Maps of Music

The Winning Hand (1982)

Where the lyrics of The Winning Hand take you, and where it was really made.

Johnny Cash's liner notes sparked a TV special, but lining up the schedules of five superstars took a couple of years.

Key places

Nashville recording location (1982)

Recording site Sound Emporium Studios — Listed as a recording location for the album at Sound Emporium Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Caribou Ranch recording location (1982)

Recording site Caribou Ranch — Listed as a recording location for the album at Caribou Ranch in Nederland, Colorado. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Spicewood recording location (1982)

Recording site Pedernales Studio — Listed as a recording location for the album in Spicewood, Texas. The pin sits at the city centre, not at the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Winning Hand: collaborative compilation album by Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and Brenda Lee
• Released 1 November 1982 by Monument Records
• Double album produced by Fred Foster, founder and chairman of the board of Monument
• Mixes newly recorded material with catalog material given new instrumental tracks
• Two singles: Parton and Nelson's "Everything's Beautiful (In Its Own Way)" and Lee and Nelson's "You're Gonna Love Yourself in the Morning"
• Johnny Cash wrote the liner notes, and the album inspired a television special of the same name that he hosted

Background

• Released through a new distribution deal with CBS, announced in Billboard's 4 September 1982 issue as Monument's first release under that deal
• Monument launched a radio, retail and advertising campaign budgeted at $100,000 to reach country, pop and adult contemporary audiences
• The cover artwork was used on posters, promotional decks of cards and other point-of-sale materials

Recording

• Some tracks were recorded shortly before release, including Kristofferson's material
• Other tracks are older recordings, with vocals overdubbed later
• Parton's older tracks date from 1964, 1965, 1966 and 1967
• Session musicians other than the four lead artists are unknown
• Discogs lists engineers Bill Porter, Charlie Tallent and Gene Eichelberger

Cover

• The cover art shows the four artists as kings and queens on a deck of cards

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Disc 1

Disc 2

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born Willie Hugh Nelson on April 29, 1933, in Abbott, Texas.
• Wrote his first song at age seven and joined his first band, Bohemian Polka, as a guitarist at age nine.
• Attended Baylor University for two years before dropping out to pursue music.
• Moved to Nashville in 1960 and joined Ray Price's band as a bassist.

Career

• Songs such as "Crazy" (Patsy Cline), "Funny How Time Slips Away" and "Pretty Paper" became hits for other artists.
• Debut album ...And Then I Wrote was released in 1962; joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1965.
• Helped lead the outlaw country movement after moving to Austin, Texas in 1972.
• Red Headed Stranger (1975) was a critically acclaimed concept album; the single "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" became his first number one hit.
• Co-founded Farm Aid in 1985 with Neil Young and John Mellencamp.
• Acted in over 30 films, including The Electric Horseman (1979).
• Received a Grammy Award for Best Country Solo Performance for "Ride Me Back Home" (2019).
• Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1993 and received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1998.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Billboard's review in its 13 November 1982 issue called it "an engaging project" that brings together three former Monument artists and one then signed to the reactivated label
• Billboard noted that the ambitious undertaking outweighs uneven spots typical of pairing different superstars on nearly every track
• Billboard named Nelson and Lee's "You Left Me a Long, Long Time Ago", Nelson and Kristofferson's "To Make a Long Story Short, She's Gone" and Parton and Kristofferson's "Put It Off Until Tomorrow" as the best cuts
• Cashbox's review in its 13 November 1982 issue said the LP was worth the wait, with duets and solo efforts made from recently recorded tracks added to Monument vault material
• Cashbox praised the packaging, citing inspired cover art and thoughtful liner notes by Johnny Cash

Records

• Peaked at No. 4 on the US Billboard Hot Country LPs chart
• Peaked at No. 109 on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart
• The first single, Parton and Nelson's duet, peaked at No. 7 on Hot Country Singles, No. 19 on Adult Contemporary Singles and No. 102 on Bubbling Under the Hot 100
• The second single, Lee and Nelson's duet, was released in March 1983 and peaked at No. 43 on Hot Country Singles

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• After writing the liner notes, Johnny Cash suggested making the album into a television special with him as host, and Fred Foster, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Brenda Lee and Dolly Parton agreed right away
• Arranging the schedules of the five superstars took a couple of years before the special became reality
• The special included every cut from the album plus signature songs from each performer
• Foster said the artists took part for a nominal fee as a tribute to him, since no other sponsor or budget could have paid for it
• The special aired in over 150 markets in March and April 1985
• Retail contests ran from December 1982 to January 1983, with winners receiving an expense-paid trip to see any act from the album in concert in Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe or Atlantic City

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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