Back to the Country

For the Johnny Shines album, see Back to the Country (Johnny Shines album).

Back to the Country
Studio album by Loretta Lynn
Released	February 3, 1975
Recorded	December 12, 1972–December 19, 1974
Studio	Bradley's Barn (Mount Juliet)
Genre	Country
Length	32:09
Label	MCA
Producer	Owen Bradley
Loretta Lynn chronology
They Don't Make 'Em Like My Daddy (1974) Back to the Country (1975) Feelins' (1975)
Singles from Back to the Country
"The Pill" Released: January 27, 1975

Back to the Country is the twenty-fifth solo studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn. It was released on February 3, 1975, by MCA Records. ^[1]

The album's single, "The Pill", a controversial song about birth control, brought Lynn much notoriety in the media and was banned on a number of radio stations, although the single was reportedly her best selling of the decade.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]

In the February 15, 1975 issue, Billboard published a review that said, "Is this the Loretta we know? Singing about "The Pill" (her runaway hit single), a barroom fight, skinny dipping, sharing a bed and other such infidelities. It's down to earth country, and no one can sing that sort of song the way Loretta does it. The only amazing thing about it is that she doesn't sing a single one of her own songs. But she does others, including those previously performed by Marie Osmond, Billy Swan, Cal Smith, and a turn-around-version of a Conway Twitty hit." ^[3]

Cashbox also published a review in their February 15 issue which said, "Loretta Lynn will always be No. 1 among her fans and with the chart positions she holds. Each release, single or LP, hits the same for her and MCA. Another fine collection including "Will You Be There", "Paper Roses", "Mad Mrs. Jesse Brown", "Back to the Country", "I Can Help", and lots more good country cuts. Loretta never left the country, but we like the "back to." ^[4]

Commercial performance

The album peaked at No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot Country LPs chart and No. 182 on the Billboard Top LP's and Tape chart.

The album's only single, "The Pill", was released in January 1975 ^[5] and peaked at No. 5 on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and No. 70 on the US Billboard Hot 100, despite being banned by a number of radio stations. The single was also successful in Canada, where it peaked at No. 1 on the RPM Country Singles chart and No. 49 on the RPM Top Singles chart.

Recording

Recording sessions for the album began on August 29, 1974, at Bradley's Barn in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Three additional sessions followed on December 17, 18, and 19. Three songs on the album were from recording sessions for previous albums. "The Pill" and "The Hands of Yesterday" were recorded during the December 12, 1972 session for 1973's Entertainer of the Year . "Paper Roses" was recorded on March 4, 1974, during a session for 1974's They Don't Make 'Em Like My Daddy . ^[6]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Recording date	Length
1.	"The Pill"	Lorene Allen Don McHan T. D. Bayless	December 12, 1972	2:35
2.	"Will You Be There?"	Gene Dunlop Lee Miller	December 18, 1974	2:19
3.	"It's Time to Pay the Fiddler"	Don Wayne Walter Haynes	December 17, 1974	3:51
4.	"Paper Roses"	Janice Torre Fred Spielman	March 4, 1974	3:15
5.	"You Love Everybody But You"	Tom T. Hall	August 29, 1974	3:15
6.	"Mad Mrs. Jesse Brown"	Ronnie Rogers	December 19, 1974	3:24

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Recording date	Length
1.	"Back to the Country"	Tracey Lee	December 19, 1974	2:19
2.	"The Hands of Yesterday"	Ray Griff	December 12, 1972	2:54
3.	"I Can Help"	Billy Swan	December 19, 1974	2:52
4.	"Another You"	Jimmy Peppers	December 18, 1974	2:35
5.	"Jimmy on My Mind"	Conway Twitty	December 18, 1974	2:50

Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes. ^[1]

• Bobby Bradley – engineer
• Owen Bradley – producer
• Harold Bradley – electric guitar, bass guitar
• Ray Edenton – rhythm guitar
• Vic Gabany – engineer
• Johnny Gimble – fiddle
• Bud Gray – photography
• Buddy Harman – drums
• The Jordanaires – background vocals
• Millie Kirkham – background vocals
• Billy Linneman – bass
• Loretta Lynn – lead vocals
• Grady Martin – lead electric guitar
• Charlie McCoy – harmonica
• Bob Moore – bass
• Joe Mills – engineer
• Hargus "Pig" Robbins – piano
• Hal Rugg – steel guitar
• Jerry Smith – piano
• Pete Wade – rhythm guitar

Charts

Weekly charts Album Chart (1975) Peak position US Hot Country LP's ( Billboard ) [7] 2 US Top LP's & Tape ( Billboard ) [8] 182 Year-end charts Chart (1975) Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [9] 29

Singles

Title	Year	Peak position
		US Country [10]	US [11]	CAN Country [12]	CAN [13]
"The Pill"	1974	5	70	1	49

References

1. "Loretta Lynn – Back To The Country". Discogs. 1975.
2. Back to the Country at AllMusic
3. "Billboard - February 15, 1975" (PDF). American Radio History. Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
4. "Cashbox - February 15, 1975" (PDF). American Radio History. Cashbox. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
5. "Billboard - February 8, 1975" (PDF). American Radio History. Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
6. "Loretta's Recording Sess". Loretta Lynn Fan Website. Archived from the original on 2017-08-28. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
7. "Loretta Lynn Chart History - Hot Country Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
8. "Loretta Lynn Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
9. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1975". Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
10. "Loretta Lynn Chart History - Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
11. "Loretta Lynn Chart History - Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
12. Canada, Library and Archives (July 17, 2013). "Results: RPM Weekly". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
13. Canada, Library and Archives (July 17, 2013). "Results: RPM Weekly". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved April 27, 2019.