Country Gospel is a studio album by American recording artist Wanda Jackson. It was released in January 1973 via Word Records and contained 11 tracks. The album was Jackson's twentieth released in her career and her second collection of gospel music. It was also her first album issued on the Word record label, after nearly twenty years recording for Capitol Records.
| Country Gospel | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 1973 | |||
| Recorded | November 1972 | |||
| Studio | Jack Clement Recording (Nashville, Tennessee) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Label | Word | |||
| Producer | Billy Ray Hearn | |||
| Wanda Jackson chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background and content
editWanda Jackson had recently left Capitol Records after recording a mixture of Rockabilly and country selections, such as "Let's Have a Party" (1960), "Right or Wrong" and "The Box It Came In" (1966). In 1971, she discovered Christianity, which led to the decision to record more gospel material.[2] According to Jackson, she was given an early release from Capitol's roster in 1973 to pursue a gospel contract with Word Records.[3] The reasoning behind signing Jackson was so Word could "take the company to all markets in a full-scale operation," according to Billboard.[4]
Jackson went into the studio with producer Billy Ray Hearn in November 1972 to record a collection of gospel tracks for her first Word release. The session was cut at the Jack Clement Recording Studio, located in Nashville, Tennessee.[5] The album consisted of 11 songs.[1] The final track was a self-penned tune written by Jackson. It also included covers of "Why Me, Lord" and "I Saw the Light".[5]
Release and reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
Country Gospel was released in January 1973 on Word Records, becoming Jackson's twentieth studio album released in her career. It also marked her first release for the Word company. The album was originally distributed as a vinyl LP, containing six songs on "side A" and five songs on "side B".[5] Although a full review was not provided, AllMusic rated the album, giving it only two stars.[1] The album failed to reach any notable charting positions, including the Billboard Top Country Albums survey, which Jackson's albums often made appearances on.[6] She would record several more gospel and country albums for the Word and Myrrh record labels during the 1970s. However, these albums lacked any commercial success.[2][3]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Love You, Jesus" | 2:28 | |
| 2. | "I Saw the Light" | Hank Williams | 2:40 |
| 3. | "Jesus Cares for Me" |
| 3:30 |
| 4. | "Turn Your Radio On" | Albert E. Brumley | 2:25 |
| 5. | "I'd Rather Have Jesus" | George Beverly Shea | 2:58 |
| 6. | "All in All" | Linda England | 1:44 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Know" | James Tripp | 2:54 |
| 2. | "Why Me, Lord" | Kris Kristofferson | 3:15 |
| 3. | "Special Kind of Man" | Ray Hildebrand | 3:26 |
| 4. | "Farther Along" | W.B. Stevens | 3:32 |
| 5. | "Let Go...Let Jesus" | Wanda Jackson | 2:18 |
Personnel
editAll credits are adapted from the liner notes of Country Gospel.[5]
|
Musical personnel
|
Technical personnel
|
Release history
edit| Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
January 1973 | Vinyl | Word Records | [5] |
| United Kingdom | [7] |
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Country Gospel: Wanda Jackson: Songs, reviews, credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ a b Wolff, Kurt. "Wanda Jackson: Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
- ^ a b Bomar, Scott; Jackson, Wanda (2017). Every night is Saturday night : a country girl's journey to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. United States: BMG. ISBN 9781947026070.
- ^ "Myrrh Burnishes Word's Name Lure". Billboard. September 1, 1973. p. 32. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g Jackson, Wanda (January 1973). "Country Gospel (LP Liner Notes and Album Information)". Word Records. WST-8614.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1997). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Albums: 1967-1997. Record Research Inc. ISBN 0898201241.
- ^ Jackson, Wanda (January 1973). "Country Gospel (LP Liner Notes and Album Information)". Word Records. 9514.