Connie's Country

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Connie's Country
Studio album by
Connie Smith
ReleasedApril 1969
RecordedFebruary 1967 – December 1968
StudioRCA Studio A
Genre
LabelRCA Victor
ProducerBob Ferguson
Connie Smith chronology
Sunshine and Rain
(1968) 		Connie's Country
(1969) 		Young Love
(1969)
Singles from Connie's Country
  1. "Ribbon of Darkness"
    Released: February 1969

Connie's Country is the twelfth studio album by American country singer Connie Smith, released in April 1969 by RCA Victor. The pop-inspired project included a mixture of original and cover songs. The album 'Connie's Country' was a hit, with a cover of Gordon Lightfoot's 'Ribbon of Darkness' reaching the top 20 on the American country songs chart. The album itself was also successful, placing in the top 20 on the American country albums chart. Critics praised the album for its quality and song selection.

Background[edit]

Connie Smith had a string of uninterrupted top ten country singles during the 1960s, launched by 1964's "Once a Day". The song topped the country songs chart for eight weeks and launched her career.[3] In 1968, Smith became a Christian, which had a profound impact on her musical output during her time with RCA Victor.[1][4] She began incorporating more gospel songs into her regular studio albums, which would reflect in Smith's 1969 album.[5] Smith went into recording sessions to make her next album, Connie's Country in 1968. Biographer Barry Mazor notes that "despite the title" the sort of pop music that "Ms. Smith found most agreeable".[2]

Recording and content[edit]

The recordings for Connie's Country were taken from sessions held between February 1967 and December 1968. The sessions took place at RCA Studio A, located in Nashville, Tennessee. The sessions were produced by Bob Ferguson.[6][7] The album consisted of 12 tracks.[1][7] With the album's pop influence, there was an emphasis on string instrumentation.[2] Smith sought out direction from Brenton Banks, who led the string instrumentation for her sessions. The album mixed new recordings with covers of previously recorded country and pop material.[5]

One of the covers Smith cut for the album was "Ribbon of Darkness". Although written and first cut by Gordon Lightfoot, Smith recalled first hearing Marty Robbins's 1965 country single version. Smith also covered "Seattle", which was first recorded by Perry Como and appeared as the theme song to the television show Here Come the Brides. She also covered Merle Haggard's country selection "Today I Started Loving You Again".[8] Several new tracks were also part of the album. Of these new songs was "Sound of Different Drums", which was composed by Harlan Howard. Also included was "A Lonely Woman", which was composed by Jean Chapel and Alda Calongne. Smith also cut the Ben Peters-penned "Happy Street", which Mazor described as a "giddy" song as compared to the rest of the album.[8] As part of Smith's vow to record one gospel track per studio album, she cut one of her favorite hymns called "Gathering Flowers for the Master's Bouquet".[4][8]

Release and reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Connie's Country was originally released in April 1969 on the RCA Victor label. It was the twelfth studio collection released in Smith's career. The album was distributed as a vinyl LP, containing six songs on either side of the record.[7] Decades later, the album was re-released on Sony Music Entertainment to digital and streaming sites.[9] The album received a positive review from Billboard magazine, which praised Smith's reading of "Ribbon of Darkness". The magazine also highlighted "The Sound of Different Drums", "Blue Little Girl" and "Got a Lotta Blues to Lose".[10] AllMusic gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars.[1] In its original release, Connie's Country spent 15 weeks on the American Billboard Top Country Albums chart, peaking at number 14 in June 1969.[11] Smith's version of "Ribbon of Darkness" was issued as a single in February 1969 by RCA Victor.[12] The single spent 14 weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and peaked at number 13 in October 1969. It was Smith's second top 20 single in her career.[13]

Track listings[edit]

Vinyl version[edit]

Side one[7]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Seattle"
2:55
2."Ribbon of Darkness"Gordon Lightfoot2:38
3."Gotta Lotta Blues to Lose"Jimmy Gateley2:10
4."Today I Started Loving You Again"
2:13
5."You"Jimmy Holder3:06
6."I'll Love You Enough (For Both of Us)"Ray Griff2:03
Side two[7]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Sound of Different Drums"Harlan Howard2:28
2."Happy Street"Ben Peters2:32
3."Blue Little Girl"Betty Jean Robinson3:04
4."A Lonely Woman"
2:57
5."You Don't Have Very Far to Go"
2:33
6."Gathering Flowers for the Master's Bouquet"Marvin E. Baumgardner2:50

Digital version[edit]

Connie's Country (download and streaming)[9]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Seattle"
  • Keller
  • Montenegro
  • Sheldon
2:57
2."Ribbon of Darkness"Lightfoot2:41
3."Gotta Lotta Blues to Lose"Gateley2:15
4."Today I Started Loving You Again"
  • Haggard
  • Owens
2:18
5."You"Holder3:11
6."I'll Love You Enough (For Both of Us)"Griff2:08
7."Sound of Different Drums"Howard2:30
8."Happy Street"Peters2:34
9."Blue Little Girl"Robinson3:07
10."A Lonely Woman"
  • Calogne
  • Chapel
2:59
11."You Don't Have Very Far to Go"
  • Haggard
  • Simpson
2:35
12."Gathering Flowers for the Master's Bouquet"Baumgardner2:50

Personnel[edit]

All credits are adapted from the liner notes of Connie's Country[7] and the biography booklet by Barry Mazor titled Just for What I Am.[6]

Chart performance[edit]

Chart (1969) Peak
position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[14] 14

Release history[edit]

Region Date Format Label Ref.
North America April 1969 Vinyl RCA Victor Records [7]
2010s
  • Music download
  • streaming
 Sony Music Entertainment [9]

References[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Connie's Country: Connie Smith: Songs, reviews, credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Mazor 2012, p. 21.
  3. ^ Bush, John. "Connie Smith: Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  4. ^ a b Mazor 2012, p. 7.
  5. ^ a b Mazor 2012, pp. 21–23.
  6. ^ a b Mazor 2012, pp. 58–59.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Smith, Connie (April 1969). "Connie's Country (LP Liner Notes and Album Information)". RCA Victor. LSP-4132.
  8. ^ a b c Mazor 2012, p. 23.
  9. ^ a b c "Connie's Country by Connie Smith". Apple Music. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Billboard Album Reviews". Billboard. Vol. 81, no. 17. April 26, 1969. p. 72. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  11. ^ "Connie Smith chart history (Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  12. ^ Smith, Connie (February 1969). ""Ribbon of Darkness"/"A Lonely Woman" (7" vinyl single)". RCA Victor. 74-0101.
  13. ^ "Connie Smith chart history (Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  14. ^ "Connie Smith Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 12, 2022.

Books[edit]

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