| I Love Dixie Blues, So I Recorded Live In New Orleans | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Live album by | ||||
| Released | 1973 | |||
| Recorded | May 13, 1973 in New Orleans | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 36:14 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | Ken Nelson, Fuzzy Owen | |||
| Merle Haggard and The Strangers chronology | ||||
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I Love Dixie Blues (subtitled So I Recorded Live in New Orleans) is a live album by American country singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1973.
Haggard had originally planned on releasing a studio-themed album called I Love Dixie Blues - test pressings and cover art had been prepared - but changed his mind, opting to rerecord some of the tracks live in New Orleans. The album was Haggard's third live LP in four years and features his usual backing band The Strangers augmented by a small horn trio named the Dixieland Express. [1] The album is noteworthy for featuring several songs originally recorded by Emmet Miller, a minstrel show performer and recording artist from Georgia whose high falsetto and yodel-like voice had been a major influence on country stars like Jimmie Rodgers, Bob Wills, and Hank Williams, and it is likely that Williams became aware of "Lovesick Blues" from Miller's 1928 version.
The album produced three hit singles, the first being the #1 hit "I Wonder If They Ever Think of Me," which sees Haggard return to the subject of the Vietnam War, this time from the perspective of a POW. The other singles include the honky-tonk blues "The Emptiest Arms in the World," which peaked at number 3, and "Everybody's Had the Blues," another number one that also rose to #62 on the pop chart, his first appearance there since the single "Carolyn" in 1971. [2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    |
| Christgau's Record Guide | C [4] |
I Love Dixie Blues... was released in July 1973 and topped the Billboard country albums chart. In his 2013 biography Merle Haggard: The Running Kind, David Cantwell wrote the album "is a thrilling document, loose and lively in a way Haggard had rarely been even at his finest. The addition of the Dixieland Horns gives the songs drives and character without sounding quaint..." [1]
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote "Haggard's gamble works quite well, since the brass section never feels like it's grafted onto the core band—they sound integrated, unlike his previous experiments with dixieland horns." [3] Music critic Robert Christgau wrote "The care Haggard put into his Jimmie Rodgers and Bob Wills tributes was palpable; this live-in-New Orleans-with-horns affair is slovenly." [4]
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| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Billboard Country albums | 1 |
| 1973 | Billboard Pop albums | 126 |
Same Train, A Different Time is the ninth studio album by American country music artist Merle Haggard backed by The Strangers, released in 1969, featuring covers of songs by legendary country music songwriter Jimmie Rodgers. It was originally released as a 2 LP set on Capitol (SWBB-223).
A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World is the eleventh studio album by Merle Haggard backed by The Strangers, released in 1970.
Okie from Muskogee is the first live album by Merle Haggard and the Strangers released in October 1969 on Capitol Records.
Pride in What I Am is the eighth studio album by Merle Haggard and The Strangers released in 1969 on Capitol Records.
Hag is the twelfth studio album by Merle Haggard and The Strangers released on Capitol Records in 1971. It became his fifth album to top the Billboard country album charts. It also reached number 66 on the pop albums chart.
The Fightin' Side of Me is the second live album by Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1970. Like the song "Okie from Muskogee" led to a quickly released album, The Fightin' Side of Me was also quickly released because of the run of success of Haggard's patriotic hit single "The Fightin' Side of Me".
Let Me Tell You About a Song is the fourteenth studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1972. It reached No. 7 on the Billboard Country album chart and #166 on the Pop album chart. The lead-off singles were "Grandma Harp" and "Daddy Frank " — both reached No. 1.
It's Not Love is the fifteenth studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1972. It reached number one on the Billboard country albums chart. The lead off single was "It's Not Love " which also reached No. 1 on the charts.
If We Make It Through December is the sixteenth studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1974. It reached number 4 on the Billboard country album charts. The title track was previously released on Haggard's Christmas release of 1973, A Christmas Present. The single spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart in December 1973 and January 1974, and cracked the Top 30 of the Billboard Hot 100. "If We Make It Through December" was the No. 2 song of the year on Billboard's Hot Country Singles 1974 year-end chart.
Merle Haggard Presents His 30th Album is the seventeenth studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1974. Contrary to the album's title, this was his 17th studio album; however, the number 30 included his six collaborative albums, three live albums, one 'live' gospel album, one Christmas album, and two greatest hits compilations up to that point.
It's All in the Movies is the nineteenth studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1976.
A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today is the 26th studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1977. Even though Haggard had moved to the MCA label, Capitol created this release from tracks previously recorded in 1975 and 1976.
"Everybody's Had the Blues" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in June 1973 as the third single from the album I Love Dixie Blues. The song was a live recording that became Haggard and The Strangers fifteenth number one on the U.S. country singles chart. The single stayed at number one for two weeks and spent a total of fifteen weeks on the chart. "Everybody's Had the Blues" was a minor pop hit, reaching No. 62 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the fall of 1973.
Songs for the Mama That Tried is the 32nd studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard with backing by The Strangers, released in 1981. A Gospel album, it reached Number 46 on the Billboard country albums chart.
"The Emptiest Arms in the World" is a song written and performed by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in March 1973 as the second single from the album I Love Dixie Blues. The song peaked at number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. It reached number twelve on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks.
Songs I'll Always Sing is a two-record compilation album by American country music singer and songwriter Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1977. It reached #15 in the US Country Charts. The album collects many of Haggard's best known recordings during his successful run at the label, including nine of his twenty-four #1 hits dating back to 1966.
Rainbow Stew Live at Anaheim Stadium is a live album by American country music artist Merle Haggard with backing by The Strangers. It was recorded in October 1980 and released in July 1981 on MCA Records.
The Epic Collection is a live album by Merle Haggard backed by The Strangers released on Epic Records in November 1983.
Kern River is the fortieth studio album by American recording artist Merle Haggard backed by The Strangers, released in 1985. It reached number 8 on the Billboard country albums chart.
5:01 Blues is the forty-sixth studio album by American recording artist Merle Haggard, with backing by The Strangers. It was released in 1989 and was his last studio album on the Epic label. It peaked at number 28 on the Billboard country albums chart. It was co-produced by Mark Yeary, keyboardist of The Strangers.
