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.
Robert Lee Helms was an American country singer, who is best remembered for his 1957 Christmas hit "Jingle Bell Rock". Additionally, he had two other hit records from that year: "Fraulein" and "My Special Angel".
"Heartaches by the Number" is a popular country song written by Harlan Howard, and published in 1959. The sheet music was a best seller in both the US and Britain in January 1960.
"I'm Sorry" is a 1960 hit song by 15-year-old American singer Brenda Lee. The song was written by Dub Allbritten and Ronnie Self. It peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in July 1960. On the UK Singles Chart, the song peaked at No.12. AllMusic guide wrote that it is the pop star's "definitive song", and one of the "finest teen pop songs of its era". In 1999, the 1960 recording by Lee on Decca Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
The discography of American music artist Patsy Cline consists of three studio albums, 24 singles, six extended plays, one compilation album, six other charted songs and one album appearance. Cline's discography contains material released during her lifetime. Her first recordings took place under the direction of Four Star Records. Cline's first single, "A Church, a Courtroom, Then Goodbye," was released in July 1955. Four Star issued 17 singles during Cline's four years recording with them. However, only "Walkin' After Midnight" (1957) became a major hit, reaching number 2 on the Billboard country songs chart and number 12 on the Billboard pop music chart.
"Trust in Me" is a song written by Ned Wever, Milton Ager, and Jean Schwartz. Popular versions in 1937 were by Mildred Bailey and by Wayne King & his Orchestra.
"If My Heart Had Windows" is a country song written by Dallas Frazier and recorded by George Jones in 1967 on his album of the same name. Released as a single that year, Jones's version peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot Country Singles charts.
Songs from My Heart.... is a studio album by American country singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn. It was released on February 15, 1965 via Decca Records and was produced by Owen Bradley. It was Lynn's third studio album released in her career and contained a total of 12 tracks. The album charted on the Billboard albums chart following its release and contained one single. The song, "Happy Birthday" became a major hit on the Billboard country chart in 1965.
"Flamingo" (1940) is a popular song and jazz standard written by Ted Grouya with lyrics by Edmund Anderson and first recorded by singer Herb Jeffries and the Duke Ellington Orchestra on December 28, 1940, for Victor Records. This briefly reached the Billboard charts in 1941.
"Raining in My Heart" is a song recorded by Buddy Holly on October 21, 1958 at the Pythian Temple on West 70th Street in New York City, with the orchestral backing by Dick Jacobs. The music and lyrics are written by the songwriting team of Felice Bryant and Boudleaux Bryant. It was released as a single on Coral Records in 1959, peaking at number 88 on the Billboard chart as the B-side of "It Doesn't Matter Anymore". This recording was included on Buddy Holly's first "greatest hits" compilation album, The Buddy Holly Story, that was released in March 1959.
"Take These Chains from My Heart" is a song by Hank Williams. It was written by Fred Rose and Hy Heath and was recorded at Williams' final recording session on September 23, 1952, in Nashville. The song has been widely praised; Williams' biographer Colin Escott deems it "perhaps the best song [Rose] ever presented to Hank...It was one of the very few songs that sounded somewhat similar to a Hank Williams song." Williams is backed by Tommy Jackson (fiddle), Don Helms, Chet Atkins, Jack Shook, and Floyd "Lightnin'" Chance (bass). In the wake of Williams' death on New Year's Day, 1953, the song shot to No. 1, his final chart-topping hit for MGM Records. Like "Your Cheatin' Heart," the song's theme of despair, so vividly articulated by Williams' typically impassioned singing, reinforced the image of Hank as a tortured, mythic figure.
"Fraulein" is a 1957 song written by Lawton Williams and sung by Bobby Helms. Released by Decca Records that year, "Fraulein" was Helms's debut single on the U.S. country chart, reaching #1 for four weeks and staying on chart for 52 weeks, the sixth longest song in country music history to spend over 50 weeks on the country singles chart. The song's popularity crossed over to the pop chart where "Fraulein" peaked at #36.
You Lay So Easy on My Mind is the thirty-fourth studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams, released in November 1974 by Columbia Records. The idea for this LP was mentioned in an interview with Williams in the November 3, 1973, issue of Billboard magazine that emphasized his desire to move away from recording albums of Easy Listening covers of hits by other artists, noting that he was "planning an album to be cut in Nashville with Columbia's high-flying country-pop producer, Billy Sherrill." The article coincided with the release of his first attempt to shift directions, Solitaire, which performed poorly. A return to the Easy Listening hits formula, The Way We Were, followed in the spring of 1974 but failed to even chart, so this next attempt to eschew soft rock songs leaned heavily on Country hits.
Bill Haley & His Comets recorded many singles and albums. The following list references only their original release and generally does not include compilation albums or single reissues. This list does not include releases on which the Comets worked as session musicians, and primarily focuses on releases during Haley's lifetime.
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).
Bill Anderson's Greatest Hits is a compilation album by American country singer-songwriter Bill Anderson. It was released in October 1967 via Decca Records and was produced by Owen Bradley. The album was Anderson's third compilation recording released in his career and first album of greatest hits. Twelve tracks were included on the collection that had been previously released. The album itself also reached major record chart positions.
Bill Anderson's Country Style is a compilation album by American country singer-songwriter Bill Anderson. It was released in March 1968 via Vocalion Records and was produced by Owen Bradley. It was Anderson's first release for Vocalion and the fourth compilation issued in his career. A total of ten tracks were included in the package containing all previously-recorded material.
"That's What It's Like to Be Lonesome" is a song written and recorded by American country singer-songwriter Bill Anderson. It was released as a single in December 1958 via Decca Records and became a major hit. A similar version was released by American country artist Ray Price the same year via Columbia Records.
The discography of American country singer-songwriter Hank Locklin contains 29 studio albums, 10 compilation albums, two box sets, 96 singles, two additionally-charting songs and one album appearance. He had his first hit with "The Same Sweet Girl" (1949) after signing with Four Star Records. The song reached the top ten of the Billboard country singles chart, peaking at number eight. A string of singles were released over the next several years that were not successful. With a leasing agreement administered by Decca Records, he had his next hit in 1953 with the number one song, "Let Me Be the One." Disappointed by label management, he switched to RCA Victor Records in 1955. Under the production of Chet Atkins, he had his biggest success. His next hit came with 1956's "Why Baby Why," which reached number nine on the country chart. Between 1957 and 1958, he had three top-ten country hits: "Send Me the Pillow You Dream On," "Geisha Girl" and "It's a Little More Like Heaven." In 1958, he recorded country music's first concept albums, Foreign Love. In 1960, Locklin released his biggest hit single, "Please Help Me, I'm Falling." Not only did it top the Billboard country singles chart, but it also reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 list. It was also one of several hits Locklin had in the United Kingdom, peaking at number nine on their pop chart.
"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.
