| Just Between the Two of Us | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1966 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 29:20 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | Ken Nelson, Fuzzy Owen | |||
| Merle Haggard chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Just Between the Two of Us | ||||
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Just Between the Two of Us is a duet album by country singers Bonnie Owens and Merle Haggard with the Strangers. It was released in 1966 by Capitol Records.
At the time of Haggard's first top-ten hit "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers" in 1965, Owens was actually the better known performer, a fixture on the Bakersfield club scene who had recorded and appeared on television.[ citation needed ] Bonnie, who had been married to Buck Owens, won the new Academy of Country Music's first ever award for Female Vocalist after her 1965 debut album, Don't Take Advantage of Me, hit the top five on the country albums chart.[ citation needed ] As Haggard recalls in the American Masters episode dedicated to him, Owens set her career aside to help make his name: "She had records in the charts and she was directly responsible for telling people, you know, 'You need to book this guy in Bakersfield because he's gonna be a star.' And they liked her so much that they tried me."
Haggard and Owens, who would eventually marry, scored a minor hit with the duet "Just Between the Two of Us" in 1965 on Tally Records. As part of the deal that got Haggard signed to Capitol, producer Ken Nelson obtained the rights to Haggard's Tally sides, including the duets with Owens, and in 1966 Just Between the Two of Us was released. The LP was a forerunner of the male-female country duet golden age that would emerge in the years ahead, featuring teams like Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton, Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn, and George Jones and Tammy Wynette. However, there were no more hit singles, and although Owens recorded six solo albums on Capitol between 1965 and 1970, she became mainly known for her background harmonies on Haggard hits like "Sing Me Back Home" and "Branded Man".[ citation needed ]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Just Between the Two of Us hit number 4 on the country albums chart. In a retrospective review by Mark Deming for AllMusic, Deming wrote that the album is for "Haggard completists" and notes, "while Bonnie Owens was a good honky tonk singer, she was hardly a great one like Haggard, who seems to be holding himself back a bit musically as he defers to his spouse." [1]
| Chart (1966) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Country LPs | 4 |
Merle Ronald Haggard was an American country singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler.
Alvis Edgar Owens Jr., known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was the front man for Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts. He pioneered what came to be called the Bakersfield sound, named in honor of Bakersfield, California, Owens' adopted home, and the city from which he drew inspiration for what he preferred to call "American music".
Branded Man is the fourth studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released on Capitol Records in 1967.
Bonnie Owens, born Bonnie Campbell, was an American country music singer who was married to Buck Owens and later Merle Haggard.
Okie from Muskogee is the first live album by Merle Haggard and the Strangers released in October 1969 on Capitol Records.
The Bakersfield sound is a sub-genre of country music developed in the mid-to-late 1950s in and around Bakersfield, California. Bakersfield was the first subgenre of country music to be significantly influenced by rock and roll, and as a result, the first to rely heavily on electric instrumentation and a defined backbeat. It was also a reaction against the slickly produced, orchestra-laden Nashville sound, which was becoming popular in the late 1950s. The Bakersfield sound became one of the most popular and influential country genres of the 1960s, initiating a revival of honky-tonk music and influencing later country rock and outlaw country musicians.
Joe Cecil "Red" Simpson was an American country singer-songwriter best known for his trucker-themed songs.
Going Where the Lonely Go is the 35th studio album by American recording artist Merle Haggard backed by The Strangers, released in 1982.
I'm a Lonesome Fugitive is the third studio album by Merle Haggard and The Strangers released on Capitol Records in 1967.
The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde is the sixth studio album by Merle Haggard and The Strangers released on Capitol Records in 1968. It rose to number 6 on the Billboard country albums chart.
Mama Tried is the seventh studio album by American country music singer and songwriter Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released on Capitol Records in 1968. It reached number 4 on Billboard's country albums chart. The title song was one of Haggard's biggest hit singles and won the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999.
Sing Me Back Home is the fifth studio album by American country singer and songwriter Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1968 on Capitol Records.
Swinging Doors and the Bottle Let Me Down is the second studio album by country singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1966 on Capitol Records. It is sometimes called Swinging Doors and has also been released with two fewer songs as High On A Hilltop.
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.
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.
That's the Way Love Goes is the 38th studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard backed by The Strangers, released in 1983.
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.
Strangers is the debut studio album by Merle Haggard. It was released on September 27, 1965, by Capitol Records.
Heart to Heart is a duet album by Merle Haggard and Leona Williams with backing by The Strangers, released in June 1983 on Mercury Records. It reached number 44 on the Billboard Country music chart.
