Lighthearted and Blue

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Lighthearted and Blue
Jean Shepard--Lighthearted and Blue.jpg
Studio album by
Jean Shepard
ReleasedOctober 1964 (1964-10)
RecordedAugust 1963–January 1964
Studio Bradley Studios (Nashville, Tennessee)
Genre Country [1]
Label Capitol
Producer Marvin Hughes
Jean Shepard chronology
The Best of Jean Shepard
(1963)		Lighthearted and Blue
(1964)		 It's a Man Every Time
(1965)

Lighthearted and Blue is a studio album by American country singer Jean Shepard. It was released in October 1964 by Capitol Records and was her fifth studio album. It was the first studio project released following the death of Shepard's husband in a plane crash in 1963. The album was a collection of 12 cover songs that was reviewed positively by both Billboard and AllMusic. It was her first album to make the US country chart as well.

Contents

Background, recording and content

Jean Shepard had first broke through into mainstream country music with a pair of singles with Ferlin Husky in 1953. As a solo artist, she broke through in 1955 with a pair of top ten singles. As the decade progressed, Shepard's commercial success waned, partially due to influx of rock and roll and the Nashville Sound crossover country style. In 1963, Shepard also lost her husband Hawkshaw Hawkins in a plane crash. [2] Shepard considered abandoning her career altogether following the accident. Ultimately, she chose to refocus her priorities and continue her music career. [3] Lighthearted and Blue was Shepard's first studio album following the accident. [1]

Lighthearted and Blue was recorded at the Bradley Film and Recording Studio in Nashville, Tennessee. Sessions for the project were held between August 1963 and January 1964. The project was produced by Marvin Hughes, Shepard's first album produced by him after ten years recording with Ken Nelson. [4] The album was a collection of 12 tracks. It was theorized that the album's conceptual focus on sad material was due to Shepard's grief following the death of Hawkins. [1] The 12 songs were all covers tunes from the country music field. [4] This included Roger Miller's "When Two Worlds Collide", Lefty Frizzell's "If You've Got the Money, I've Got the Time" and Freddie Hart's "Loose Talk". [1]

Release and critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Lighthearted and Blue was released by Capitol Records in October 1964. It was Shepard's fifth studio album in her career and her first since 1962's Heartaches and Tears . It was distributed as a vinyl LP offered in both mono and stereo formats. Six tracks were featured on either side of the record. [4] Lighthearted and Blue was among 20 LP albums that Capitol issued in the fall of 1964. [5] Billboard gave the album a positive reception, calling it "one of her finest". "Jean once again demonstrates in this album why is one of the best loved and most respected performers and consistent record sellers in the C&W field," they wrote. [6] AllMusic rated the album three out of five stars, calling it her "comeback album". [1] Lighthearted and Blue was Shepard's first album to make the US Billboard Top Country Albums chart. That year it reached the number 17 position and would be the start of a series of LP's to make the same chart. [7]

Track listing

Side one [4]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Loose Talk"
2:21
2."That's What It's Like to Be Lonesome" Bill Anderson 2:28
3."I Can't Stop Loving You" Don Gibson 2:27
4."The Violet and a Rose"
2:24
5."Just Call Me Lonesome" Rex Griffin 2:19
6."Foggy River" Fred Rose 2:16
Side two [4]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Big Wheel"C. Chenier2:17
2."Born to Lose" Frankie Brown 2:32
3."Half a Mind"
  • Maurice Murray
  • Kenny Bowers
2:39
4."When Two Worlds Collide"
2:03
5."Cigarettes and Coffee Blues" Marty Robbins 2:25
6."If You've Got the Money, I've Got the Time"
2:00

Chart performance

Chart (1964)Peak
position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [8] 17

Release history

RegionDateFormatLabelRef.
GermanyOctober 1964Vinyl LP (Stereo)Capitol Records [9]
JapanVinyl LP (Stereo Red) [10]
  • North America
  • United Kingdom
  • Vinyl LP (Mono)
  • Vinyl LP (Stereo)
 [4]

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Eder, Bruce. "Lighthearted and Blue: Jean Shepard: Songs, reviews, credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  2. ↑ Cooper, Dan. "Jean Shepard Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  3. ↑ Shepard, Jean (2014). Down Through the Years. Don Wise Productions. p. 110-114. ISBN   978-0944391068.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Shepard, Jean (October 1964). "Lighthearted and Blue (Liner Notes)". Capitol Records . T-2187 (Mono); ST-2187 (Stereo).
  5. ↑ "Capitol Issues 20 LP's for Nov" (PDF). Cashbox . November 7, 1964. p. 35. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  6. ↑ "Album Reviews: C&W Spotlight" (PDF). Billboard . November 21, 1964. p. 56. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  7. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Joel Whitburn Presents Hot Country Albums, 1964-2007. Record Research, Inc. ISBN   978-0898201734.
  8. ↑ "Jean Shepard Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  9. ↑ Shepard, Jean (October 1964). "Lighthearted and Blue [Germany]". Capitol Records . STK-83807 (Stereo).
  10. ↑ Shepard, Jean (October 1964). "Lighthearted and Blue [Japan]". Capitol Records . CP-7471 (Stereo).
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