Back to the Country is the twenty-fifth solo studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn. It was released on February 3, 1975, by MCA Records.[1]
| Back to the Country | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 3, 1975 | |||
| Recorded | December 12, 1972–December 19, 1974 | |||
| Studio | Bradley's Barn, Mount Juliet, Tennessee | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 32:09 | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Producer | Owen Bradley | |||
| Loretta Lynn chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Back to the Country | ||||
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The album's single, "The Pill", a controversial song about birth control, brought Lynn much notoriety in the media and was banned on a number of radio stations, although the single was reportedly her best selling of the decade.
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [2] |
In the February 15, 1975 issue, Billboard published a review that said, "Is this the Loretta we know? Singing about "The Pill" (her runaway hit single), a barroom fight, skinny dipping, sharing a bed and other such infidelities. It's down to earth country, and no one can sing that sort of song the way Loretta does it. The only amazing thing about it is that she doesn't sing a single one of her own songs. But she does others, including those previously performed by Marie Osmond, Billy Swan, Cal Smith, and a turn-around-version of a Conway Twitty hit."[3]
Cashbox also published a review in their February 15 issue which said, "Loretta Lynn will always be No. 1 among her fans and with the chart positions she holds. Each release, single or LP, hits the same for her and MCA. Another fine collection including "Will You Be There", "Paper Roses", "Mad Mrs. Jesse Brown", "Back to the Country", "I Can Help", and lots more good country cuts. Loretta never left the country, but we like the "back to."[4]
Commercial performance
editThe album peaked at No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot Country LPs chart and No. 182 on the Billboard Top LP's and Tape chart.
The album's only single, "The Pill", was released in January 1975[5] and peaked at No. 5 on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and No. 70 on the US Billboard Hot 100, despite being banned by a number of radio stations. The single was also successful in Canada, where it peaked at No. 1 on the RPM Country Singles chart and No. 49 on the RPM Top Singles chart.
Recording
editRecording sessions for the album began on August 29, 1974, at Bradley's Barn in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Three additional sessions followed on December 17, 18, and 19. Three songs on the album were from recording sessions for previous albums. "The Pill" and "The Hands of Yesterday" were recorded during the December 12, 1972 session for 1973's Entertainer of the Year. "Paper Roses" was recorded on March 4, 1974, during a session for 1974's They Don't Make 'Em Like My Daddy.[6]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Pill" |
| December 12, 1972 | 2:35 |
| 2. | "Will You Be There?" |
| December 18, 1974 | 2:19 |
| 3. | "It's Time to Pay the Fiddler" |
| December 17, 1974 | 3:51 |
| 4. | "Paper Roses" | March 4, 1974 | 3:15 | |
| 5. | "You Love Everybody But You" | Tom T. Hall | August 29, 1974 | 3:15 |
| 6. | "Mad Mrs. Jesse Brown" | Ronnie Rogers | December 19, 1974 | 3:24 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Back to the Country" | Tracey Lee | December 19, 1974 | 2:19 |
| 2. | "The Hands of Yesterday" | Ray Griff | December 12, 1972 | 2:54 |
| 3. | "I Can Help" | Billy Swan | December 19, 1974 | 2:52 |
| 4. | "Another You" | Jimmy Peppers | December 18, 1974 | 2:35 |
| 5. | "Jimmy on My Mind" | Conway Twitty | December 18, 1974 | 2:50 |
Personnel
editAdapted from the album liner notes.[1]
- Bobby Bradley – engineer
- Owen Bradley – producer
- Harold Bradley – electric guitar, bass guitar
- Ray Edenton – rhythm guitar
- Vic Gabany – engineer
- Johnny Gimble – fiddle
- Bud Gray – photography
- Buddy Harman – drums
- The Jordanaires – background vocals
- Millie Kirkham – background vocals
- Billy Linneman – bass
- Loretta Lynn – lead vocals
- Grady Martin – lead electric guitar
- Charlie McCoy – harmonica
- Bob Moore – bass
- Joe Mills – engineer
- Hargus "Pig" Robbins – piano
- Hal Rugg – steel guitar
- Jerry Smith – piano
- Pete Wade – rhythm guitar
Charts
edit
Weekly chartseditAlbum
Year-end chartsedit
|
Singles
edit| Title | Year | Peak position | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [10] |
US [11] |
CAN Country [12] |
CAN [13] | ||
| "The Pill" | 1974 | 5 | 70 | 1 | 49 |
References
edit- ^ a b "Loretta Lynn – Back To The Country". Discogs. 1975.
- ^ Back to the Country at AllMusic
- ^ "Billboard - February 15, 1975" (PDF). American Radio History. Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ "Cashbox - February 15, 1975" (PDF). American Radio History. Cashbox. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ "Billboard - February 8, 1975" (PDF). American Radio History. Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ "Loretta's Recording Sess". Loretta Lynn Fan Website. Archived from the original on 2017-08-28. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
- ^ "Loretta Lynn Chart History - Hot Country Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
- ^ "Loretta Lynn Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1975". Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
- ^ "Loretta Lynn Chart History - Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
- ^ "Loretta Lynn Chart History - Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ Canada, Library and Archives (July 17, 2013). "Results: RPM Weekly". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
- ^ Canada, Library and Archives (July 17, 2013). "Results: RPM Weekly". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved April 27, 2019.