Bright Lights and Country Music (Rick Nelson album)

Last updated
Brights Lights and Country Music
Bright Lights and Country Music (Rick Nelson album).JPG
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 30, 1966
Genre Country
Length29:37
Label Decca
Producer Charles "Bud" Dant
Rick Nelson chronology
Love and Kisses
(1965)
Brights Lights and Country Music
(1966)
On the Flip Side
(1966)
Singles from Brights Lights and Country Music
  1. "Louisiana Man""
    Released: May 1966

Bright Lights and Country Music was a studio album by American singer Ricky Nelson. Released on May 30, 1966, it was his seventh for Decca Records and fourteenth overall.[ citation needed ] It was considered a significant change in direction for Nelson from the rock and roll of previous albums.

Contents

The song "You Just Can't Quit" was the first song he wrote himself and released since "Don't Leave Me This Way" on his second album. [1] He covered country classics such as "Hello Walls", "Night Train to Memphis" and "Welcome to My Word", "Doug Kershaw Louisiana Man" [2]

"You Just Can't Quit" "bubbled under" Billboard's Hot 100, reaching number 108 [3] , number 76 on the Cashbox singles chart, [4] and number 24 in Canada.[ citation needed ]

Jimmie Haskell arranged the album and Charles "Bud" Dant produced it.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]

Suggesting that Nelson "cannily captured the idiomatic feel of contemporary country," biographer and music critic Joel Selvin wrote, "Artistically, Bright Lights served as a stunning reversal of field. It did not come out of a vacuum for Rick [...] But the idea of Rick Nelson as a country singer certainly came a surprise to the general public." [1]

Richie Unterberger of AllMusic said that "Although Nelson's move into straight country music didn't result in notable commercial gains, it made sense given that his prior few rock albums hadn't done much, and that most rockabilly performers had long since gone into the country market. [5]

Track listing

Side one

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Truck Drivin' Man" Terry Fell 2:08
2."You Just Can't Quit"Ricky Nelson2:23
3."Louisiana Man" Doug Kershaw 3:07
4."Welcome to My World"Ray Winkler. John Hathcock2:13
5."Kentucky Means Paradise" Merle Travis 2:14
6."Here Am I" Glen Campbell, Marc Douglas2:26

Side two

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Bright Lights and Country Music" Bill Anderson Jimmy Gateley2:30
2."Hello Walls" Willie Nelson 2:23
3."No Vacancy" Merle Travis 2:23
4."I'm a Fool to Care" Ted Daffan 2:32
5."Congratulations" Willie Nelson 3:02
6."Night Train to Memphis" Owen Bradley, Marvin Hughes, Beasley Smith 2:16

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References

  1. 1 2 Selvin, Joel (1990). Ricky Nelson: Idol for a Generation. Chicago: Contemporary Books. pp. 164–165. ISBN   978-0-8092-4187-3.
  2. Homer, Sheree (2012). Rick Nelson, Rock 'n' Roll Pioneer. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. p. 83. ISBN   978-0-7864-6060-1.
  3. Whitburn, Joel (1982). Joel Whitburn's Bubbling under the hot 100, 1959-1981. Menomonee Falls, Wis: Record Research. p. 120. ISBN   978-0-8982-0047-8.
  4. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, July 16, 1966".
  5. 1 2 "Rick Nelson – Bright Lights & Country Music: Review". AllMusic . Retrieved 2023-11-09.