| You Oughta Be Here with Me | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 20, 1990 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 33:07 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producer | Billy Sherrill | |||
| George Jones chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
You Oughta Be Here with Me is an album by American country music singer George Jones. This album was released in 1990 on Epic Records. It includes the singles "Hell Stays Open (All Night Long)" and "Six Foot Deep, Six Foot Down", neither of which charted.
You Oughta Be Here With Me was Jones's last proper studio album with Epic. Although the album featured several stirring performances, including the lead single "Hell Stays Open All Night Long" and the Roger Miller-penned title song, the single bombed and Jones made the switch to MCA, unceremoniously ending his relationship with producer Billy Sherrill and what was now Sony Music after 19 years. Sherrill had produced Jones since 1971 and the body of work they created had resulted in one of the most successful producer/artist alliances in the history of country music. Sherrill had actually retired with Jones as his only client. Sherrill, who had scored massive hits producing Tammy Wynette and Charlie Rich among many others, had taken heat over the years for the drastic changes he'd wrought on the genre with his elaborate Phil Spector influenced productions, but as Jones biographer Bob Allen observes in the book George Jones: The Life and Times of a Honky Tonk Legend, "...despite his abiding fondness for full string orchestras, lush harmony vocals, and pop-style "wall of sound" productions, Sherrill had seldom strayed off the straight and narrow hard country path with Jones. In fact, as a producer he was responsible for some of Jones's all-time artistic high-water marks. More than once, he had rescued Jones from oblivion with his ability to hear the potential appeal of a song like "He Stopped Loving Her Today," even when Jones himself couldn't hear it. No less important, Sherrill had a knack for coaxing, stroking and cajoling the always temperamental and impatient singer through numerous vocal takes and overdubs (a process Jones hated) until he captured on tape that elusive vocal performance he'd heard in his head." Jones admitted in his 1996 memoir I Lived To Tell It All that Sherrill had saved his bacon more than once, writing "Rick Blackburn and Billy Sherrill were forever supportive of my career when it was under their guidance. I never got any flak from the record label about my legal and criminal woes." The song "Someone That You Used To Know" was also featured in the series NCIS on season 10 episode 13, about 3/4 through the episode when Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette) had a flashback to her childhood years.
You Oughta Be Here With Me only made it to number 35 on the Billboard country albums chart. The material was certainly strong, borne out by the fact that several of the songs on the LP would be recorded by other artists: "Somebody Paints the Wall" would go on to be a top ten country hit in 1992 for Tracy Lawrence from his debut album Sticks and Stones, and "Ol' Red" was recorded by Blake Shelton on his 2001 self-titled debut. Shelton's rendition was a Top 20 on the country charts for him that year. The failure of the record had more to do with Jones's age than his singing, with country radio reluctant to play him alongside younger stars like Garth Brooks and Clint Black, and Sony's lack of interest in promoting You Oughta Be Here With Me infuriated him.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hell Stays Open (All Night Long)" | Bobby Harden | 3:31 |
| 2. | "You Oughta Be Here with Me" | Roger Miller | 4:16 |
| 3. | "Somebody Always Paints the Wall" | Charles Browder, Elroy Kahanek, Nelson Larkin, Tommy Smith | 3:21 |
| 4. | "I Sleep Just Like a Baby" | Jesse Chambers, Larry Jenkins, Billy Sherrill | 3:36 |
| 5. | "Someone That You Used to Know" | Jack Tempchin, Bobby Whitlock | 3:30 |
| 6. | "I Want to Grow Old With You" | Bobby Braddock | 2:56 |
| 7. | "A Cold Day in December" | Bobby Braddock | 3:12 |
| 8. | "Six Foot Deep, Six Foot Down" | Don Cook, Curly Putman, Charles Rains | 2:36 |
| 9. | "If the World Don't End Tomorrow" | Billy Sherrill | 2:40 |
| 10. | "Ol' Red" | Don Goodman, Bo Bohan, Mark Sherrill | 3:29 |
George Glenn Jones was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", as well as his distinctive voice and phrasing. For the last two decades of his life, Jones was frequently referred to as the greatest living country singer. Country music scholar Bill Malone writes, "For the two or three minutes consumed by a song, Jones immerses himself so completely in its lyrics, and in the mood it conveys, that the listener can scarcely avoid becoming similarly involved." The shape of his nose and facial features earned Jones the nickname "The Possum". Jones has been called "The Rolls-Royce of Country Music" and had more than 160 chart singles to his name from 1955 until his death in 2013.
Billy Norris Sherrill was an American record producer, songwriter, and arranger best known for his association with country artists, notably Tammy Wynette and George Jones. Sherrill and business partner Glenn Sutton are regarded as the defining influences of the countrypolitan sound, a smooth amalgamation of pop and country music that was popular during the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Sherrill also co-wrote many hit songs, including "Stand by Your Man" and "The Most Beautiful Girl".
"He Stopped Loving Her Today" is a song recorded by American country music artist George Jones. It has been named in several surveys as the greatest country song of all time. It was released in April 1980 as the lead single from the album I Am What I Am. The song was Jones's first solo No. 1 single in six years. It was written by Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman. The week after Jones' death in 2013, the song re-entered the Hot Country Songs chart at No. 21. As of November 13, 2013, the single has sold 521,000 copies in the United States. Since 2008 it has been preserved by the Library of Congress in the National Recording Registry. The song was ranked no. 142 on Rolling Stone's 2021 500 Greatest Songs of All Time ranking.
I Am What I Am is an album by American country music artist George Jones released in 1980 on Epic Records label. On July 4, 2000, the CD version was reissued with four previously unreleased bonus tracks on the Legacy Recordings label.
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The Gospel Collection is the 58th studio album by American country music singer George Jones, released on April 4, 2003 on the Bandit Records label.
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The Grand Tour is an album by the American country music artist George Jones, released in 1974 as his fifth album for Epic Records. It peaked at #11 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and contained the hit title track, which reached a peak of #1 in August 1974.
A Picture of Me (Without You) is an album by American country music singer George Jones. It was released in 1972 on the Epic Records label.
We Go Together is the first studio album by American country music artists George Jones and Tammy Wynette. This album was released on October 18, 1971 on the Epic Records label. This is Jones' first album with Epic and his then wife Tammy Wynette. This is also Jones' first album with producer Billy Sherrill.
I'll Share My World with You is an album by American country music artist George Jones. This album was released in 1969 on the Musicor Records label. Tammy Wynette, who married Jones that year, is pictured on the cover.
If Only My Heart Had a Voice is the twenty-fifth studio album by country music superstar Kenny Rogers. It was Rogers' first album released on the Giant Records label. However, Rogers had been signed with its parent company, WEA, since 1989. The album was Rogers' first since 1976 not to chart. The album includes the singles "Missing You", "Ol' Red" and "Wanderin' Man".
"Ol' Red" is a song written by James "Bo" Bohon, Don Goodman, and Mark Sherrill. The song was originally recorded by George Jones on his 1990 album You Oughta Be Here with Me and covered by Kenny Rogers on his 1993 album If Only My Heart Had a Voice. Rogers' version was released as a single in August 1993. It was later recorded by Blake Shelton, and his version of the song was released in March 2002 as the third and final single from his self-titled debut album. Shelton's rendition was also a Top 20 hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, having peaked at number 14.
"The Door" is a song written by Billy Sherrill and Norro Wilson, and recorded by American country music artist George Jones. It was released in October 1974 as the first single from the album The Best of George Jones. "The Door" was George Jones' sixth number one on the country chart as a solo artist. The single stayed a single week at number one and would spend a total of ten weeks on the country chart.
Tammy's Touch is a studio album by American country artist, Tammy Wynette. It was released on April 27, 1970 via Epic Records and contained 11 tracks. The album's material centered around themes of heartbreak and romance. Many of the album's songs were new recordings while others were covers. Among its new recordings was the singles "I'll See Him Through" and "He Loves Me All the Way". Both songs became chart-topping tracks on the country music charts in 1970. The album itself also reached top positions on multiple charts in the United States.
The First Lady is a studio album by American country artist, Tammy Wynette. It was released on October 5, 1970 via Epic Records and contained 11 tracks. It was the ninth studio album in Wynette's career. The disc featured both new material and covers of previously-recorded material. Many of the recordings featured on the disc centered around themes about housewives keeping their spouses happy. The First Lady reached positions on both the American country albums and pop albums charts. Its only single, "Run, Woman, Run", topped the country charts. The album was met with mixed reviews following its release.
Christmas with Tammy is a studio album by American country artist, Tammy Wynette. It was released on November 9, 1970, via Epic Records and featured 12 tracks of Christmas music. The project was also Wynette's tenth studio album in her career and made an appearance on the Billboard Best Bets for Christmas chart. Christmas with Tammy was re-released several times in various formats. One single was spawned from the album. The project received a positive reception from critics following its release.
My Elusive Dreams is a studio album by American country artists David Houston and Tammy Wynette. It was released on Epic Records in August 1967 and contained ten tracks. It was the duo's first and only collaborative album together. My Elusive Dreams contained mostly duets between Houston and Wynette. The album was named for the title track, which topped the American country songs chart in 1967. Another single titled "It's All Over" also became a commercially-successful country song. The album received positive reviews following its release.
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