Okie (Vince Gill album)

Last updated
Okie
Vince Gill Okie.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 23, 2019
Recorded2019
Genre Country
Length49:45
Label MCA Nashville
Producer Vince Gill, Justin Niebank
Vince Gill chronology
Down to My Last Bad Habit
(2016)
Okie
(2019)
Sweet Memories
(2023)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
American Songwriter Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [2]

Okie is the fifteenth studio album by American country music singer Vince Gill. The album was released on August 23, 2019, by MCA Nashville. [3] [4]

Contents

Background

According to Gill, Merle Haggard advised him to "just tell the truth. That's the most important thing of all." A number of the songs in the album have personal elements. For example, in "Forever Changed," which talks about sexual abuse, Gill drew from the experience of running away from a gym teacher who had behaved inappropriately toward him, while "When My Amy Prays" is about his wife Amy Grant and religion. [5] Other songs deal with issues such as teenage pregnancy ("What Choice Will You Make,") and racial equality.

Gill said: "My life has never been political, I've never been out there saying endorse this candidate, or that one. But I’m not afraid to have a decent conversation about some of this stuff. We could solve so many things by being fair-minded." [6]

He also said: "All I tried to do was have these songs maybe be about subjects that were tough, but maybe tell these stories without judgment". [5]

Commercial performance

Okie debuted at No. 9 on Billboard' Top Country Albums with 10,000 units, 9,000 of which are traditional album sales. This is Gill's 16th top 10 album on the chart. [7] The album has sold 32,500 copies in the United States as of March 2020. [8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Vince Gill except as noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I Don't Wanna Ride the Rails No More" 4:27
2."The Price of Regret" 3:50
3."Forever Changed" 3:41
4."An Honest Man" 3:40
5."What Choice Will You Make"Gill, Leslie Satcher 4:13
6."Black and White"Gill, Charlie Worsham 3:46
7."The Red Words" 4:48
8."When My Amy Prays" 3:55
9."A Letter to My Mama"Gill, Dean Dillon 3:36
10."Nothin' Like a Guy Clark Song" 5:03
11."That Old Man of Mine" 3:52
12."A World Without Haggard" 4:53
Total length:49:45

Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic. [9]

Charts

Chart (2019)Peak
position
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [10] 70
US Billboard 200 [11] 71
US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [12] 9

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References

  1. Thom Jurek. "Okie - Vince Gill". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  2. Horowitz, Hal (2019-08-19). "Vince Gill: Okie". Americansongwriter.com. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
  3. "Okie by Vince Gill on Apple Music". Apple Music . Retrieved 2019-09-03.
  4. Chuck Dauphin (2019-08-22). "Vince Gill Shares His Truth on New Album 'Okie'". Billboard . Retrieved 2019-09-03.
  5. 1 2 Dauphin, Chuck (August 22, 2019). "Inspired by Merle Haggard and Guy Clark, Vince Gill Shares His Truth on New Album 'Okie'". Billboard.
  6. Moss, Marissa R. (August 29, 2019). "Why Vince Gill Chose to Speak Out on His New Album 'Okie'". Rolling Stone.
  7. Asker, Jim (September 3, 2019). "Midland Scores First Top Country Albums No. 1, Tanya Tucker and Vince Gill Return to Top 10". Billboard.
  8. Bjorke, Matt (March 10, 2020). "Top 10 Country Albums Pure Sales Chart: March 9, 2020". RoughStock. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  9. "Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  10. "Swisscharts.com – Vince Gill – Okie". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  11. "Vince Gill Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  12. "Vince Gill Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 4, 2019.