more reissue labels emerged, mostly in Europe where the copyright laws had copyright protection lapse after fifty years. This changed recently to 70 years resulting in slowdown in reissues. I think recordings made in 1963 or later have the new 70 year copyright protection.
American record labels started to mine their back catalogues after 1991, but generally only for their biggest stars. A number of decent box sets have been issued, but again, only on the biggest stars.
Enough with my complaining – let’s start with a couple of relatively minor labels, in the first of a new series.
KAPP RECORDS
Kapp was a minor label that was eventually purchased by MCA. The biggest star on the label was pop balladeer Jack Jones, truly a fine singer. In the world of country music it was more of a launching pad for new artists and a resting place for over-the-hill singers.
Bobby Helms (“My Special Angel” & “Fraulein“) was on the label after his pop success waned. One could put together a nice CD of his Kapp recordings.
After many years of knocking about, Freddie Hart landed on Kapp. While I regard Freddie’s Kapp material as his best, he really had no big hits. Eventually Hart landed at Capital where “Easy Loving” made him an ‘overnight’ star. Kapp issued six albums on Freddie Hart, plus a hits collection. The six studio albums probably could fit on a nice two CD set
Mel Tillis released nine albums (plus two hit collections) while on Kapp. It’s not his best material but there were some classic songs (“Ruby Don’t Take Your Love To Town” / “Something Special” / “All Right (I’ll Sign The Papers)” / “Who’s Julie” / “Goodbye Wheeling” / “Life Turned Her That Way” / “Stateside“/ “Heart Over Mind“) that were as good as anything he ever recorded elsewhere, A nice set with about sixty songs would suffice.
Ernest Tubb was sure that Cal Smith would be a star someday. Someday was about six years later. Meanwhile Kapp released seven albums plus a hits collection on Cal. One of Cal’s Kapp hits (“Drinking Champagne” would be a big hit for George Strait many years later. After a long wait, a decent collection of Cal’s MCA/Decca hit eventually emerged but none of his Kapp classics are available. Cal had some really good songs including “Drinking Champagne”, “You Can’t Housebreak A Tomcat“, “Destination Atlanta G.A“, and “Heaven Is Just A Touch Away“.
MERCURY RECORDS
Foreign labels have done a good job of getting Jerry Lee Lewis and Tom T. Hall back into circulation, but Dave Dudley and Roy Drusky have been badly neglected. Mercury had an additional label, Smash, but artists occasionally moved from Smash to Mercury in midstream.
Mercury released eighteen albums plus three hits collections on Dave Dudley and all we have available is one stinking CD collection with twelve songs on it, two of the tracks being remakes of “Six Days On The Road” and “Cowboy Boots”. Dave had thirty-one chart hits for Mercury. C’mon, if nothing else a nice two CD set with the thirty-one chart hits plus some key album cuts. The King of The Truckers deserves no less – so beloved by truck drivers was Dave that the Teamsters Union gave Dave a gold union membership card.
Roy Drusky was a smooth voiced balladeer who had over forty chart records, eight with Decca and thirty two with Mercury. Same comment applies to Ray as applies to Dave Dudley – a nice two disc set is needed.
Roger Miller may have been the most talented performer to ever record in the country music genre. Roger barely even need a guitar to keep folks entertained. Back in 1991 & 1992 Polygram (the label that purchased Mercury ) issued a pair of two twenty song CDs, one featuring songs Roger wrote that were hits for other artist and the other featuring Roger’s hits. Eventually a modest boxed set was issued, but those are long out of print. Although they were good efforts, Roger’s albums deserve to be reissued intact.
PLANTATION/SUN INTERNATIONAL
During the late 1960s – early 1970s, Plantation became kind of an old folks’ home for country artists on the way down. Many a fading star re-recorded their greatest hits for label owner Shelby Singleton. For many of these older artists, it was the only way for them to keep their music available for their fans. Webb Pierce, Jimmie Davis, Jimmy C. Newman, Hank Locklin, Charlie Walker, Kitty Wells, Dave Dudley and Roy Drusky were among the artists that had twenty song cassettes issued, and for some artists, there was some new material recorded. I don’t think Plantation has much more than thirty or so songs recorded for these veteran artists (except Webb Pierce), so they should just take everything they have on a given artist and issue a CD. True, the original recording were better but all of these recordings were at least decent.
I do not pretend that this is an exhaustive list as there are many more artists whose artistry justifies more than is currently available. I noticed that Country Universe recently posted a Wish List segment on their Daily Top Five Feature. This series was not inspired by their article as I had this nearly completed before they posted their feature.
My Kind of Country 