Best by Request

Last updated
Best by Request
Jean Shepard--Best by Request.jpg
Studio album (re-recording)by
ReleasedMarch 1970 (1970-03)
RecordedSeptember 1967 (1967-09)
Studio Columbia Studio
Genre Country [1]
Label Capitol
Producer Billy Graves
Jean Shepard chronology
Seven Lonely Days
(1969)
Best by Request
(1970)
A Woman's Hand
(1970)

Best by Request is a studio album by American country singer Jean Shepard. It was released in March 1970 by Capitol Records and was her fifteenth studio album. The songs were re-recordings Shepard revisited, which were considered her best known songs such as "A Satisfied Mind" and "Beautiful Lies". Best by Request made the US country albums chart following its release and received a positive review from Cash Box magazine.

Contents

Background, recording and content

Jean Shepard had been on Capitol Records since the 1950s. She topped the country music charts in 1953 with "A Dear John Letter" and would go on to have 20 years of commercial success, continually returning to a traditional country sound. By 1970, Shepard had a series of collaborative and solo singles make the top ten such as "A Satisfied Mind", "Second Fiddle (To an Old Guitar)", "I'll Take the Dog", "If Teardrops Were Silver" and "Then He Touched Me". [2] Capitol continued releasing a regular output of Shepard's material, including 1970's Best by Request. The album was recorded by producer Billy Graves three years prior, specifically in September 1967 at the Columbia Studio in Nashville, Tennessee. [3] The 12-track collection [1] consisted of re-recordings that had Shepard singing some of her most well-known material. Shepard revisited songs re-recorded from the 1950s like "A Satisfied Mind", "Beautiful Lies" and "The Other Woman". [3] [4]

Release, critical reception and chart performance

Best by Request was released by Capitol Records in March 1970 and was Shepard's fifteenth studio album. Capitol distributed the disc as a vinyl LP, with six songs on each side of the record. [3] In 1972, the album was released in Australia in a vinyl LP format by the World Record Club. [5] Best by Request received a positive response from Cash Box magazine, calling it a "strong album". The magazine also believed that fans of Shepard's would enjoy the re-recordings of her most familiar songs and highlighted some of them in the review. [4] Best by Request reached number 23 on the US Billboard Top Country Albums chart. It was her highest-charting album on Billboard since the release of 1967's Your Forevers Don't Last Very Long and her last to chart until 1973's Slippin' Away. [6]

Track listing

Side one [3]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."A Satisfied Mind"2:37
2."I Learned It All from You" Tommy Collins 2:37
3."Under Suspicion"
  • B. Raleigh
  • I. Kosloff
2:07
4."You're Calling Me Sweetheart Again"
  • G. Cox
  • J. Rhodes
2:20
5."I Love You Because" Leon Payne 2:26
6."The Other Woman"Beverly Small2:14
Side two [3]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Beautiful Lies"J. Rhodes2:51
2."Take Possession"
2:57
3."You're Telling Me Sweet Lies Again"
  • G. Cox
  • J. Rhodes
2:23
4."I'd Rather Die Young"
  • Smith
  • Vaughan
  • Wood
2:20
5."Why Did You Wait?"Bettie Westergard2:33
6."Don't Fall in Love with a Married Man"
  • J. Penney
  • R. Fortner
2:36

Chart performance

Chart (1970)Peak
position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [7] 23

Release history

RegionDateFormatLabelRef.
North AmericaMarch 1970Vinyl LP (Stereo)Capitol Records [3]
Australia1972World Record Club [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Shepard</span> American country singer (1933–2016)

Jean Shepard was an American honky-tonk singer who is often acknowledged as a pioneer for women in country music. Shepard released a total of 73 singles to the Hot Country Songs chart, one of which reached the number-one spot. She recorded a total of 24 studio albums between 1956 and 1981, and became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1955.

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<i>Seven Lonely Days</i> (album) 1969 studio album by Jean Shepard

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References

  1. 1 2 "Best by Request: Jean Shepard: Songs, reviews, credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  2. Cooper, Dan. "Jean Shepard Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Shepard, Jean (February 1970). "Best by Request (Liner Notes)". Capitol Records . ST-441 (Stereo).
  4. 1 2 "Country LP Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box . March 21, 1970. p. 60. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  5. 1 2 Shepard, Jean (February 1970). "Best by Request [Australia]". World Record Club . S-5051 (Stereo).
  6. Whitburn, Joel (2008). Joel Whitburn Presents Hot Country Albums, 1964-2007. Record Research, Inc. ISBN   978-0898201734.
  7. "Jean Shepard Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 June 2024.