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| cover = Jan Howard--Rock Me Back to Little Rock.jpg
| cover = Jan Howard--Rock Me Back to Little Rock.jpg
| released = {{start date|1970|06}}
| released = {{start date|1970|06}}
| genre = {{hlist|[[Country music|Country]]<ref name="Allmusic">{{cite web |title=''Rock Me Back to Little Rock'': Jan Howard: Songs, reviews, credits |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/rock-me-back-to-little-rock-mw0000979767 |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=7 September 2024}}</ref>|[[country pop]]<ref name="Billboard">{{cite magazine |title=Billboard Album Reviews: Country |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=June 20, 1970 |page=57 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dykEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA57&dq=jan+howard+rock+me+back+to+little+rock+album+review&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjb8NSPwbGIAxXdEVkFHX8YJdUQ6AF6BAgEEAI#v=onepage&q=jan%20howard%20rock%20me%20back%20to%20little%20rock%20album%20review&f=false |access-date=7 September 2024}}</ref>}}
| recorded = 1969 – 1970
| venue = Bradley's Barn
| studio =
| genre = [[Country music|Country]]
| length =
| label = [[Decca Records|Decca]]
| label = [[Decca Records|Decca]]
| producer = [[Owen Bradley]]
| producer = [[Owen Bradley]]
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| single1 = [[We Had All the Good Things Going]]
| single1 = [[We Had All the Good Things Going]]
| single1date = August 1969
| single1date = August 1969
| single2 = Rock Me Back to Little Rock
| single2 = [[Rock Me Back to Little Rock (song)|Rock Me Back to Little Rock]]
| single2date = February 1970
| single2date = February 1970
}}
}}
}}
}}
'''''Rock Me Back to Little Rock''''' is the tenth studio album by American [[country music|country]] artist [[Jan Howard]]. It was released in June 1970 on [[Decca Records]] and was produced by [[Owen Bradley]]. The album featured two singles, one of which became a top 20 hit on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' country chart. Additionally, the album would reach peak positions on the ''Billboard'' country albums chart.
'''''Rock Me Back to Little Rock''''' is a [[studio album]] by American [[Country music|country]] artist [[Jan Howard]]. It was released by [[Decca Records]] in June 1970 and was her tenth studio album. The project contained 11 tracks with a mixture of original tunes and cover songs. Among its tracks were two [[Single (music)|single]] releases: "[[We Had All the Good Things Going]]" and the [[Rock Me Back to Little Rock (song)|title track]]. Both made appearances on the US country songs chart between 1969 and 1970. The album itself also made the US country chart. Both ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' and ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]'' magazines reviewed the album following its release.


==Background and content==
==Background, recording and content==
Jan Howard was the former wife of country music songwriter [[Harlan Howard]]. With his encouragement, she began her own recording career in the late 1950s and had her first commercially-successful release in 1960 with "[[The One You Slip Around With]]". Signing with Decca Records in the middle 1960s, her recording career became more successful with top ten, top 20 and top 40 singles like "[[Evil on Your Mind]]", "[[My Son (song)|My Son]]" and "Rock Me Back to Little Rock".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stambler |first1=Irwin |last2=Landon |first2=Grelun |title=Country Music: The Encyclopedia |date=2000 |publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]] |isbn=978-0312264871 |page=210-211}}</ref> The latter song would serve as the title for Howard's 1970 studio album,<ref name="Liner Notes">{{cite journal |last1=Howard |first1=Jan |title=''[[Rock Me Back to Little Rock]]'' (Liner Notes) |journal=[[Decca Records]] |date=June 1970 |id=DL-75207 (LP Stereo); C73-5207 (Cassette)}}</ref> which consisted of 11 tracks<ref name="Allmusic"/> and was produced by [[Owen Bradley]]. Among the new recordings were three songs penned by Howard herself: "Hello Stranger", "[[Love Is a Sometimes Thing]]" and "[[I Never Once Stopped Loving You (song)|I Never Once Stopped Loving You]]". The latter was co-written with [[Bill Anderson (singer)|Bill Anderson]]. Additional tracks were cover tunes including "[[Let It Be (song)|Let It Be]]", "[[Try a Little Kindness (song)|Try a Little Kindness]]" and "[[Bridge Over Troubled Water (song)|Bridge Over Troubled Water]]".<ref name="Liner Notes"/>
''Rock Me Back to Little Rock'' was recorded in several sessions between 1969 and 1970 at Bradley's Barn, located in [[Mount Juliet, Tennessee]]. All sessions were produced by [[Owen Bradley]], Howard's collaborator since signing with the [[Decca Records|Decca]] label.<ref name="liner notes">{{cite journal |last1=Howard |first1=Jan |title=''Rock Me Back to Little Rock'' liner notes (vinyl insert) |journal=[[Decca Records]] |date=1970}}</ref> The album consisted of 11 tracks, most of which were cover versions of songs by other artists. Of these covers was [[The Beatles]]'s "[[Let It Be (Beatles song)|Let It Be]]", [[Glen Campbell]]'s "[[Try a Little Kindness (song)|Try a Little Kindness]]" and [[Simon & Garfunkel]]'s "[[Bridge Over Troubled Water (song)|Bridge Over Troubled Water]]". The album also included original tracks, such as the title track and Howard's self-penned "Love Is a Sometimes Thing". The latter track would later be released as a single by Howard's friend and musical collaborator, [[Bill Anderson (singer)|Bill Anderson]].<ref name="Discogs">{{cite web |title=Jan Howard -- ''Rock Me Back to Little Rock'' (1970, Vinyl) |website=[[Discogs]] |url=https://www.discogs.com/Jan-Howard-Rock-Me-Back-To-Little-Rock/release/4036678 |accessdate=27 January 2020}}</ref> ''Rock Me Back to Little Rock'' also included two songs that were previously recorded by [[Connie Smith]]. The album's second track "[[You and Your Sweet Love]]" was a top 10 hit for Smith in 1969 and was co-written by Bill Anderson. The album's tenth track, "[[I Never Once Stopped Loving You (song)|I Never Once Stopped Loving You]]", was composed by both Anderson and Howard. The song also became a top 10 hit for Smith.<ref name="liner notes"/>


==Release and reception==
==Release and critical reception==
''Rock Me Back to Little Rock'' was released in June 1970 by Decca Records and was Howard's tenth studio album in her career. It was distributed as both a [[Gramophone record|vinyl LP]] and a [[Audio cassette|cassette]]. Both versions had six tracks on "side 1" and five tracks on "side 2".<ref name="Liner Notes"/> The project was given reviews from music magazines of the era. ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' found it the production to include [[country pop]] elements with a "varied collection" of songs along with "a few mavericks".<ref name="Billboard"/> ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]'' believed the album to sell well in record stores, writing, "Could be a good chart future in the cards for this package. Watch it."<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Country LP Reviews |magazine=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]] |date=June 13, 1970 |page=46 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/70s/1970/CB-1970-06-13-OCR-Page-0046.pdf#search=%22jan%20howard%20rock%20me%20back%20to%20little%20rock%22 |access-date=7 September 2024}}</ref>
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]''
| rev1Score = Favorable
}}
''Rock Me Back to Little Rock'' was released in June 1970 on [[Decca Records]] via a [[gramophone record|vinyl record format]]. The record included six songs on the first side and five songs on the remaining side.<ref name="Discogs"/> The album peaked at number 42 on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Top Country Albums]] chart on June 23, 1970. It spent a total of 3 weeks on the chart.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Rock Me Back to Little Rock'' chart history |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/jan-howard/chart-history/clp/ |website=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |accessdate=27 January 2020}}</ref> The album also featured two singles. The first single, "[[We Had All the Good Things Going]]", reached number 20 on the ''Billboard'' [[Hot Country Singles]] chart in November 1969. It became Howard's sixth and final top 20 hit<ref>{{cite web |title="We Had All the Good Things Going" chart history |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/jan-howard/chart-history/csi/ |website=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |accessdate=27 January 2020}}</ref> as a solo artist. The title track was released in 1970, reaching number 26 on the ''Billboard'' country songs chart on May 2.<ref>{{cite web |title="Rock Me Back to Little Rock" (single) chart history |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/jan-howard/chart-history/csi/ |website=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |accessdate=27 January 2020}}</ref>


==Chart performance and singles==
The album was reviewed positively by ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' in 1970. In their commentary, writers called it a "pop-country product with a few mavericks that she (and produced Owen Bradley) adopted and adapted." Magazine writers praised Howard's covers of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "I Never Once Stopped Loving You".<ref>{{cite journal |title=''Billboard'' album reviews |journal=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=June 20, 1970 |volume=82 |issue=25 |page=57}}</ref>
''Rock Me Back to Little Rock'' debuted on the US ''Billboard'' [[Top Country Albums]] chart on June 27, 1970. It did not rise higher than the number 42 position after three weeks on the chart. It was Howard's lowest charting album in her career and only album to peak outside the ''Billboard'' country top 40.<ref name="Country Albums">{{cite book |last1=Whitburn |first1=Joel |title=Joel Whitburn Presents Hot Country Albums, 1964-2007 |date=2008 |publisher=Record Research, Inc. |isbn=978-0898201734}}</ref> A total of two singles were included on the project. Its earliest single was "We Had All the Good Things Going", which was first issued by Decca in August 1969.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Howard |first1=Jan |title="We Had All the Good Things Going"/"I'll Go Where You Go" (7" vinyl single) |journal=[[Decca Records]] |date=August 1969 |id=732543}}</ref> It later peaked at number 20 on the US [[Hot Country Songs|country songs]] chart.<ref name="1960s Country Songs">{{cite book |title= Joel Whitburn Presents Across the Charts, the 1960s|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |authorlink=Joel Whitburn |year=2008 |publisher=Record Research |isbn=978-0898201758 |page=184}}</ref> The project's title track was issued as the second single in February 1970 by Decca.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Howard |first1=Jean |title="Rock Me Back to Little Rock"/"Hello Stranger" (7" vinyl single) |journal=[[Decca Records]] |date=February 1970 |id=732636}}</ref> It rose to number 26 on the US country songs chart later that year.<ref name="1960s Country Songs"/>


==Track listing==
==Track listing==
{{tracklist
{{tracklist
| headline = Side one<ref name="Discogs"/>
| headline = Side one<ref name="Liner Notes"/>
| title1 = Can You Feel It
| title1 = Can You Feel It
| writer1 = {{hlist|[[Bobby Goldsboro]]}}
| writer1 = [[Bobby Goldsboro]]
| length1 = 2:35
| length1 = 2:35
| title2 = [[You and Your Sweet Love]]
| title2 = [[You and Your Sweet Love]]
| writer2 = {{hlist|[[Bill Anderson (singer)|Bill Anderson]]}}
| writer2 = [[Bill Anderson (singer)|Bill Anderson]]
| length2 = 2:45
| length2 = 2:45
| title3 = [[We Had All the Good Things Going]]
| title3 = [[We Had All the Good Things Going]]
| writer3 = {{hlist|Jerry Monday|Mervin Shriner}}
| writer3 = {{hlist|Jerry Monday|[[Mervin Shiner]]}}
| length3 = 2:30
| length3 = 2:30
| title4 = Hello Stranger
| title4 = Hello Stranger
| writer4 = {{hlist|[[Harlan Howard]]}}
| writer4 = Jan Howard
| length4 = 2:15
| length4 = 2:15
| title5 = Journey Goin' Nowhere
| title5 = Journey Goin' Nowhere
| writer5 = {{hlist|Dee Moeller}}
| writer5 = Dee Moeller
| length5 = 2:09
| length5 = 2:09
| title6 = [[Let It Be (Beatles song)|Let It Be]]
| title6 = [[Let It Be (song)|Let It Be]]
| writer6 = {{hlist|[[Lennon–McCartney]]}}
| writer6 = [[Lennon–McCartney]]
| length6 = 2:37
| length6 = 2:37
}}
}}
{{tracklist
{{tracklist
| headline = Side two<ref name="Discogs"/>
| headline = Side two<ref name="Liner Notes"/>
| title1 = Rock Me Back to Little Rock
| title1 = [[Rock Me Back to Little Rock (song)|Rock Me Back to Little Rock]]
| writer1 = {{hlist|Lola Jean Dillon}}
| writer1 = Lola Jean Dillon
| length1 = 2:19
| length1 = 2:19
| title2 = Love Is a Sometimes Thing
| title2 = [[Love Is a Sometimes Thing (song)|Love Is a Sometimes Thing]]
| writer2 = {{hlist|[[Jan Howard]]}}
| writer2 = Jan Howard
| length2 = 2:53
| length2 = 2:53
| title3 = [[Try a Little Kindness (song)|Try a Little Kindness]]
| title3 = [[Try a Little Kindness (song)|Try a Little Kindness]]
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| length3 = 2:12
| length3 = 2:12
| title4 = [[I Never Once Stopped Loving You (song)|I Never Once Stopped Loving You]]
| title4 = [[I Never Once Stopped Loving You (song)|I Never Once Stopped Loving You]]
| writer4 = {{hlist|Anderson|Howard}}
| writer4 = {{hlist|Bill Anderson|Jan Howard}}
| length4 = 2:54
| length4 = 2:54
| title5 = [[Bridge Over Troubled Water (song)|Bridge Over Troubled Water]]
| title5 = [[Bridge Over Troubled Water (song)|Bridge Over Troubled Water]]
Line 79: Line 72:
| length5 = 4:11
| length5 = 4:11
}}
}}

==Personnel==
All credits are adapted from the liner notes of ''Rock Me Back to Little Rock''.<ref name="liner notes"/>

'''Musical and technical personnel'''
* [[Harold Bradley]] – [[guitar]]
* [[Owen Bradley]] – [[record producer|producer]]
* Kenneth Buttrey – [[drums]]
* Jimmy Capps – guitar
* [[Floyd Cramer]] – [[piano]]
* [[Ray Edenton]] – guitar
* [[Buddy Harman]] – drums
* [[Jan Howard]] – lead vocals
* [[Roy Huskey]] – [[bass (instrument)|bass]]
* [[Grady Martin]] – guitar
* [[Charlie McCoy]] – [[harmonica]], [[vibes (percussion)|vibes]]
* Hal Rugg – [[steel guitar]]
* Jerry Smith – piano
* Pete Wade – guitar


==Chart performance==
==Chart performance==
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!scope="col"| Ref.
!scope="col"| Ref.
|-
|-
! scope="row"| United States
! scope="row"| North America
| June 1970
| June 1970
| rowspan="2"| Vinyl
| {{hlist|Vinyl LP|cassette}}
| [[Decca Records|Decca]]
| Decca Records
| <ref name="Discogs"/>
| <ref name="Liner Notes"/>
|-
|-
! scope="row"| United Kingdom
! scope="row"| United Kingdom
| 1972
| 1972
| Vinyl LP
| [[MCA Records|MCA]]
| MCA Records
| <ref>{{cite web |title=Jan Howard -- ''Rock Me Back to Little Rock'' (UK release) |url=https://www.discogs.com/Jan-Howard-Rock-Me-Back-To-Little-Rock/release/6287894 |website=[[Discogs]] |accessdate=27 January 2020}}</ref>
| <ref>{{cite journal |last1=Howard |first1=Jan |title=''[[Rock Me Back to Little Rock]]'' [U.K. edition] |journal=[[MCA Records]] |date=1972 |id=MUPS-444 (LP)}}</ref>
|-
|-
|}
|}
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[[Category:1970 albums]]
[[Category:1970 albums]]
[[Category:Jan Howard albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Owen Bradley]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Owen Bradley]]
[[Category:Decca Records albums]]
[[Category:Decca Records albums]]
[[Category:Jan Howard albums]]

Latest revision as of 19:32, 7 September 2024

Rock Me Back to Little Rock
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 1970 (1970-06)
Genre
LabelDecca
ProducerOwen Bradley
Jan Howard chronology
If It's All the Same to You
(1970)
Rock Me Back to Little Rock
(1970)
Bill and Jan (Or Jan and Bill)
(1972)
Singles from Rock Me Back to Little Rock
  1. "We Had All the Good Things Going"
    Released: August 1969
  2. "Rock Me Back to Little Rock"
    Released: February 1970

Rock Me Back to Little Rock is a studio album by American country artist Jan Howard. It was released by Decca Records in June 1970 and was her tenth studio album. The project contained 11 tracks with a mixture of original tunes and cover songs. Among its tracks were two single releases: "We Had All the Good Things Going" and the title track. Both made appearances on the US country songs chart between 1969 and 1970. The album itself also made the US country chart. Both Billboard and Cash Box magazines reviewed the album following its release.

Background, recording and content

[edit]

Jan Howard was the former wife of country music songwriter Harlan Howard. With his encouragement, she began her own recording career in the late 1950s and had her first commercially-successful release in 1960 with "The One You Slip Around With". Signing with Decca Records in the middle 1960s, her recording career became more successful with top ten, top 20 and top 40 singles like "Evil on Your Mind", "My Son" and "Rock Me Back to Little Rock".[3] The latter song would serve as the title for Howard's 1970 studio album,[4] which consisted of 11 tracks[1] and was produced by Owen Bradley. Among the new recordings were three songs penned by Howard herself: "Hello Stranger", "Love Is a Sometimes Thing" and "I Never Once Stopped Loving You". The latter was co-written with Bill Anderson. Additional tracks were cover tunes including "Let It Be", "Try a Little Kindness" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water".[4]

Release and critical reception

[edit]

Rock Me Back to Little Rock was released in June 1970 by Decca Records and was Howard's tenth studio album in her career. It was distributed as both a vinyl LP and a cassette. Both versions had six tracks on "side 1" and five tracks on "side 2".[4] The project was given reviews from music magazines of the era. Billboard found it the production to include country pop elements with a "varied collection" of songs along with "a few mavericks".[2] Cash Box believed the album to sell well in record stores, writing, "Could be a good chart future in the cards for this package. Watch it."[5]

Chart performance and singles

[edit]

Rock Me Back to Little Rock debuted on the US Billboard Top Country Albums chart on June 27, 1970. It did not rise higher than the number 42 position after three weeks on the chart. It was Howard's lowest charting album in her career and only album to peak outside the Billboard country top 40.[6] A total of two singles were included on the project. Its earliest single was "We Had All the Good Things Going", which was first issued by Decca in August 1969.[7] It later peaked at number 20 on the US country songs chart.[8] The project's title track was issued as the second single in February 1970 by Decca.[9] It rose to number 26 on the US country songs chart later that year.[8]

Track listing

[edit]
Side one[4]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Can You Feel It"Bobby Goldsboro2:35
2."You and Your Sweet Love"Bill Anderson2:45
3."We Had All the Good Things Going"
2:30
4."Hello Stranger"Jan Howard2:15
5."Journey Goin' Nowhere"Dee Moeller2:09
6."Let It Be"Lennon–McCartney2:37
Side two[4]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Rock Me Back to Little Rock"Lola Jean Dillon2:19
2."Love Is a Sometimes Thing"Jan Howard2:53
3."Try a Little Kindness"
2:12
4."I Never Once Stopped Loving You"
  • Bill Anderson
  • Jan Howard
2:54
5."Bridge Over Troubled Water"4:11

Chart performance

[edit]
Chart (1970) Peak
position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[10] 42

Release history

[edit]
Region Date Format Label Ref.
North America June 1970
  • Vinyl LP
  • cassette
Decca Records [4]
United Kingdom 1972 Vinyl LP MCA Records [11]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Rock Me Back to Little Rock: Jan Howard: Songs, reviews, credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Billboard Album Reviews: Country". Billboard. June 20, 1970. p. 57. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  3. ^ Stambler, Irwin; Landon, Grelun (2000). Country Music: The Encyclopedia. St. Martin's Press. p. 210-211. ISBN 978-0312264871.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Howard, Jan (June 1970). "Rock Me Back to Little Rock (Liner Notes)". Decca Records. DL-75207 (LP Stereo); C73-5207 (Cassette).
  5. ^ "Country LP Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. June 13, 1970. p. 46. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  6. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Joel Whitburn Presents Hot Country Albums, 1964-2007. Record Research, Inc. ISBN 978-0898201734.
  7. ^ Howard, Jan (August 1969). ""We Had All the Good Things Going"/"I'll Go Where You Go" (7" vinyl single)". Decca Records. 732543.
  8. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2008). Joel Whitburn Presents Across the Charts, the 1960s. Record Research. p. 184. ISBN 978-0898201758.
  9. ^ Howard, Jean (February 1970). ""Rock Me Back to Little Rock"/"Hello Stranger" (7" vinyl single)". Decca Records. 732636.
  10. ^ "Jan Howard Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  11. ^ Howard, Jan (1972). "Rock Me Back to Little Rock [U.K. edition]". MCA Records. MUPS-444 (LP).