Juice Newton "Queen Of Hearts (Single & Video)"

Queen of Hearts is a country-pop song written by Hank DeVito, the pedal steel guitarist in Emmylou Harris's backing group The Hot Band. It was first recorded by Dave Edmunds on his 1979 album Repeat When Necessary. Edmunds' version was released as a single and reached number 11 in the UK and number 12 in Ireland that year, but failed to chart substantially elsewhere in the world. The most successful version of the song was recorded by Juice Newton in 1981 – her version reached number two in the United States and South Africa. Newton's version also reached the top 10 in Canada, Australia, Denmark, Switzerland and New Zealand.

Following an appearance on the 1980 Rodney Crowell album But What Will the Neighbors Think, on which composer DeVito played guitar, "Queen of Hearts" had its highest-profile rendition in a version by country-rock singer Juice Newton from the 1981 album Juice. Newton would later recall: "I did ['Queen of Hearts'] live for about a year...Then I brought it to [producer] Richard Landis when we started the Juice album. He wasn't convinced at that point that it was a breakout song but I told him I think this is a real cool song … so we cut it". Newton's own favorite cut on the Juice album, "Queen of Hearts" was issued as the album's second single and would reach number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in September 1981. While still at number two, "Queen of Hearts" was certified Gold for domestic sales of one million units.

"Queen of Hearts" also gave Newton her second huge international hit, with top 10 chart positions in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and Switzerland, and more moderate success in Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands. Her recording of the song earned Newton a 1982 Grammy nomination for Best Female Vocalist, Country and Western category, "Queen of Hearts" having been a number 14 country hit. In June 2014, Newton's version of the song was ranked number 92 by Rolling Stone on its list of the 100 greatest country songs of all time.

Newton re-recorded "Queen of Hearts" for her 1998 album The Trouble With Angels.

Juice Newton "Angel Of The Morning (Single & Video)"

"Angel of the Morning" is a popular song written by Chip Taylor, originally recorded by Evie Sands but which first charted with a version by Merrilee Rush. The song has been covered by many artists including Chrissie Hynde, Dusty Springfield, P. P. Arnold, Connie Eaton, Mary Mason, Guys 'n' Dolls, Melba Montgomery, Olivia Newton-John and Juice Newton, who reached the Billboard Hot 100 top ten with her version in 1981.

The song was composed in 1967 by Chip Taylor, who said of it: "I wrote 'Angel of the Morning' after hearing the Rolling Stones song 'Ruby Tuesday' on the car radio when I was driving into New York City. I wanted to capture that kind of passion."

"Angel of the Morning" was originally offered to Connie Francis, but she turned it down because she thought that the lyrical message was too risqué for her image.

Taylor produced the first recording of the song with Evie Sands, but the financial straits of Cameo-Parkway Records, which had Sands on their roster, led to a highly limited single release and no promotion.

The second recording was by UK vocalist Billie Davis, made in 1967 by Danny Michaels for Lee Hazlewood's LHI label. Davis' version was later included on her 1970 debut album Billie Davis. P. P. Arnold provided backup vocals for that version and later released a version herself on her 1968 album Kafunta.

The highest-charting and best-selling version in the United States was recorded and released in 1981 by country-rock singer Juice Newton for her album Juice. Newton re-interpreted the song at the suggestion of Steve Meyer, who promoted Capitol Records singles and albums to radio stations and felt that a version of the song by Newton would be a strong candidate for airplay. Newton stated that she would never have thought of recording "Angel of the Morning", even though she immediately recognized the song when Meyer played it for her: "I [had not been] really aware of that song because...when [it] was popular I was listening to folk music and R&B and not pop, and that was a very pop song."

Newton's version reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 22 on the Billboard country music chart, and spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart in April of that year. The recording also earned Newton a Grammy nomination, in the same category as Rush's 1968 hit, at the 24th Annual Grammy Awards. More than one million copies of Newton's single were sold in the United States, and it reached the Top 5 in a number of other countries, including Canada (number 1), Australia (number 2), South Africa (number 3), Switzerland (number 4) and New Zealand (number 5). Notably, Newton's video for "Angel of the Morning" was the first country music video aired on MTV, debuting the day the network launched, in 1981. In the UK, the recording reached No. 43 on the UK Singles Chart, marking the song's third appearance on that chart without becoming a major hit. Newton recorded the song again in 1998 for her album The Trouble with Angels.

Creedence Clearwater Revival "Creedence Country"

Creedence Country is a compilation album by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR). It was released by Fantasy Records in October 1981 with the purpose of infiltrating the country market.

There was one single released from Creedence Country, "Cotton Fields" b/w "Lodi", in November. The single charted in Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles chart, while the album did not chart.

The album has been re-released in multiple formats, including a 2004 remastered CD with three bonus tracks.

According to an article in Billboard magazine, the idea for Creedence Country came from Bob Saporiti after listening to CCR's albums and hearing a prominent country influence in the group's songs. In the article, Saporiti said that the (former) members of the band compiled the songs for the album; although, he did not specify which members were involved.

Of the 12 songs on the original album, none were from the group's self-titled debut album or Bayou Country, three were from Green River, two were from Willy and the Poor Boys, five were from Cosmo's Factory, and two were from Mardi Gras. Of the three reissue bonus tracks two were from Mardi Gras and one was from Pendulum.

Only two songs were previously mainstream charting singles on the Billboard Hot 100, "Lodi" (#52) and "Lookin' Out My Back Door" (#2). Early in 1982, "Cotton Fields" peaked at #50 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart.

Track listing

All songs written by John Fogerty, except where indicated.

Side one

1. "Lookin' for a Reason" – 3:27
2. "Don't Look Now (It Ain't You or Me)" – 2:11
3. "Lodi" – 3:11
4. "My Baby Left Me" (Arthur Crudup) – 2:19
5. "Hello Mary Lou" (Gene Pitney) – 2:13
6. "Ramble Tamble" – 7:11

Side two

1. "Cotton Fields (The Cotton Song)" (Huddy Ledbetter) – 2:56
2. "Before You Accuse Me (Take a Look at Yourself)" (Ellas McDaniel) – 3:26
3. "Wrote a Song for Everyone" – 4:56
4. "Ooby Dooby" (Wade Moore, Dick Penner) - 2:08
5. "Cross-Tie Walker" – 3:18
6. "Lookin' Out My Back Door" – 2:31

Bonus tracks on 2004 CD release

1. "Need Someone to Hold" (Stu Cook) – 3:00
2. "Tearin' Up the Country" (Doug Clifford) – 2:15
3. "It's Just a Thought" – 3:55

Kenny Rogers "21 Number Ones"

21 Number Ones is a compilation album by Kenny Rogers. It was released in 2006 on Capitol Records Nashville.

Track listing

1. "The Gambler" Don Schlitz 3:31
2. "Through the Years" Steve Dorff / Marty Panzer 4:22
3. "Lady" Lionel Richie 3:51
4. "Lucille" Roger Bowling / Hal Bynum 3:39
5. "Coward of the County" Roger Bowling / Billy Edd Wheeler 4:18
6. "I Don't Need You" Rick Christian 3:25
7. "We've Got Tonight" (with Sheena Easton) Bob Seger 3:47
8. "Crazy" Richard Marx / Kenny Rogers 3:39
9. "Islands in the Stream" (with Dolly Parton) Barry Gibb / Maurice Gibb / Robin Gibb 4:08
10. "She Believes in Me" Steve Gibb 4:10
11. "Every Time Two Fools Collide" (with Dottie West) John Dyes / Jeffrey M. Tweel 2:58
12. "You Decorated My Life" Debbie Hupp / Bob Morrison 3:36
13. "Make No Mistake, She's Mine" (with Ronnie Milsap) Kim Carnes 3:53
14. "Share Your Love with Me" Alfred Braggs / Deadric Malone 3:16
15. "All I Ever Need Is You" (with Dottie West) Jimmy Holiday / Eddie Reeves 3:07
16. "Buy Me a Rose" (with Alison Krauss and Billy Dean) Jim Funk / Erik Hickenlooper 3:42
17. "Daytime Friends" Ben Peters 3:08
18. "Love or Something Like It" Steve Glassmeyer / Kenny Rogers 2:49
19. "Love Will Turn You Around" David Malloy / Kenny Rogers / Thom Schuyler /Even Stevens 3:36
20. "Morning Desire" Dave Loggins 4:04
21. "What Are We Doin' in Love" (with Dottie West) Randy Goodrum 2:58
22. "Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer" (with Kim Carnes) (bonus track) Kim Carnes / Dave Ellingson 3:38

Olivia Newton-John "Don't Stop Believin' (1998 Reissue, Remastered, Australia, Festival Records, D36023)"

Don't Stop Believin' is the eighth studio album by British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John, released on 30 October 1976. The album received a Gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and reached number 33 on the US Billboard 200 and number seven on the US Top Country Albums chart.

The first single released from the album was the title track, which peaked at number 33 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the US Adult Contemporary chart. "Every Face Tells a Story" ended Newton-John's streak of seven consecutive number-one Adult Contemporary hits. "Every Face Tells a Story" also ended her streak of nine consecutive top-40 hits. "Sam" was Newton-John's highest-charting hit on the Billboard Hot 100 since the number 13 peak of "Something Better to Do".

A live album recorded on the promotional tour for Don't Stop Believin', Love Performance, was released in Japan in 1981, the LP vinyl sold 123,590 and the cassette 10,600 copies there.

In their review, Billboard praised the "super smooth and soft Olivia vocals and elegantly tight Nashville studio production" calling the album "an outstanding musical treat. Newton-John's singing is at its most expressive and the songs chosen far the LP are of high quality in the ballad to mid-tempo range. The singer can sound perky or ethereally pretty to suit the material and bring off either style. This newest Olivia LP shows her gifts continuing to sharpen."

Cashbox said "Olivia Newton-John's LPs are always greeted with much consumer and industry excitement upon release, and this should be no exception. The title track is already making waves as a single offering, which shouldn't hurt sales at all. John Farrar's production, like the last album, is ultimately sensitive to Newton-John's needs: the instrumentation is sharp, and gives her emotive voice direction, and, at the same time, room to move. Look for 'Every Face Tells a Story' and 'A Thousand Conversations' to get serious play as album cuts. As always, the record will suit tastes across the board: pop, soft-rock, MOR, and country."

Allmusic noted "the 1976 edition of Olivia Newton-John continues the positive vibe that Have You Never Been Mellow initiated...Don't Stop Believin' is one of the slickest of Newton-John's country pop releases. Despite the extra gloss producer John Farrar put on this, it still retains some of the warmth of earlier Newton-John projects while making that inevitable pitch to the '70s record buying public."

Track listing

1. "Don't Stop Believin'" John Farrar 3:33
2. "A Thousand Conversations" Bruce Welch/Hank Marvin 2:58
3. "Compassionate Man" Farrar/Chris Christian  3:21
4. "New-Born Babe" Glenn Cardier 3:20
5. "Hey Mr. Dreammaker" Welch/Alan Tarney  4:05
6. "Every Face Tells a Story" Peter Sills/Don Black/Michael Allison   3:38
7. "Sam" Farrar/Marvin/Don Black  3:43
8. "Love You Hold the Key"   Olivia Newton-John/Farrar 2:31
9. "I'll Bet You a Kangaroo" Larry Murray 3:35
10. "The Last Time You Loved" Brian Neary   3:35

Recording information:

Produced and arranged by John Farrar

Recorded at Creative Workshop, (Nashville, Tennessee)

Recording engineer – Brent Maher

Mixed at Cherokee Studios (Los Angeles, California)

Mixing – Bill Schnee

Assistant engineer – George Tutko

Mastered by Mike Reese at The Mastering Lab (Los Angeles, California)

Cover photos – Charles Bush

Black and white photos – Jeff Dunas

Art direction and design – George Osaki

Costume design/wardrobe/stylist – Fleur Thiemeyer