Hearts on the Line

Last updated
Hearts on the Line
Hearts on the line.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 1981
Genre Country rock, urban cowboy
Label Curb
Producer Michael Lloyd
The Burrito Brothers chronology
Live from Tokyo
(1979)
Hearts on the Line
(1981)
Sunset Sundown
(1982)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Hearts on the Line is an album by the country rock group The Burrito Brothers, released in 1981.

Contents

After the Flying Burrito Brothers scored a minor country hit in 1979 with a live cover of Merle Haggard's "White Line Fever", the band was dropped from their record contract and hit yet again with personnel changes. By 1980, Greg Harris and Ed Ponder had left the group, leaving the Burritos as a trio of "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow, Gib Guilbeau and Skip Battin. In addition to commitments with the Flying Burrito Brothers, Guilbeau was also working as a songwriter for Criterion Music with John Beland, who Guilbeau knew from his time in the band Swampwater. Guilbeau and Beland wrote some songs and ultimately, Beland was invited to join the Burritos. Beland was reluctant to join the now nearly defunct band, as he was riding strong as lead guitarist with Ricky Nelson who (with Beland's help) was enjoying his own comeback of sorts.

However, after leaving Nelson in the hopes of producing the Burritos, Beland took the Burritos in a more commercial direction, having already written a number of country hits for other artists prior to his joining the FBB. In addition, the band's name at this time was shortened to simply The Burrito Brothers, a suggestion made by Curb Records.

Beland's song demos, which featured the Burritos on them, eventually made it to Dick Whitehouse at Curb records, who signed the band to a deal with Curb / Epic Records. By December 1980, the band's first single for Curb, "She's a Friend of a Friend" reached the US country top 70. Hearts on the Line followed in January 1981 and spawned two further singles, both of which made the US country top 20, "Does She Wish She Was Single Again?" and "She Belongs to Everyone But Me". More would follow.

That year, The Burrito Brothers received the number one "Crossover from pop to country" award from Billboard Magazine as well as best new vocal group award from Record World Magazine. But Skip Battin was fired from the band after the photo shoot for the album cover of Hearts on the Line, and was replaced in the studio by Dennis Belfield on bass. Mickey McGee was also replaced on drums by Ron Krasinsky, for the recordings. The success of the Burrito Brothers marked the first time in the band's 11-year history of having any serious chart success. During their span as a country hit act, they scored nine hits for Curb Records. Despite this success, the album is currently unavailable.

Track listing

  1. "That's When You Know It's Over" (John Beland, Gib Guilbeau)
  2. "She's a Friend of a Friend" (John Beland, Gib Guilbeau)
  3. "Isn't That Just Like Love" (Richard Leigh)
  4. "She Belongs to Everyone But Me" (John Beland, Gib Guilbeau)
  5. "Why Must the Ending Always Be So Sad" (John Beland)
  6. "Family Tree" (Frank Dycus, Max Barnes)
  7. "Damned If I'll Be Lonely Tonight" (John Beland, Gib Guilbeau, Mickey McGee)
  8. "Does She Wish She Was Single Again?" (Richard Leigh, Milton Blackford)
  9. "Too Much Honky Tonkin'" (John Beland, Gib Guilbeau)
  10. "Oh Lonesome Me" (Don Gibson)

Personnel

The Burrito Brothers

with:

recorded in Beverly Hills, California

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Flying Burrito Brothers</span> American country rock band

The Flying Burrito Brothers are an American country rock band, best known for their influential 1969 debut album, The Gilded Palace of Sin. Although the group is perhaps best known for its connection to band founders Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman, the group underwent many personnel changes and has existed in various incarnations. A lineup with no original members currently performs as The Burrito Brothers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sneaky Pete Kleinow</span> American country musician (1934–2007)

Peter E. "Sneaky Pete" Kleinow was an American country-rock musician. He is best known as a member of the band The Flying Burrito Brothers and as a session musician playing pedal steel guitar for such artists as Joan Baez, Jackson Browne, The Byrds, Joe Cocker, Rita Coolidge, Eagles, The Everly Brothers, George Harrison, The Steve Miller Band, Joni Mitchell, The Rolling Stones, Ringo Starr, Stevie Wonder, Spencer Davis, Little Richard, Linda Ronstadt, Jimmie Spheeris and many others. He is a member of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame.

Gene Victor Parsons is an American drummer, banjo player, guitarist, singer-songwriter, and engineer, best known for his work with the Byrds from 1968 to 1972. Parsons has also released solo albums and played in bands including Nashville West, the Flying Burrito Brothers, and Parsons Green. Along with guitarist Clarence White, he is credited with inventing the B-Bender —a device which allows a guitarist to emulate the sound of a pedal steel guitar. The device is often referred to as the Parsons/White B-Bender, a trademarked name.

<i>Flying Again</i> 1975 studio album by The Flying Burrito Brothers

Flying Again is the fourth studio album by the country rock group The Flying Burrito Brothers, released in 1975.

<i>Airborne</i> (The Flying Burrito Brothers album) 1976 studio album by The Flying Burrito Brothers

Airborne is the fifth studio album by the country rock group The Flying Burrito Brothers, released in 1976.

<i>Live from Tokyo</i> (album) 1979 live album by The Flying Burrito Brothers

Live from Tokyo is the second live album by the country rock group The Flying Burrito Brothers, released in 1979. It was originally released in Japan in 1978 under the title Close Encounters on the West Coast.

<i>Sunset Sundown</i> 1982 studio album by The Burrito Brothers

Sunset Sundown is an album by the country rock group The Burrito Brothers, released in 1982.

<i>Cabin Fever</i> (Flying Burrito Brothers album) 1985 live album by The Flying Burrito Brothers

Cabin Fever is a live album by the country rock group The Flying Burrito Brothers, released in 1985.

<i>Live from Europe</i> 1986 live album by The Flying Burrito Brothers

Live from Europe is a live album by the country rock group The Flying Burrito Brothers, released in 1986. It contains songs recorded live for a Dutch radio broadcast and features the same lineup as Cabin Fever. Skip Battin would leave the band mid-1986 and be replaced with David Vaught for some shows.

Skip Battin Musical artist

Clyde "Skip" Battin was an American singer-songwriter, bassist, performer, and recording artist. He was a member of the Byrds, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and the Flying Burrito Brothers.

Swampwater was an American country rock band, that formed and started out initially as Linda Ronstadt’s backing group in the late 1960s, soon after she went solo. They are famous for incorporating cajun and swamp rock elements into their music. Its members included cajun fiddler Gib Guilbeau, John Beland, before either of them joined The Flying Burrito Brothers, with Stan Pratt, Thad Maxwell, and Eric White. Swampwater would go on to back Ronstadt in 1971 on TV's The Johnny Cash Show, and their appearance on the show would help Swampwater secure a recording contract with RCA.

Nashville West was a short-lived American country rock quartet, that was briefly together in the late 1960s. The group comprised multi-instrumentalist Gene Parsons, guitarist Clarence White, singer-guitarist-fiddler Gib Guilbeau and bassist Wayne Moore. Parsons and White left the band to join The Byrds while Guilbeau and Parsons later joined the Flying Burrito Brothers.

John Christopher Ethridge was an American country rock bass guitarist. He was a member of the International Submarine Band (ISB) and The Flying Burrito Brothers, and co-wrote several songs with Gram Parsons. Ethridge worked with Nancy Sinatra, Judy Collins, Leon Russell, Delaney Bramlett, Johnny Winter, Randy Newman, Graham Nash, Ry Cooder, Linda Ronstadt, The Byrds, Jackson Browne, and Willie Nelson.

<i>Eye of a Hurricane</i> (The Flying Burrito Brothers album) 1994 studio album by The Flying Burrito Brothers

Eye of a Hurricane is the 6th studio album by The Flying Burrito Brothers, released in 1994. In the early 1990s, longtime Flying Burrito Brothers members John Beland, Gib Guilbeau, Sneaky Pete Kleinow and Chris Ethridge teamed up with Australian rock legend, Brian Cadd and former Elvis Presley drummer, Ronnie Tutt, to form a brand new version of Burritos. The sessions took place at Brian Cadd's studio in Franklin, Tennessee and the material was mostly written by Beland, Cadd and Guilbeau, with one song contributed by Ethridge. Beland and Cadd produced the album for Magnum Records, in London England. In support of the album, Beland, Cadd, Kleinow and Guilbeau toured Europe in the early 90s, playing clubs and concerts. Ethridge surprisingly vanished only days before the tour, leaving the band to quickly hire Nashville bassist Larry Gadler, as well as Bobby Bare's drummer Gary Kubal. The tour yielded a live album called Live in Europe, also on Magnum.

Floyd August "Gib" Guilbeau was an American Cajun country rock musician and songwriter. As a member of Nashville West, Swampwater, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and later The Burrito Brothers, Guilbeau helped pioneer the fusion of rock and country music in the 1960s.

Mickey McGee American drummer (born 1947)

William Michael "Mickey" McGee was an American drummer.

<i>California Jukebox</i> 1997 studio album by The Flying Burrito Brothers

California Jukebox is the 7th studio album by The Flying Burrito Brothers, released in 1997. The album is a fair mix between original and cover songs. The cover songs are an interesting mix between older and more established acts such as Neil Young and Buck Owens as well as newer alt-country acts such as Son Volt and The Jayhawks. The album also features guest appearances by Waylon Jennings, Charlie Louvin and former band members such as Brian Cadd and Al Perkins.

<i>Georgia Peach</i> (album) 2002 studio album by Burrito Deluxe

Georgia Peach is the first release by the Burrito Deluxe. After John Beland retired The Flying Burrito Brothers in 2000, original member of that band, "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow put together a new lineup with Carlton Moody and Tommy Spurlock. As Beland still had rights to the name, the band decided to call itself Burrito Deluxe after the Flying Burrito Brothers' second album. In addition to a mixture of original tunes and covers, the album contains several redone version of Flying Burrito Brothers and other songs associated with Gram Parsons.

John Beland American singer-songwriter

John Edward Beland is an American songwriter, session guitarist, recording artist, producer and author. Beland's career as guitarist started out in Los Angeles in the late 1960s, playing sessions and local live gigs with Kris Kristofferson, as well as future Eagles members, Glenn Frey and Bernie Leadon. Beland's first major break came in 1970, when he played lead guitar for a young Linda Ronstadt. He helped Ronstadt put together her first serious solo band, Swampwater. Along with bandmates Gib Guilbeau, Thad Maxwell and Stan Pratt, Swampwater toured the country with Ronstadt, appearing with her on many notable television shows including The Johnny Cash Show. Swampwater recorded two landmark country-rock albums for Starday-King and RCA Records. The group was one of the first Los Angeles bands to record in Nashville, known for their smooth harmonies and Cajun rock style.

The following is a comprehensive discography of The Flying Burrito Brothers, an American country rock band which has evolved over time and released material under several different names. Their initial recordings were led by Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman who had recently left The Byrds. Parsons was replaced by Rick Roberts who continued to tour with the band even after the departure of Hillman. By 1975 a new lineup focused around Gib Guilbeau and other Byrds alumni such as Skip Battin and Gene Parsons. In 1977 the band recorded an album that their record company released under the name "Sierra" much to their surprise. By the 1980s, and after several lineup changes, the band was mostly associated with Gib Gilbeau and John Beland. They relented to record company pressure and once again changed the name of the band to just "The Burrito Brothers". Sneaky Pete Kleinow's pedal steel guitar playing was generally the only constant with each lineup change during this era.

References

  1. Ken Dryden. "Hearts on the Line - The Burrito Brothers | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 2015-12-11.