World Series of Country Music Proudly Presents Stock Car Racing's Entertainers of the Year

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World Series of Country Music Proudly Presents Stock Car Racing's Entertainers of the Year
World Series of Country Music Proudly Presents Stock Car Racing's Entertainers of the Year album cover.png
Studio album by
Various artists
Released1985
Genre Country
Label World Series of Country Music
Producer Mike Hopkins

World Series of Country Music Proudly Presents Stock Car Racing's Entertainers of the Year is a studio album released in 1985 by World Series of Country Music. The album was compiled of 21 original country music songs with lead vocals of all songs all sung by various NASCAR drivers, plus an introduction track by Ned Jarrett.

Contents

Background

The album was the creation of country music promoter Mike Hopkins, who wanted to create a concept album featuring NASCAR's biggest stars to express themselves musically. Hopkins, trying to avoid the flop of NASCAR Goes Country , hired 25 professional songwriters to write songs for the album, of which 80 songs were created, and 21 were chosen for drivers to sing. Songs were chosen based on a driver interview, asking them what drove their ambition, heroes, families, and more. [1] Hopkins told the songwriters "Here are the words of an auto racer, what he believes, what he stands for. You go and write me a song from this material." [2] Around $200,000 was poured into the project.

Many of the songs relate to achievements or the drivers' personality. For example, Bobby Hillin Jr. talks about his crew chief, Harry Hyde. Dale Earnhardt's song, "Hard Charger", relates to his rough reputation. Bill Elliott's song talks about his career. [3]

Fans formerly could order an album by sending $19.95 plus $3.00 handling to World Series of Country Music. To help promote the album, NASCAR driver and legend Ned Jarrett would make commercials promoting the album in 1985. [4] [5]

Track listing

No.TitleArtistLength
1."Moderation" Ned Jarrett 0:52
2."The People Who Love Me (Worry a Lot)" Kyle Petty 3:52
3."Wizard of the Wheel" Dick Brooks 3:15
4."Born to Drive" Phil Parsons 2:23
5."A Crazy Racin' Man" Bill Elliott 1:29
6."Race Track Fever" Dale Jarrett 2:17
7."I'm Puttin' You in My Rearview" Buddy Baker 2:18
8."A Driver's Prayer" Trevor Boys 3:33
9."The All-American Stock Car Racing Fan" James Hylton 1:51
10."The Winner" Cale Yarborough 2:36
11."Trying to Win It All" Ricky Rudd 1:58
12."Me and the Rookie" Benny Parsons 3:58
13."Thanks for the Ride, Harry Hyde" Bobby Hillin Jr. 1:56
14."That Race Car Makes a Demon Out of Me" Bobby Allison 2:08
15."It's What's Up Front That Counts" Rusty Wallace 2:29
16."Super Speedway Man" Ron Bouchard 1:57
17."The Iceman's Hot" Terry Labonte 2:14
18."The Man, Geoff Bodine" Geoff Bodine 2:54
19."I'm Doin' the Best with What I Got" Dave Marcis 2:00
20."T-Bone" Richard Childress 2:46
21."I'm Always a Winner with You" Joe Ruttman 2:42
22."Hard Charger" Dale Earnhardt 2:23

Reception

While better than the previous album including NASCAR drivers, it was still a flop. Only 20,000 copies were ever sold, and the album was eventually pulled a couple of years later by the label. The album has gone largely into obscurity, but on occasion NASCAR and its drivers still remember the album. [6]

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References

  1. ↑ "Country Throwback: Dale Earnhardt Sr., Other NASCAR Icons Record Honky-tonk Album in 1985". Outsider. 2020-12-08. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  2. ↑ Barnhardt, William. "NASCAR DRIVERS ARE NOW TUNING UP THEIR VOICES ALONG WITH THEIR CARS". Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  3. ↑ "NASCAR Drivers Recorded A CD In The '80s And It's The Best Thing Ever". Jalopnik. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  4. ↑ Stock Car Racing's Entertainers of The Year Ned Jarrett 1985 Commercial, NASCAR Sings , retrieved 2021-10-09
  5. ↑ NASCAR Country Music Album Commercial, 1985 , retrieved 2021-10-09
  6. ↑ "The NASCAR Country Album You Need To Hear". DrivingLine. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
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