Where Is My Castle is the fifteenth solo studio album by American country singer Connie Smith, released in January 1971 by RCA Victor. The album was described as a set of a traditional country songs and were considered to be autobiographical of Smith's life at the time. The disc's title track was released as a single in 1970 and reached the top 20 of the North American country charts. The album itself would chart in the top 40 of the American country LP's chart. Following its release, Billboard magazine gave it a positive review.
| Where Is My Castle | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 1971 | |||
| Recorded | September 23 – October 29, 1970 | |||
| Studio | RCA Victor Studios | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Producer | Bob Ferguson | |||
| Connie Smith chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Where Is My Castle | ||||
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Background
editConnie Smith reached the peak of her commercial success in the mid 1960s with a series of top ten country singles fueled by the eight-week number one song, "Once a Day". In 1968, Smith discovered Christianity and re-evaluated her lifestyle choices. Following this transition, her singles made the top ten with less frequency,[3] but she continued to record several times per year for her record label and remained a popular concert attraction.[4] One single of this period to miss the top ten was a 1970 top 20 recording titled "Where Is My Castle".[5] This would serve as the title to her next studio album. According to biographer Barry Mazor, Smith was emotionally-"sidelined" during the making of Where Is My Castle. Smith herself described the material she chose for the project as autobiographical of her emotions at the time: "Anybody knows, that it's cathartic to be able to sing how you feel about things."[6]
Recording and content
editSmith entered the studio to record the selections for Where Is My Castle in the fall of 1970. She cut the album's material over the course of five studio sessions: September 23, September 28, October 6 and October 27. The sessions were recorded at RCA Victor Studios, located in Nashville, Tennessee and were produced by Bob Ferguson. Five overdub sessions were also recorded that featured a vocal chorus performed by four background singers.[7] The album consisted of ten tracks.[1][8] Billboard magazine described the album as having a "traditional country flavor".[2] Songs recorded for the album featured background instrumentation from fiddle and steel guitar.[6]
Four cuts by songwriter Dallas Frazier were recorded during for the project. According to Frazier, many of the album's songs he penned for Smith were reflective of her personal life: "When you're close to people, they always influence your writing," he recounted in 2012.[6] Among the songs by Frazier was the title track,[8] which has been claimed to have been written about Smith's two failed marriages up to that point.[6] Other new recordings included Frazier's "Darling Days", "Too Good to Be True" and the Conway Twitty-penned "I'm So Used to Loving You".[8][6]
Smith also recorded several covers for the project including Twitty's "Hello Darlin'". According to Mazor, Twitty performed the song to Smith first before releasing his own version as a single. She also covered Roger Miller's "When a House Is Not a Home" and Merle Haggard's gospel selection titled "Jesus Take a Hold".[6] Smith would end up re-recording the track for her 2021 album The Cry of the Heart and explain her reasoning for doing so to The New York Times: "It’s just as relevant today as it was back then, if not more so."[9] A second gospel song was also included titled "Clinging to a Saving Hand".[6] Another cover song Smith cut for the project was "Before I'm Over You",[8] which was originally a top five country single for Loretta Lynn.[5]
Release and reception
editWhere Is My Castle was released in January 1971 on the RCA Victor label. It became the seventeenth studio project released in Smith's career. The label originally released it as a vinyl LP, with five songs on each side of the record.[8] Decades later, the album was re-released for downloading and streaming through the Sony Music Entertainment label.[10] Following its original release, the album received a positive response by Billboard magazine. Reviewers described "Before I'm Over You", "Clinging to a Saving Hand" and "Hello Darlin" as "outstanding tunes".[2] Where Is My Castle spent five weeks on the American Billboard Top Country Albums chart, peaking at the number 39 position in February 1971. It was Smith's lowest-charting Billboard album up to that point in her career.[11] The title track was the only single included on the disc and was first released by RCA Victor in December 1970.[12] It spent 14 weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, peaking at number 11 in March 1971. It was Smith's sixth single to reach the top 20.[13] The single also became her third to enter Canada's RPM Country chart, peaking at number 20.[14]
Track listings
editVinyl version
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I'm So Used to Loving You" | Conway Twitty | 2:48 |
| 2. | "Too Good to Be True" | Dallas Frazier | 2:11 |
| 3. | "Before I'm Over You" | Betty Sue Perry | 2:40 |
| 4. | "When a House Is Not a Home" | Roger Miller | 2:17 |
| 5. | "Clinging to A Saving Hand" | Bill Mack | 2:40 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Where Is My Castle" | Frazier | 2:38 |
| 2. | "Darling Days" |
| 2:58 |
| 3. | "Jesus Take a Hold" | Merle Haggard | 2:26 |
| 4. | "I Can't Believe That You've Stopped Loving Me" |
| 2:54 |
| 5. | "Hello Darlin'" | Twitty | 2:26 |
Digital version
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I'm So Used to Loving You" | Twitty | 2:51 |
| 2. | "Too Good to Be True" | Frazier | 2:13 |
| 3. | "Before I'm Over You" | Perry | 2:43 |
| 4. | "When a House Is Not a Home" | Miller | 2:20 |
| 5. | "Clinging to A Saving Hand" | Mack | 2:42 |
| 6. | "Where Is My Castle" | Frazier | 2:41 |
| 7. | "Darling Days" |
| 2:59 |
| 8. | "Jesus Take a Hold" | Haggard | 2:30 |
| 9. | "I Can't Believe That You've Stopped Loving Me" |
| 2:57 |
| 10. | "Hello Darlin'" | Twitty | 2:29 |
Personnel
editAll credits are adapted from the liner notes of Where Is My Castle[8] and the biography booklet by Barry Mazor titled Just for What I Am.[7]
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Musical personnel
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Technical personnel
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Chart performance
edit| Chart (1971) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[15] | 39 |
Release history
edit| Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | January 1971 | Vinyl | RCA Victor | [8] |
| RCA International | [16] | |||
| United Kingdom | RCA Victor | [17] | ||
| North America | 2010s |
|
Sony Music Entertainment | [10] |
References
editFootnotes
edit- ^ a b "Where Is My Castle: Connie Smith: Songs, reviews, credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- ^ a b c "Billboard Album Reviews". Billboard. Vol. 83, no. 5. January 30, 1971. p. 45. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- ^ Bush, John. "Connie Smith Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- ^ Mazor 2012, p. 7.
- ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. pp. 387–388. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
- ^ a b c d e f g Mazor 2012, p. 37.
- ^ a b Mazor 2012, p. 63.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Smith, Connie (January 1971). "Where Is My Castle (LP Liner Notes and Album Information)". RCA Victor. LSP-4474.
- ^ Osmon, Erin (August 19, 2021). "54 Albums Later, Connie Smith's Defiant Heart Has Plenty to Say". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
- ^ a b c "Where Is My Castle by Connie Smith". Apple Music. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
- ^ "Connie Smith chart history (Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
- ^ Smith, Connie (December 1970). ""Where Is My Castle"/"Clinging to a Saving Hand" (7" vinyl single)". RCA Victor. 47-9938.
- ^ "Connie Smith chart history (Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
- ^ "Search results for "Connie Smith"". RPM. Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
- ^ "Connie Smith Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
- ^ Smith, Connie (January 1971). "Where Is My Castle (LP Liner Notes and Album Information)". RCA International. INTS-1272.
- ^ Smith, Connie (January 1971). "Where Is My Castle (LP Liner Notes and Album Information)". RCA Victor. LSA-3042.
Books
edit- Mazor, Barry (February 27, 2012). Just for What I Am (Box Set Biography). Bear Family Records. ISBN 978-3-89916-638-5.