Take This Job and Shove It is the seventeenth studio album by American country music artist Johnny Paycheck. The album was released in November 1977, his second release of the year, via Epic Records. It was produced by Billy Sherrill.
Take This Job and Shove It is Paycheck's most commercially successful album, being certified Platinum by the RIAA. It also contains his most well-known song, the David Allan Coe-written title song. It was his only Number One hit on the BillboardHot Country Singles chart. Two other singles released from this album, "Colorado Kool-Aid" and "Georgia in a Jug", reached 50 and 17, respectively.
Background and production
By the mid-1970s, Paycheck had become identified with the "outlaw country" movement while maintaining strong ties to mainstream Nashville production.[2]Take This Job and Shove It was recorded as part of his ongoing collaboration with producer Billy Sherrill, who had been gradually refining Paycheck's sound by toning down its rough edges while amplifying his rebellious, working-class image.[2] Sherrill's production gave the album a glossy, accessible finish that complemented Paycheck's gravelly vocals and storytelling style.[2]
The title track, written by David Allan Coe, was given to Paycheck at a time when both artist and writer were part of the growing outlaw scene in Nashville.[3] Coe's composition provided Paycheck with the ideal vehicle for his hard-bitten vocal persona and everyday themes of labor, frustration, and defiance.[4] The song's success also mirrored Paycheck's personal comeback from bankruptcy, aligning the artist's own working-class struggles with those of his audience.[4]
Although Take This Job and Shove It is best remembered for its title song, the album's overall tone mixes humor, pathos, and traditional country storytelling.[5] The title track itself, while often interpreted as an angry protest against work, is ultimately a song of heartbreak with the narrator's bitterness stemming not from his job, but from losing the woman who gave his life purpose.[6] Critics noted that this twist turns what could have been a rebellious anthem into something more sorrowful and self-reflective.[6]
Many of the album's remaining songs revolve around drinking and honky-tonk life, with titles like "The Spirits of St. Louis", "Barstool Mountain", "Georgia in a Jug", and "Colorado Kool-Aid".[6] "Colorado Kool-Aid" in particular stands out as a comic talking-blues story involving a barroom brawl and a severed ear, underscoring Paycheck's gift for tongue-in-cheek storytelling.[2] Tracks like "From Cotton to Satin (From Birmingham to Manhattan)" and "The Fool Strikes Again" explore loss and disillusionment with a lush, melancholic tone, while up-tempo cuts such as "The 4-F Blues" lean into humor and wordplay.[2]
Critics also noted Paycheck's vocal approach, which showed strong influence of George Jones, particularly in his phrasing and the shaping of notes "in the back of the throat and squeezed through the teeth."[6] Paycheck's expressive voice carried the album even when the material leaned toward lighter barroom fare.[5]
Take This Job and Shove It received a mix of praise and criticism upon release. One reviewer described it as "a fine, fine song" surrounded by "plenty of drinking songs" that served as "great background noise in the honky-tonks," though they felt the rest of the album paled beside the title track.[8] Another critic found it "the definitive, true-to-form country album" with "top rate" musicianship and "consistently comic and entertaining lyrics."[5]
Some reviews highlighted Paycheck's balance between country grit and outlaw flair.[9] Critics noted that, unlike some of his peers, Paycheck's album displayed "heartbreak, suffering and gutsy passion" without overplaying the outlaw image.[9] Others viewed it as "a bit too slick and silly" in parts, yet admitted that its exaggerated outlaw stance carried a sense of humor and self-awareness that made it enjoyable.[2]
While some detractors called the record formulaic or overly dependent on barroom themes, others emphasized its resonance with working-class listeners, citing its "male bonding, anomie, and random violence" as hallmarks of outlaw-era authenticity.[7]
Commercial performance
Released in November 1977, Take This Job and Shove It became the most commercially successful album of Paycheck's career.[2] The title track reached Number One on the BillboardHot Country Singles chart, his only chart-topping single, and the album climbed to Number Two on the Top Country Albums chart.[2] "Colorado Kool-Aid" and "Georgia in a Jug", the title tracks' follow-up singles, also peaked at Number 50 and Number 17, respectively.[2]
The record's success cemented Paycheck's reputation as one of country's foremost working-class voices and helped solidify his association with the outlaw country movement.[10] It also became a jukebox favorite in bars and roadhouses, where its blue-collar themes found a ready audience.[6]
The phrase "take this job and shove it" quickly entered American pop culture as a universal expression of workplace frustration.[8] The song and album became synonymous with working-class defiance and inspired numerous covers, parodies, and tributes across genres, including ones from punk bands like Dead Kennedys to rappers such as Canibus and Biz Markie.[4]
Other future covers, like "Take This Job and Shove It", would later be recorded by its writer David Allan Coe on his 1978 album Family Album, as well as a multitude of other artists. Gene Watson recorded "From Cotton to Satin" in 2008. "The Spirits of St. Louis" would be recorded in 1979 by Stonewall Jackson on his album Bad Ass. (Around that same time, he released the single "Listening to Johnny Paycheck".) 1979 also saw Moe Bandy recording "Barstool Mountain" for his album It's a Cheating Situation as well as Charlie Rich recording "The Fool Strikes Again" for an album of the same name. "Georgia in a Jug" was recorded by Blake Shelton in 2003 for his album The Dreamer.[citation needed]
In retrospect, critics and historians have recognized the album as a defining statement of 1970s country music's outlaw era.[4] In Rolling Stone Australia / New Zealand's 2020 list of "50 Country Albums Every Rock Fan Should Own", Take This Job and Shove It ranked 34th, with the magazine calling it "a lot more blunt than Bruce Springsteen" and praising its mix of grit, humor, and self-awareness.[4]
Production
All tracks produced by Billy Sherrill
Recorded and engineered at CBS Recording Studios by Lou Bradley[1]
1 2 3 Take This Job and shove It (LP). Johnny Paycheck. Epic Records. 1977. 35045.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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