Maps of Music

Who Was That Stranger (1988)

Where the lyrics of Who Was That Stranger take you, and where it was really made.

Loretta Lynn's 38th solo studio album was also the first of her albums to come out on CD.

Key places

Mixing at Sound Stage Studios (1988)

Recording site Sound Stage Studios — The album was mixed at Sound Stage Studios in Nashville, according to the Discogs release credits. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Who Was That Stranger is the 38th solo studio album by American country singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn
• Released May 24, 1988 by MCA Records
• The first of Lynn's albums to be issued on CD at the time of its release
• Ten tracks, five per side of the LP
• Track list: Who Was That Stranger, Your Used to Be, Married Ladies, You're Gonna Catch Heaven When I Get You Home, Mountain Climber, Fly Away, You Make Me Want to Walk on Water, Elzie Banks, Still in the Ring, Survivor
• Producers credited: Loretta Lynn, with Jimmy Bowen and Chip Hardy for Lynwood Productions

Background

• The album is Lynn's 38th solo studio album
• Lynn is credited with lead and background vocals
• Session players include Béla Fleck on banjo, Reggie Young on electric guitar, Matt Rollings on piano and Weldon Myrick on steel guitar
• Other musicians: Paul Anastasio (fiddle), Mike Caldwell (harmonica), Bill Hullett (dobro and acoustic guitar), Billy Joe Walker Jr. (acoustic guitar), David Hungate (bass), Eddie Bayers (drums)
• Background vocals by Peggy Sue and Curtis Young

Recording

• Recorded digitally on a Mitsubishi X-850 32-track system at Emerald Sound Studios in Nashville, Tennessee
• Bob Bullock is credited as recording engineer, and his name also appears on the overdubbing credits
• Assistant engineers: Marty Williams, Russ Martin and Mark Coddington
• Mixed at Sound Stage Studios
• Mastered at Masterfonics by Glenn Meadows, using a JVC digital audio mastering system

Cover

• Original album cover credits: art direction by Simon Levy, design by Tal Howell, photograph by Peter Nash

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

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

• Released May 24, 1988 by MCA Records
• Lynn's 38th solo studio album at the time of release
• Issued on CD at release, the first Lynn album to appear on CD
• Recording credits list Emerald Sound Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, with Bob Bullock as engineer
• Mixing at Sound Stage Studios and mastering at Masterfonics
• Cover credits: Simon Levy (art direction), Tal Howell (design), Peter Nash (photograph)

Reappraisal

• No critic ratings or published reviews are confirmed for this album
• Banjo is played by Béla Fleck, a credit that stands out in the lineup
• Steel guitar is played by Weldon Myrick, and fiddle by Paul Anastasio
• Harmonica is played by Mike Caldwell, and dobro by Bill Hullett
• Electric guitar is played by Reggie Young, piano by Matt Rollings
• Drums are played by Eddie Bayers, bass by David Hungate
• Background vocals by Peggy Sue and Curtis Young

Records

• The first Lynn album issued on CD, in 1988
• Billboard North America album and singles chart listings are included, but no chart positions are given

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album was the first of Lynn's records to be issued on CD at the time of its release.
• Béla Fleck played banjo on the album.
• Jimmy Bowen and Chip Hardy, working for Lynwood Productions, shared production credit with Lynn.
• Mixing took place at Sound Stage Studios, according to the Discogs credits.
• The opening track shares its title with the album.

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

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