American Son (album)

Last updated

American Son
American son album.jpg
Studio album by
Released1980
StudioBradley's Barn, Mount Juliet, Tennessee
Genre Country rock
Length35:20
Label MCA
Producer Fred Carter, Jr.
Levon Helm chronology
Levon Helm
(1978)
American Son
(1980)
Levon Helm
(1982)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]
Rolling Stone favorable [2]

American Son is a studio album by American country rock musician Levon Helm, who is most famous for his work as drummer for the rock group the Band. It was released in October 1980 on MCA Records and was Helm's third studio album. It had generally been considered Levon Helm's best solo work until the release of Dirt Farmer in 2007.

Contents

Background

Helm played the part of Loretta Lynn's father in the 1980 film Coal Miner's Daughter and was asked to record a version of Bill Monroe's "Blue Moon of Kentucky" for the film's soundtrack. The session went well, and producer Fred Carter, Jr., decided to cut more tracks. Using a band of veteran Nashville session players, Carter and Helm recorded 20 tracks over two weeks, half of which ended up on American Son. [3]

Critical reception

Billboard's reviewers noted that the album was more rock-like than country-like and pleasant to listen to. The authors also suggested that due to the success of the film, which starred Levon Helm, sales of the disc would be high. [4]

Track listing

  1. "Watermelon Time in Georgia" (Harlan Howard) – 3:53
  2. "Dance Me Down Easy" (Larry Henley, Billy Burnette) – 2:51
  3. "Violet Eyes" (Tom Kimmel) – 3:10
  4. "Stay with Me" (Fred Carter) – 3:03
  5. "America's Farm" (Ronnie Rogers) – 3:09
  6. "Hurricane" (Keith Stegall, Stewart Harris, Thom Schuyler) – 4:04
  7. "China Girl" (Joe New, Jeff Silbar) – 3:19
  8. "Nashville Wimmin" (Howard) – 4:13
  9. "Blue House of Broken Hearts" (Bill Martin, Todd Cerney) – 3:29
  10. "Sweet Peach Georgia Wine" (Ronnie Reynolds) – 3:51

Personnel

Technical personnel

Chart performance

Chart (1980)Peak
position
Canadian RPM Country Albums24

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References

  1. Allmusic review
  2. Rolling Stone review [ dead link ]
  3. "Levon Helm: American Son". 1995. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved January 18, 2009.
  4. "Review: Levon Helm — American Son" (PDF). Billboard . Vol. 85, no. 19. May 10, 1980. p. 77. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved April 24, 2021 via American Radio History.