Maps of Music

Country Partners (1974)

Where the lyrics of Country Partners take you, and where it was really made.

The single from this album, "As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone", reached No. 1 on the US country singles chart, the duo's fourth consecutive No. 1 together.

Key places

Recorded at Bradley's Barn, Mount Juliet (1974)

Recording site Bradley's Barn — Recording sessions for the album ran from April 23 to 25, 1974 at Bradley's Barn in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. The map point is set at the city centre, not at the barn itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Country Partners is the fourth collaborative studio album by Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn
• Released June 10, 1974 by MCA Records
• The album peaked at No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot Country LP chart
• It was the duo's second album to top that chart
• The album's only single was "As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone"

Background

• This was the duo's fourth album made together
• Both singers had their own careers in country music
• The single was released in May 1974, before the album

Recording

• Sessions took place on April 23, 24 and 25, 1974 at Bradley's Barn in Mount Juliet, Tennessee
• Two songs came from the sessions for the 1973 album Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man
• "As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone" was recorded on March 7, 1973
• "Lifetime Before" was recorded on April 5
• Owen Bradley produced the album

Cover

• Photography is credited to Bud Gray

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born Loretta Webb on April 14, 1932, in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, the oldest daughter in a coal miner's family.
• Married Oliver Vanetta "Doolittle" Lynn in 1948 at age 15; the marriage lasted almost 50 years until his death in 1996.
• Began singing in local clubs in the late 1950s and formed her own band, the Trailblazers.

Career

• Signed with Zero Records in 1960; her first release was "Whispering Sea" and "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl".
• Joined Decca Records through the Wilburn Brothers; joined the Grand Ole Opry on September 25, 1962.
• Scored a string of hits from the 1960s, including "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)" and "Don't Come Home A-Drinkin'".
• Wrote songs on women's issues such as birth control ("The Pill") and double standards ("Rated 'X'"), many inspired by her own marriage.
• Recorded five No. 1 duets with Conway Twitty between 1971 and 1975.
• Her 1976 autobiography Coal Miner's Daughter became a bestseller and inspired the 1980 Oscar-winning film starring Sissy Spacek.
• Named Artist of the Decade for the 1970s by the Academy of Country Music, the only woman to win this honor.
• Released Van Lear Rose (2004), produced by Jack White, which won the Grammy for Best Country Album.
• Had a stroke in 2017 and broke her hip in 2018, which ended her touring after 57 years.
• Died on October 4, 2022, at age 90, at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Billboard (June 22, 1974 issue): called them "Tremendous singing partners" and said the collection would surprise many of their closest fans
• Billboard: said a couple of tunes border on pop, a great change of pace for the duo, but plenty of country remains
• Billboard: named "I'm Getting Tired of Losing You", "Sweet Things Remember About You" and the fast-paced "It All Falls Down" as the best cuts
• Cash Box (June 22, 1974 issue): called Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty two of the leading singers on the country scene
• Cash Box: said an LP made by the two of them is going to be very special
• Cash Box: described "Don't Mess Up a Good Thing" as an up-tempo tune blending the two voices, and "Two Lonely People" as a moving ballad

Records

• US Billboard Hot Country LP chart: No. 1
• US Billboard Hot Country Singles chart: "As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone" No. 1, the duo's fourth consecutive No. 1 single together
• Canada RPM Country Singles chart: the same single No. 1, the duo's third consecutive chart-topping song
• Australia Kent Music Report: the single peaked at No. 57

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Billboard's note to album dealers said the cover alone should help the album sell
• Two songs were recorded during the sessions for the 1973 album Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man
• Cash Box introduced "As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone" as the duo's latest chart novelty single
• Billboard said parts of the collection border on pop, a change of pace for the duo

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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