Maps of Music

Touching Home (1971)

Where the lyrics of Touching Home take you, and where it was really made.

The title track became a Top 10 country hit, yet the second single barely missed the Top Ten.

Key places

Recorded in Nashville (1971)

Recording site Nashville — The source places the album's recording in Nashville, Tennessee. No studio name is given, so this pin marks the city only. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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Album story

Overview

Touching Home: studio album by American musician and pianist Jerry Lee Lewis
Released in 1971 on Mercury Records
Title track is the single that became Lewis's twelfth Top 10 country hit since 1968
Title track is also the title track of Lewis's third Mercury album of 1971
Lewis's vocal on the title track conveys the emotional torment found in its lyrics
Second single 'When He Walks On You (The Way You Have Walked on Me)' barely missed the Top Ten
Track list includes Kris Kristofferson's 'Help Me Make It Through the Night'
Track list also includes 'Foolish Kind of Man', written by Linda Gail Lewis with Kenny Lovelace

Background

Lewis greatly respected 'Help Me Make It Through the Night'
Lewis occasionally recorded songs written by his younger sister Linda Gail Lewis
Linda Gail Lewis wrote 'Foolish Kind of Man' with her husband, Lewis guitarist Kenny Lovelace
In 2014 Lewis told biographer Rick Bragg that the Kristofferson song was a masterpiece

Recording

Recorded in Nashville, Tennessee
Jerry Lee Lewis sings and plays piano
Guitarists: Chip Young, Dale Sellers, Harold Bradley, Jerry Shook, Pete Wade and Ray Edenton
Steel guitar: Lloyd Green and Pete Drake; fiddle: Kenny Lovelace
Bass: Bill Strom and Bob Moore; drums: Buddy Harman and Jerry Carrigan
Vocal accompaniment by The Nashville Sounds and The Jordanaires

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

1	When He Walks on You (Like You Walked on Me)	2:34
2	Time Changes Everything	2:27
3	Help Me Make It Through the Night	3:02
4	Mother, the Queen of My Heart	3:06
5	Hearts Were Made for Beating	2:38
6	Foolish Kind of Man	2:38
7	Touching Home	2:40
8	Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone	2:28
9	You Helped Me Up (When the World Let Me Down)	2:18
10	When Baby Gets the Blues	2:51
11	Comin’ Back for More	2:54

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

American country and rock and roll pianist, singer, and songwriter, nicknamed "The Killer".
Made first recordings in 1952 at Cosimo Matassa's J&M Studio in New Orleans; early Sun Records recordings in 1956 in Memphis.
1957 hit "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" brought worldwide fame; followed by "Great Balls of Fire", "Breathless", and "High School Confidential".
1964 live album Live at the Star Club, Hamburg is widely regarded as one of the greatest live rock albums.
Switched to country in 1968 with "Another Place, Another Time", which revived his career; 30 songs reached the Billboard country top 10 across his career.
Last Man Standing (2006) was his best-selling release; Mean Old Man (2010) was another major seller.
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1986) and the Country Music Hall of Fame (2022).

Members

Solo artist; the Million Dollar Quartet session on Sun Records included Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

Released on Mercury Records in 1971, Lewis's third Mercury album of that year
Title track was Lewis's twelfth Top 10 country hit since 1968
Second single 'When He Walks On You' peaked at number 11

Reappraisal

AllMusic calls Touching Home a hard country album, lacking overall sweetened gloss
AllMusic describes it as a good, strong shot of barroom country, filled with broken-hearted ballads
AllMusic singles out 'Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone' as a rollicking track
AllMusic says 'Mother, The Queen of My Heart' gives the album some pathos
AllMusic notes the tough country context keeps the sentimental songs from sounding too corny

Records

The album reached number 11 on the Billboard country albums chart
Second single 'When He Walks On You' barely missed the Top Ten
Title track 'Touching Home' reached the Top 10 of the country chart

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

Linda Gail Lewis, Lewis's younger sister, wrote songs he recorded, including 'Foolish Kind of Man'
In 2014 Lewis told biographer Rick Bragg that 'Help Me Make It Through the Night' was a masterpiece, adding 'You don't mess with Kristofferson.'
The French track list places 'Touching Home' seventh among eleven songs
The French track list shows 'Mother, The Queen of My Heart' as a Jimmie Rodgers and Slim Bryant song
Vocal accompaniment on the album came from The Nashville Sounds and The Jordanaires

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

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