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| Family Album | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 1978 | |||
| Recorded | 1978 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 43:13 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Ron Bledsoe | |||
| David Allan Coe chronology | ||||
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Family Album is an album by country musician David Allan Coe, released in 1978 by Columbia Records. [1]
The LP is best remembered for containing Coe's own version of "Take This Job and Shove It" and "Divers Do It Deeper". The former was released by Johnny Paycheck in October 1977 and became his signature tune. The song is a first person account of a man who has worked for fifteen years with no apparent reward, and it struck a chord with the public, even inspiring a 1981 film of the same name. Although Coe's name was credited, the assumption by many that Paycheck, an acclaimed songwriter himself, composed the tune would feed into Coe's growing bitterness with the industry as another one of his peers exploded in popularity. Coe was further disenchanted when pop star Jimmy Buffett accused him of plagiarising his hit "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes" for Coe's "Divers Do It Deeper".[ citation needed ]
The subject matter on Family Album runs the gamut for a country record, populated by songs about heartache, alcoholism, and adultery. It opens with the title track, a seven-minute recollection of childhood and family life with a spoken introduction similar to previous Coe recordings like "Daddy Was a God Fearing Man". "Guilty Footsteps" and "I've Got to Have You" are "cheatin' songs" with the narrator telling his lover, "I know you're worried about where you stand/The ring that he gave you is still on your hand." "Million Dollar Memories" is a stellar approximation of the country songs Jerry Lee Lewis recorded on Mercury Records, with Coe mimicking Jerry Lee's vocal delivery and even saying "Think about it," one of the Killer's favourite in-song expressions, while Nashville session pianist Hargus "Pig" Robbins cops Lewis's piano flourishes. Coe imitates Lewis directly on "Bad Impressions", a novelty song where Coe does credible impersonations of several country stars, including Hank Snow, Gary Stewart, and Bill Anderson.
Coe composed seven of the ten tracks on Family Album himself, one of the exceptions being "Whole Lot of Lonesome", a rare co-write with George Jones. Appropriately, it is a despairing song of heartache. Within the song, Coe mentions the name "Tammy" before singing one of the choruses, a nod to Jones's ex-wife Tammy Wynette.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [3] |
Family Album reached No. 47 on the country albums chart. The album's cover did not help its commercial potential, as pointed out in Thom Jurek's AllMusic review: "1978's Family Album features one of the most bizarre covers in David Allan Coe's - hell, anybody's - catalog. He is dressed in a minister's black, flowing robe with an Amish hat, a little blonde girl in his lap, his two - yes, two (of three at one time) - wives standing behind him, and behind them, a black Lincoln Town Car and Coe's Silver Eagle tour bus. The album is dedicated to his two mothers - he's apparently from a Mormon family - and stipulates how difficult it is for a child to have two mothers. It's so surreal one is almost afraid to play the recording." [2]
All songs written by David Allan Coe except where noted.
David Allan Coe is an American singer and songwriter. Coe took up music after spending much of his early life in reform schools and prisons, and first became notable for busking in Nashville. He initially played mostly in the blues style, before transitioning to country music, becoming a major part of the 1970s outlaw country scene. His biggest hits include "You Never Even Called Me by My Name", "Longhaired Redneck", "The Ride", "Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile", and "She Used to Love Me a Lot".
Johnny Paycheck was an American country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member notable for recording the David Allan Coe song "Take This Job and Shove It". He achieved his greatest success in the 1970s as a force in country music's "outlaw movement" popularized by artists Hank Williams Jr., Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver, and Merle Haggard. In 1980, Paycheck appeared on the PBS music program Austin City Limits, though in the ensuing decade, his music career slowed due to drug, alcohol, and legal problems. He served a prison sentence in the early 1990s, and his declining health effectively ended his career in early 2000.
"Take This Job and Shove It" is a 1977 country music song written by David Allan Coe and popularized by Johnny Paycheck, about the bitterness of a man who has worked long and hard with no apparent reward. The song was first recorded by Paycheck on his album also titled Take This Job and Shove It. The recording hit number one on the country charts for two weeks, spending 18 weeks on the charts. It was Paycheck's only #1 hit.
Shine On is an album by American country music artist George Jones, released in March 1983 on the Epic Records label.
My Very Special Guests is a duet album by American country music artist George Jones, released in 1979 by Epic Records.
Hargus Melvin Robbins, known by his nickname "Pig", was an American session keyboard player, having played on records for many artists, including Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Connie Smith, Patti Page, Loretta Lynn, The Everly Brothers, Kenny Rogers, George Jones, Charlie Rich, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, J.J. Cale, John Hartford, John Stewart, Mark Knopfler, Alan Jackson, Merle Haggard, Roger Miller, David Allan Coe, Moe Bandy, George Hamilton IV, Sturgill Simpson, Conway Twitty, Ween, and Al Hirt.
The Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy is the third album of American singer David Allan Coe, and his first on Columbia Records. Released in 1974, it is his first release in the country music genre.
Once Upon a Rhyme is the fourth studio album by American country singer David Allan Coe. It was released in 1975 on Columbia.
Longhaired Redneck is an album released by country musician David Allan Coe. It was released in 1976 on Columbia.
Tattoo is an album by country musician David Allan Coe, released in 1977 on Columbia Records.
Human Emotions is an album by country musician David Allan Coe. It was released in 1978 on Columbia.
I've Got Something to Say is an album released by country musician David Allan Coe. It was released in 1980 on Columbia. Guy Clark, Bill Anderson, Dickey Betts, Kris Kristofferson, Larry Jon Wilson, and George Jones are all featured on this album.
Invictus (Means) Unconquered is an album released by country musician David Allan Coe. It was released in 1981 on Columbia.
Burn Your Playhouse Down – The Unreleased Duets is the 60th and final studio album by American country music singer George Jones released on August 19, 2008 on the Bandit Records label. It features duets never before released, including some that were cut from his 1994 duets album The Bradley Barn Sessions. The only new recording in the collection is "You And Me And Time", a song Jones recorded with his daughter by Tammy Wynette, Georgette. A music video accompanied the song. The album features several duets with artist from outside the country music pantheon, including Mark Knopfler, Leon Russell, and Keith Richards. The album peaked at number 15 on the Billboard country albums chart. Of the album's title track, Andrew Meuller of Uncut opined in July 2013, "The segue from Richards trying to sing like Jones to Jones actually singing like Jones is hilarious."
Take This Job and Shove It is the seventeenth album released by country music artist Johnny Paycheck. It was his second album released in 1977 and is his most commercially successful album, being certified platinum by the RIAA. It contains his most well known song, the David Allan Coe-written title song. It was his only single ever to reach #1 on the Country charts. Two other singles released from this album, "Colorado Kool-Aid" and "Georgia in a Jug", reached #50 and #17, respectively.
Blue & Lonesome is a compilation album by American country music artist George Jones released in 1964 on the Mercury Records label.
"Her Name Is" is a country song written by Bobby Braddock and made famous by George Jones. It reached No. 3 on the Hot Country Songs in 1976.
D.A.C is an album released by country musician David Allan Coe. It was released in 1982 on Columbia.
Just Divorced is an album released by country musician David Allan Coe, released in 1984 on Columbia Records.
Darlin', Darlin' is an album released by the country musician David Allan Coe on Columbia Records in 1985.
