Title - A Country Boy Singing His Heart Out
Artist - Webb Pierce
A new album, Webb Pierce’s A Country Boy Singing His Heart Out, has been released by Country Rewind Records featuring the hit singles There Stands The Glass and I Ain’t Never along with 13 other favorites.
The audio quality on these tracks has been upgraded and additional instrumentation has been added to set the release apart from the other albums out there.
Perhaps the following quote best sums up Pierce’s remarkable appeal: “A honky-tonk innovator, Webb Pierce was a fine singer, responsible for many of the hardest-cutting and daring recordings of honky-tonk’s golden age. His revival of Jimmie Rodgers’ In the Jailhouse Now was the bridge between the country’s hillbilly roots of the 1930s and the burgeoning rockabilly of the 1950s,” reflected Alan Cackett - author, country music historian, and 47th member of the British Country Music Hall of Fame.
This one-of-a-kind record contains recordings that were never intended for commercial release and were believed to have been lost or forgotten. They are recordings that Pierce made solely for radio airplay, and stations frequently just discarded them after they were aired. Country Rewind Records founder, Thomas Gramuglia, rescued the master tapes and entrusted producer Rex Allen, Jr. and engineer Aaron Dethrage with the task of bringing the audio quality up to twenty-first century standards.
Webb Pierce was the most popular vocalist of the 1950s, holding the distinction of charting more number one hits than similar artists like Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb, Eddy Arnold and Lefty Frizzell.
1. I Ain’t Never
2. Why Baby Why
3. I Don’t Care
4. Slowly
5. Wondering
6. Memory #1
7. Back Street Affair
8. There Stands The Glass
9. That Heart Belongs To Me
10. I’m Walking The Dog
11. Fool, Fool, Fool
12. Yes, I Know Why
13. How Do You Talk To A Baby
14. Goodbye City, Goodbye Girl
15. It’s My Way
Opening on the foot-tapping, melodious beauty I Ain’t Never and the free flowing Why Baby Why, they are in turn followed seamlessly by the lonesome ode within I Don’t Care, the aching yearn of Slowly, the openhearted Wondering, the twanging Memory #1, and then we get the mid-tempo balladry of Back Street Affair and the slow, piano-imbued roll of There Stands The Glass.
Next up is the flirtatiously loving That Heart Belongs To Me and the thigh slapper I’m Walking The Dog and they are in turn followed by the low slung, lush balladry of Fool, Fool, Fool, the euphonious Yes, I Know Why, the album rounding out on the rhythmic ache within How Do You Talk To A Baby, the troubadour-imbibed Goodbye City, Goodbye Girl, coming to a close on the melodic, harmoniously-layered It’s My Way.
Webb Pierce was the most popular vocalist of the 1950s. He holds the distinction of charting more number one hits than similar artists like Hank Williams, Eddy Arnold, Ernest Tubb and Lefty Frizzell. Pierce was the quintessential honky-tonk artist known for his unique vocal styling and guitar playing, as well as his signature rhinestone-encrusted, lavish and flamboyant Nudie suits.
Many of his songs would reign atop the country charts for multiple weeks, making him the most recognizable face of country music. Webb called his style “a country boy singing his heart out” and if you are a fan of the “Honky-Tonk Country” style, you know that’s an accurate description of his pure hillbilly twang with overtones of the country & western music of the era.
It was a styling he was to use for most of his career. Today, many people remember Pierce for his extravagant lifestyle, his guitar-shaped swimming pool and his 1962 Pontiac with its steer-horn hood ornament and pistols on the doors and fenders, which is now on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
The project, distributed by Select-O-Hits, was recorded at Eastside Manor Studio in Nashville with Executive Producer Thomas Gramuglia and re-recording and mastering were done by Aaron Dethrage. Musicians on the record included Dug Grieves (electric guitar), Ernie Reed (fiddle), Rex Allen, Jr. (acoustic guitar) and Diane Manon, Deegee McCall, Ben Hall and Rex Allen, Jr. (background vocals).
“Bringing back these long-lost recordings means so much to me,” said Thomas Gramuglia. “Hearing Webb’s voice and guitar playing again is truly a joy. This one-of-a-kind album contains recordings that were believed to be lost or forgotten. Webb was one of the most popular honky-tonk vocalists of the 50s. These updated recordings will really bring joy to any classic country fan," stated Executive Producer Thomas Gramuglia.
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www.countryrewindrecords.com
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