Honky Tonk Angels | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 2, 1993 | |||
Recorded | February 1993 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | Country | |||
Length | 32:34 | |||
Label | Columbia Nashville | |||
Producer | ||||
Dolly Parton chronology | ||||
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Loretta Lynn chronology | ||||
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Tammy Wynette chronology | ||||
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Singles from Honky Tonk Angels | ||||
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Honky Tonk Angels is a collaborative studio album by Dolly Parton,Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette. It was released on November 2,1993,by Columbia Records. [1] The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on January 5,1994,for sales of 500,000 copies.
The album had been a long-rumored project between the country singers for over a decade. It was mostly Parton's idea to bring together the women who made their musical breakthroughs in the '60s. These were also the women who changed the texture of the music by weaving strands of modern life into the traditional country patterns they grew up with and helped enlarge the audience for country music. Once Parton talked the others into doing the project–an easy argument,by all accounts–she asked Buckingham to co-produce with her. [2]
The album features many country standards,including "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" (which features a guest vocal appearance by the song's originator and the original country queen,Kitty Wells),"Wings of a Dove" (a 1960 hit for Ferlin Husky),"I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know" (a 1953 hit for the Davis Sisters),"Put It Off Until Tomorrow" (a 1966 Bill Phillips hit that was Parton's first success as a songwriter),"Lovesick Blues" (a country classic known for Hank Williams' 1949 rendition;here the trio sings along with a vintage recording of the song by Patsy Cline),and "I Dreamed of a Hillbilly Heaven",Tex Ritter's 1962 classic that features new spoken dialogue written by Parton.
The original songs by Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette are solo performances by each of them with harmony vocals by Parton and "Sittin' on the Front Porch Swing" is a Parton solo. The album features liner notes written by Ralph Emery.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [4] |
The review published in the November 27,1993,issue of Billboard said that the album is "a spirited collaboration that brings together three country music cornerstones and throws in a pinch of Patsy Cline and Kitty Wells for good measure." The review went on to say,"There are a few musically inspired moments here,notably Parton's "Sittin' on the Front Porch Swing" and Wynette's "That's the Way It Could Have Been". But,for the most part,this is more of a nostalgic look back than a celebration of present–day glories." [5]
Kelly McCartney of AllMusic wrote that "for fans of traditional country or great singers,this is a fun listen because it nicely captures three of the best voices around." [3]
The album peaked at No. 6 on the US Billboard Top Country Albums chart and No. 42 on the US Billboard 200 chart. In Canada,the album peaked at No. 6 on the RPM Country Albums chart and No. 44 on the RPM Albums chart.
The only single,"Silver Threads and Golden Needles",was released in November 1993 [6] and peaked at No. 68 on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles &Tracks chart.
The album and its single were nominated for several awards. The album was nominated for Album of the Year at the 1994 TNN Music City News Country Awards and "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" was nominated for Vocal Collaboration of the Year. "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" also received a nomination at the 37th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals [7] and Vocal Event of the Year at the 28th Annual Country Music Association Awards. [8]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1995 | "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" | Best Country Collaboration with Vocals | Nominated |
28th Annual Country Music Association Awards
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1994 | "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" | Vocal Event of the Year | Nominated |
1994 TNN Music City News Country Awards
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1994 | Honky Tonk Angels | Album of the Year | Nominated |
"Silver Threads and Golden Needles" | Vocal Collaboration of the Year | Nominated |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" (with special guest Kitty Wells) | J.D. Miller | 2:51 |
2. | "Put It Off Until Tomorrow" | 2:38 | |
3. | "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" |
| 2:24 |
4. | "Please Help Me I'm Falling (In Love with You)" |
| 2:35 |
5. | "Sittin' on the Front Porch Swing" | Buddy Sheffield | 2:34 |
6. | "Wings of a Dove" | Bob Ferguson | 2:54 |
7. | "I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know" | Cecil Null | 2:12 |
8. | "Wouldn't It Be Great" | Loretta Lynn | 3:03 |
9. | "That's the Way It Could Have Been" | Tammy Wynette | 2:55 |
10. | "Let Her Fly" | Parton | 3:04 |
11. | "Lovesick Blues" (with special guest Patsy Cline) | 2:18 | |
12. | "I Dreamed of a Hillbilly Heaven" |
| 3:32 |
Total length: | 32:34 |
Adapted from the album liner notes. [1]
Album
Chart (1993–1994) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia ( ARIA Charts ) [9] | 177 |
Canada Country Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [10] | 6 |
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [11] | 44 |
US Billboard 200 [12] | 42 |
US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [13] | 6 |
UK Country Albums (OCC) [14] | 10 |
Singles
Title | Year | Peak position | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
US Country [15] | |||||
"Silver Threads and Golden Needles" | 1993 | 68 | |||
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA) [16] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Loretta Lynn was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "Hey Loretta", "The Pill", "Blue Kentucky Girl", "Love Is the Foundation", "You're Lookin' at Country", "You Ain't Woman Enough", "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl", "Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' ", "One's on the Way", "Fist City", and "Coal Miner's Daughter". The 1980 musical film Coal Miner's Daughter was based on her life.
Ellen Muriel Deason, known professionally as Kitty Wells, was an American pioneering female country music singer. She broke down a barrier for women in country music with her 1952 hit recording "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels", which also made her the first female country singer to top the U.S. country charts and turned her into the first female country superstar. “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” would also be her first of several pop crossover hits. Wells is the only artist to be awarded top female vocalist awards for 14 consecutive years. Her chart-topping hits continued until the mid-1960s, paving the way for and inspiring a long list of female country singers who came to prominence in the 1960s.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1975.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 1969.
"It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" is a 1952 country song written by J. D. "Jay" Miller, and recorded by Kitty Wells. It was an answer song to the Hank Thompson hit "The Wild Side of Life." First performed by Al Montgomery as "Did God Make Honky Tonk Angels" on the Feature label which was owned by songwriter J.D. Miller.
Country USA was a 23-volume series issued by Time-Life Music during the late 1980s and early 1990s, spotlighting country music of the 1950s through early 1970s.
"Sweet Dreams" or "Sweet Dreams (of You)" is a country ballad, which was written by Don Gibson. Gibson originally recorded the song in 1955; his version hit the top ten of Billboard's country chart, but was eclipsed by the success of a competing recording by Faron Young. In 1960, after Gibson had established himself as a country music superstar, he released a new take as a single. This version also charted in the top ten on the country chart and also crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at No.93. The song has become a country standard, with other notable versions by Patsy Cline and Emmylou Harris.
Honky Tonk Angel may refer to:
"Silver Threads and Golden Needles" is a country song written by Dick Reynolds and Jack Rhodes. It was first recorded by Wanda Jackson in 1956. The original lyrics, as performed by Jackson, contain a verse not usually included in later versions, which also often differed in other minor details.
"Please Help Me, I'm Falling" is a 1960 song written by Don Robertson and Hal Blair and first recorded by Hank Locklin. The single was Locklin's most successful recording and was his second number one on the country charts. "Please Help Me, I'm Falling" spent 14 weeks at the top spot and spent nine months on the country chart and crossed over to the Hot 100 peaking at number eight.
"Wings of a Dove' is a country song written by Bob Ferguson in 1958. It was popularized when it was recorded by Ferlin Husky in 1960. His recording topped the country charts for 10 nonconsecutive weeks. It was Ferlin Husky's third and final number 1 on the country chart, spending nine months on it. "Wings of a Dove" was successful on the pop charts as well, peaking at number 12 on the Hot 100. In 1987, Broadcast Music Incorporated awarded Ferguson with the "million air" plays for the "Wings of a Dove".
Songs That Made Country Girls Famous is a studio album by Lynn Anderson released in 1969. The album became Anderson's second top ten LP on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart, peaking at #9.
American country artist Loretta Lynn released 86 singles, two B-sides and 14 music videos. Her debut single was "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl" (1960) via Zero Records. Promoting the song with her husband by driving to each radio station, the effort paid off when it peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Arriving in Nashville, Tennessee, that year, she signed a recording contract with Decca Records. In 1962, "Success" reached the sixth position on the country songs chart, starting a series of top ten hits including "Wine Women and Song" and "Blue Kentucky Girl". She began collaborating with Ernest Tubb in 1964 and recorded four hit singles with him, including "Mr. and Mrs. Used to Be". Lynn's popularity greatly increased in 1966 when she began releasing her own compositions as singles. Among the first was "You Ain't Woman Enough " which reached the second position on the country songs list. She then reached the number one spot with "Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' " (1967). This was followed by "Fist City" (1968) and "Woman of the World " (1969).
The discography of American country music singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn includes 50 studio albums, 36 compilation albums, two live albums, seven video albums, two box sets and 27 additional album appearances. Briefly recording with the Zero label, she signed an official recording contract with Decca Records in 1961, remaining there for over 20 years The first under the label was her debut studio album Loretta Lynn Sings (1963). It peaked at number two on the Billboard Top Country Albums survey. Lynn would issue several albums a year with her growing success, including a duet album with Ernest Tubb (1965), a gospel album (1965), and a holiday album (1966). Her seventh studio album You Ain't Woman Enough (1966) was her first release to top the country albums chart and to chart within the Billboard 200. Other albums to reach number one during this period were Don't Come Home a Drinkin' (1967) and Fist City. Don't Come A'Drinkin would also become Lynn's first album to certify gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Wouldn't It Be Great is the forty-fifth solo studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn. It was released by Sony Legacy on September 28, 2018. The album is produced by Lynn's daughter Patsy Lynn Russell and John Carter Cash, the son of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash.
The albums discography of American country music artist Tammy Wynette contains 33 studio albums, 55 compilation albums, 2 box sets and has appeared on 6 additional albums. In 1966, Wynette signed a recording contract with Epic Records. The following year, her debut studio album entitled Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad was issued, peaking at number 7 on the Billboard Country Albums chart. The same year, she collaborated with David Houston on the studio album My Elusive Dreams, which reached number 11 on the same chart. The following year, her fourth studio album D-I-V-O-R-C-E peaked at number 1 on the Country Albums list, spending two weeks at the top spot. Wynette's fifth studio record Stand by Your Man (1969) reached number 2 on the country albums chart and peaked at number 43 on the Billboard 200 albums list. Wynette's first compilation released entitled Tammy's Greatest Hits (1969) would spend 61 weeks on the Billboard 200 before peaking at number 37.
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"Put It Off Until Tomorrow" is a song written by Dolly Parton and Bill Owens, and first recorded by American country music artist Bill Phillips. It was released in January 1966, and Phillips released an album of the same name later that year. The song became his biggest hit, peaking at number 6 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. Parton provided uncredited harmony vocals on the single. The song has been covered by numerous artists, and became a top ten hit for The Kendalls in 1980.