| Kickin' Out the Footlights...Again | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 24, 2006 | |||
| Recorded | Summer 2006 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Label | Bandit | |||
| Producer | Merle Haggard, Lou Bradley, Keith Stegall | |||
| George Jones chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Merle Haggard chronology | ||||
| ||||
Kickin' Out the Footlights...Again is a studio album by American country music artists George Jones and Merle Haggard, released in 2006.
Jones and Haggard had previously recorded one album together in 1982, A Taste of Yesterday's Wine, which produced the number one single "Yesterday's Wine". [1] Their friendship stretched much farther back, however, to when Jones first heard the Haggard-penned "I Threw Away the Rose," which rose to number 2. In his 1981 autobiography Merle Haggard: Sing Me Back Home, Haggard recalls playing somewhere in Texas when someone handed him a phone saying Jones was on the line. Jones slurred his appreciation for the song and said he was coming to see him immediately. "It wasn't hard to see that ol' George was pretty wasted," Haggard wrote. "I hung up the phone and some of the others in the room said they wouldn't be surprised if he showed up. I told them I didn't think so, 'cause hell, he was supposed to be doing concerts all week." The next day Jones arrived, kicking the door in and eventually folding up the roll-away bed that Haggard's sleeping manager Fuzzy Owen was on and wheeling it out of the room. Jones would record "I Threw Away the Rose" himself, as well as several other Haggard compositions over the course of his career, and say repeatedly over the years that, next to Hank Williams, Haggard was his favorite singer. [2]
In 1996, Jones was a surprise guest on an episode of TNN's Prime Time Live that was saluting Haggard and, in 1997, Jones and Haggard performed a rendition of "The Way I Am" together on another TV special honoring Haggard called Workin' Man - A Tribute.[ citation needed ] A year later Haggard returned the favor by appearing on The George Jones Show, a series of television specials on TNN.[ citation needed ] Haggard also took a guest spot on Jones's 1998 song "It Just Doesn't Get Any Better Than This", which also features other country icons like Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings.[ citation needed ]
Twenty-five years after their last album, Jones and Haggard took a different approach in 2006, each singing five songs originally recorded by the other, then teaming up for four full-fledged duets. One of these is the title track, which chronicles the tales of an aging country singer, a song clearly intended to appear somewhat autobiographical for these two legends (when Haggard appeared on Jones's television show, Jones requested that Haggard sing a verse of it and called it his favorite Hag song).[ citation needed ]
Jones had previously recorded Haggard's early hit "All My Friends Are Strangers" when he was on the Musicor record label in the 1960s. Haggard had recorded Jones's smash "She Thinks I Still Care" on his 1969 album A Portrait of Merle Haggard .
Kickin' Out The Footlights...Again would be the final proper studio album recorded by Jones before his death in 2013.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [3] |
| Robert Christgau | (*) [4] |
The album reached number 25 on the Billboard country albums chart and received positive reviews, although many critics took note of Jones's increasingly withered voice. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote "Of the two, George sounds a bit worse for wear—his voice is a little thin and slightly scratchy—but even if their age is evident... the album also illustrates exactly why Jones and Haggard are two of the greatest vocalists in country music history." Music critic Robert Christgau wrote "Hag keeps getting Haggier, but that thing in George's voice that was grainy like cornbread is turning to mush." [4]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Footlights" | Merle Haggard | 3:39 |
| 2. | "The Race Is On" | Don Rollins | 2:11 |
| 3. | "The Way I Am" | Sonny Throckmorton | 3:05 |
| 4. | "She Thinks I Still Care" | Dickey Lee | 2:38 |
| 5. | "All My Friends Are Strangers" | Liz Anderson | 2:36 |
| 6. | "Things Have Gone to Pieces" | Leon Payne | 3:01 |
| 7. | "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink" | Haggard | 4:33 |
| 8. | "Born with the Blues" | Haggard | 4:46 |
| 9. | "Sick, Sober and Sorry" | Tex Atchison, Eddie Hazelwood | 3:05 |
| 10. | "I Always Get Lucky with You" | Gary Church, Freddy Powers, Tex Whitson | 3:21 |
| 11. | "Sing Me Back Home" | Haggard, Buck Owens | 2:58 |
| 12. | "Window Up Above" | George Jones | 2:38 |
| 13. | "You Take Me for Granted" | Leona Williams | 2:48 |
| 14. | "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" | Sidney Keith, Edward Kennedy | 3:00 |
Merle Ronald Haggard was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler.
Strait Country is the debut studio album by American country music artist George Strait, released on September 4, 1981 by MCA Records. The album's traditional country music approach—a mix of Texas honky tonk and the Bakersfield sound—presented a sharp contrast to the dominating trends within country music at that time. The album includes the singles "Unwound", "Down and Out", and "If You're Thinking You Want a Stranger ". The album peaked at number 26 on the US Billboard Top Country Albums chart. Strait Country has been certified platinum by the RIAA. The album was one of the first to be recorded and mixed digitally.
A Taste of Yesterday's Wine is an album by the American country music artists George Jones and Merle Haggard, released in 1982. They are backed by Don Markham and Jimmy Belken of The Strangers. The album includes the song "Silver Eagle", written by Gary Church, also of The Strangers. This was their first album together; their next album together, Kickin' Out the Footlights...Again, did not come until 24 years later in 2006.
Last of the Breed is a two-disc album by American country music artists Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Ray Price, released in 2007. It debuted at number 64 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling about 13,000 copies in its first week. The album has 100,000 copies in the U.S. as of May 2015. The album was ranked number 33 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.
The Bluegrass Sessions is the sixty-first studio album by American country music singer and songwriter Merle Haggard. This album was released on October 2, 2007, on the McCoury Music and Hag Records.
Heroes & Friends is the sixth studio album by American country music artist Randy Travis, released in 1990. Except for the title track, every song on this album is a duet with another recording artist. "A Few Ole Country Boys" and the title track were both released as singles from this album, peaking at numbers 8 and 3, respectively, on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts in 1990.
Big City is the 33rd studio album by Merle Haggard backed by The Strangers, released in 1981. It was his debut on the Epic label after ending his association with MCA. Big City peaked at number three on the Billboard Country Album charts and number 161 on the Pop Album charts. It was an RIAA-certified Gold album.
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".
Someday We'll Look Back is the thirteenth studio album by American recording artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1971. It reached number 4 on the Billboard country albums chart.
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.
Serving 190 Proof is the 29th studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard, released in May 1979. It reached Number 17 on the Billboard Country album chart. Four singles were released and all peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Country Singles chart — "Heaven Was A Drink Of Wine", "I Must Have Done Something Bad", "My Own Kind Of Hat" and "Red Bandana".
1996 is the forty-ninth studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard, released in 1996. It was his last studio album on the Curb Records label, and was considered something of a return to form for Haggard despite poor sales.
"I Always Get Lucky With You" is a song written by Merle Haggard, Freddy Powers, Gary Church, and Tex Whitson. It was first recorded by Haggard on his 1981 album Big City and then covered by American country music artist George Jones in April 1983 as the second single from the album Shine On. The song was Jones' ninth and final number one on the country chart as a solo artist. The single stayed at number one for one week and spent thirteen weeks on the country chart.
Roots, Volume 1 is the fifty-third studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard, released in 2001. It reached Number 47 on the Billboard Country Albums chart.
Working in Tennessee is the sixty-third and final solo studio album by American country music artist Merle Haggard. It was released on October 4, 2011 by Vanguard Records. This is also the second Merle Haggard album released by Vanguard.
Chill Factor is the forty-fourth studio album by American country music singer Merle Haggard, with backing by The Strangers, released on the Epic label in 1987.
Like Never Before is the fifty-fifth studio album by American recording artist Merle Haggard. It was released in 2004 on his own label, Hag Records.
Unforgettable is the fifty-seventh studio album by American country singer and songwriter Merle Haggard, released in 2004.
