Strong Heart
Encyclopedia
Strong Heart is the tenth album of original recordings by Patty Loveless
. The album was released on August 29, 2000 in the United States
. It first charted on the Billboard
Top Country Albums chart on September 16 (peaking at #13), and remaining on the charts for 34 weeks until May 19, 2001. The album also charted briefly on the main Top Billboard 200
chart. Two of the albums singles landed in the Country top 20: "That's The Kind Of Mood I'm In"#13, and "The Last Thing On My Mind" #20.
in a series of recording sessions, which were produced by Gill. The recordings for the album were finished in November 1998 and they were submitted to Sony/Epic
(her label at the time) in early January 1999. However, legal problems were encountered with these recordings that forced the cancellation of the Loveless/Gill collaboration.
As Loveless had not had a release of new material since the 1997 "Long Stretch of Lonesome
" album, Loveless and her husband/producer Emory Gordy, Jr.
put together a compilation album "Classics", that included the "My Kind of Woman, My Kind of Man" duet that Gill had included on his "The Key" album; along with two new songs, "Can't Get Enough
" and "I Just Wanna Be Loved by You", which were songs already licensed by Loveless to record.
During the recording sessions of "Can't Get Enough", several alternative takes were made of the song in a more pop/rock & roll genre which Loveless and Gordy believed came out well. Sensing that country music had moved closer to the pop genre, and seeing the success of artists such as Shania Twain
with a sold-out tour and a multimillion-selling album, "Come on Over." Loveless and Gordy went back into the studio in early 2000 with a collection of new material and recorded Strong Heart, which has a decidedly Country pop overtone.
The album was emblematic of country music in 2000. It was a time when the industry was wondering whether excellence and commercialism could go together, as they did in the past. Depending on your point of view, the album is either refreshingly diverse or perilously scattered as it struggles to hit that bull's-eye.
The fan reaction to this album was a decidedly mixed one, which as well as radio saw the album as "too pop", and it was her lowest-selling album since she switched to Epic Records seven years earlier.
The album contains a wide variety of styles, the best of which is the wonderfully bluesy "You Don't Get No More," written by Loveless and her husband-producer Emory Gordy Jr.
The frothy pop of "You're So Cool," the song that invited the Twain comparison. It's got what it takes to become a hit single, but there is an element of desperation in its gimmicky production. The song evokes memories of James Dean, Bob Dylan and other icons of cool to capture the feeling of romantic infatuation. There is some wheezy Dylan-style harmonica (played expertly by Steve Earle) thrown in as a musical joke.
According to Loveless, "...One is a song that Emory and I wrote together called You Don't Get No More.I don't hear it as a single, you know? I could be wrong... but it's fun for me. It's very swampy and has a greasy feel to it-a kind of dirty feel to it. Especially with Mr. Jimmy Hall on harmonica on it. There are a lot of wonderful musicians on her that make it come alive and make it fun: Steuart Smith on guitar, my own keyboard player Mike Rojas who's been out on the road with me, Jerry Douglas and Dan Dugmore on lap steel. We have some great musicians. They give it that swampy feel. It couldn't go any other way. I tell you though, Emory is really responsible for the feel of it because he had this weird tuning going on with his bass guitar and all the other musicians were going, "Man, what are you doing?" and they were all trying to copy his licks.".
"Another song that rocks is The Key of Love, which Emory and Al Anderson wrote. The reason I think that we were going in that direction this time is me. I would play records by a lot of blues artists. I'd play some of Bonnie Raitt and say, 'She's so cool. I'd love to find that little knack they have and merge it into what I'm doing today in country.' That's what I love about Linda Ronstadt, especially the Heart Like a Wheel album. It showed an edgy side of her but then also a country side. They were able to mix it up and I'm all for mixing. i feel like this record, out of all the records I've done, is the most adult one I've done. It's for the adult who's young at heart, like myself. That's what it's all about. Sometimes we look at our age and think, 'Oh, I'm aging. I have to act my age.' No you don't. It's what you feel in your heart. All the songs on this album are what I feel in my heart. The first cut, You're So Cool, is basically about a grown woman who gets a crush. There's nothing wrong with that. We all do still get crushes. I look at Harrison Ford and get a big, huge crush."
The single, "That's the Kind of Mood I'm In," made it to #71 on the Billboard Top Pop Singles chart and #13 on the Top Country Singles chart. The only other song to chart was the #20 Country single "The Last Thing on My Mind."
Patty Loveless
Patty Loveless , is an American country music singer.Since her emergence on the country music scene in late 1986 with her first album, Loveless has been one of the most popular female singers of the Neotraditional country movement, although she has also recorded albums in the Country pop and...
. The album was released on August 29, 2000 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It first charted on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Top Country Albums chart on September 16 (peaking at #13), and remaining on the charts for 34 weeks until May 19, 2001. The album also charted briefly on the main Top Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart. Two of the albums singles landed in the Country top 20: "That's The Kind Of Mood I'm In"#13, and "The Last Thing On My Mind" #20.
Track listing
- "You're So Cool" (Matraca BergMatraca BergMatraca Maria Berg is an American country music singer and songwriter. She has released five albums: three for RCA Records, one for Rising Tide Records and one for Dualtone Records, and has charted in the top 40 of the U.S. Billboard country charts with "Baby, Walk On" and "The Things You Left...
, Carolyn Dawn JohnsonCarolyn Dawn JohnsonCarolyn Dawn Johnson is a Canadian Juno Award winning country music singer-songwriter. Johnson first rose to fame by co-writing Chely Wright's 1999 Number One single, "Single White Female," which reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in September 1999...
) – 3:57 - "The Last Thing on My MindThe Last Thing on My Mind (Patty Loveless song)For the Tom Paxton song of the same name, see The Last Thing on My Mind"The Last Thing On My Mind" is a single recorded by Patty Loveless. It was included on her fifth album with Epic Records, Strong Heart, her tenth album overall. The single was released in 2000. It was the second single released...
" (Craig WisemanCraig WisemanCraig Michael Wiseman is an American country music songwriter. Active since the late 1980s as a songwriter, he has had his songs recorded by Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Kenny Chesney, LeAnn Rimes, and several other acts....
, Al AndersonAl Anderson (NRBQ)Alan Gordon "Al" Anderson is an American guitarist, singer, and songwiter. Between 1971 and the early 1990s, he was the lead guitarist in the rock band NRBQ, also releasing several solo albums. He also played electric guitar on Jonathan Edwards' 1973 album Have a Good Time for Me...
) – 3:22 - "My Heart Will Never Break This Way Again" (Gary Harrison, Matraca BergMatraca BergMatraca Maria Berg is an American country music singer and songwriter. She has released five albums: three for RCA Records, one for Rising Tide Records and one for Dualtone Records, and has charted in the top 40 of the U.S. Billboard country charts with "Baby, Walk On" and "The Things You Left...
) – 4:15 - "You Don't Get No More" (Emory Gordy, Jr.Emory Gordy, Jr.Emory Gordy, Jr., born December 25, 1944, in Atlanta, Georgia, is an American musician and music producer. Since 1989, he has been married to country music artist Patty Loveless. Gordy was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1992...
, Patty Loveless) – 3:26 - "That's the Kind of Mood I'm InThat's the Kind of Mood I'm In"That's the Kind of Mood I'm In" is a single recorded by Patty Loveless. It was included on her fifth album with Epic Records, Strong Heart, her tenth album overall. The single was released in 2000. It was the first single released from the album....
" (Rick Giles, Tim NicholsTim NicholsTim Nichols Tim Nichols Tim Nichols (born in Portsmouth, Virginia is an American country music singer and songwriter. Active since the late 1980s, Nichols has written for several country music singers, including Keith Whitley, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Jo Dee Messina, and Alan Jackson...
, Giles Godard) – 3:31 - "Thirsty" (Stewart Harris, Thom Hardwell) – 4:55
- "Strong Heart" (Kris TylerKris TylerKris Tyler is an American country music artist. Tyler has released one studio album; she also charted two singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. Her highest charting single, "What a Woman Knows," peaked at #45 in 1997.-Albums:-Singles:-Music videos:-External links:*[ allmusic ]...
, Gordy, Jr.) – 5:41 - "The Key of Love" (Gordy, Jr., Anderson) – 3:39
- "She Never Stopped Loving Him" (Wally WilsonWally WilsonWally Wilson , is an American record producer and songwriter based in Nashville.-Career:Wally Wilson has worked with artists as diverse as Leon Russell, Bo Diddley, the Neville Brothers, Junior Wells, Amy Grant, Trisha Yearwood, Lone Star, Lorrie Morgan, Sammy Kershaw, Rick Trevino, Rascal Flatts...
, Danny Orton) – 4:53 - "Pieces on the Ground" (John Bunzow) – 4:34
Personnel
- Al AndersonAl Anderson (NRBQ)Alan Gordon "Al" Anderson is an American guitarist, singer, and songwiter. Between 1971 and the early 1990s, he was the lead guitarist in the rock band NRBQ, also releasing several solo albums. He also played electric guitar on Jonathan Edwards' 1973 album Have a Good Time for Me...
– electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Richard BennettRichard Bennett (guitarist)Richard Bennett is a touring sideman, session veteran, and record producer. As a touring sideman, he performed with Neil Diamond for 17 years, and Mark Knopfler since 1994. As a session player, he has worked with artists ranging from Billy Joel and Barbra Streisand to Rodney Crowell and Vince Gill...
– electric guitar - Matraca BergMatraca BergMatraca Maria Berg is an American country music singer and songwriter. She has released five albums: three for RCA Records, one for Rising Tide Records and one for Dualtone Records, and has charted in the top 40 of the U.S. Billboard country charts with "Baby, Walk On" and "The Things You Left...
– background vocals - Jerry DouglasJerry Douglas (musician)Jerry Douglas is an American record producer and resonator guitar player. Called "Dobro's matchless contemporary master," by The New York Times, and lauded as "my favorite musician" by John Fogerty, Douglas is one of the world’s most renowned Dobro players.-Career:In addition to his twelve solo...
– DobroDobroDobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar...
, steel guitarSteel guitarSteel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use... - Dan Dugmore – steel guitar
- Stuart DuncanStuart DuncanStuart Duncan is a bluegrass musician who plays the fiddle, mandolin, guitar and banjo. Born in Quantico, Virginia and raised in Santa Paula, California, where he played in the school band, he has been a member of the Nashville Bluegrass Band since 1985, and is a much-in-demand session musician...
– fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music... - Steve EarleSteve EarleStephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
– harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes... - Paul FranklinPaul Franklin (musician)Paul Franklin is an American multi-instrumentalist, known mainly for his work as a steel guitarist. He began his career in the 1970s as a member of Barbara Mandrell's road band; in addition he toured with Mel Tillis and Jerry Reed. He has since become a prolific session musician in Nashville,...
– steel guitar - Steve Gibson – electric guitar
- Emory Gordy, Jr.Emory Gordy, Jr.Emory Gordy, Jr., born December 25, 1944, in Atlanta, Georgia, is an American musician and music producer. Since 1989, he has been married to country music artist Patty Loveless. Gordy was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1992...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Kenny Greenberg – electric guitar
- Owen Hale – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Jimmy Hall – harmonica
- Tim Hensley – background vocals
- Rebecca Lynn HowardRebecca Lynn HowardRebecca Lynn Howard is an American country music artist. She has charted seven singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, and has released three studio albums...
– background vocals - John Barlow Jarvis – keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- Carolyn Dawn JohnsonCarolyn Dawn JohnsonCarolyn Dawn Johnson is a Canadian Juno Award winning country music singer-songwriter. Johnson first rose to fame by co-writing Chely Wright's 1999 Number One single, "Single White Female," which reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in September 1999...
– background vocals - Craig KrampfCraig KrampfCraig Krampf is an American musician and songwriter.The majority of his notable credits are as a studio drummer. Since the 1970s, he has played on albums by other artists ranging from Steve Perry to Alabama to Kim Carnes to Flo and Eddie to Alice Cooper to Melissa Etheridge...
– drums - Jennifer Kummer – french horn
- Mike Lawler – keyboards
- Butch Lee – acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
- Claire LynchClaire LynchClaire Lynch , is an American bluegrass singer, songwriter, and session vocalist who joined her first band, then called Hickory Wind, in 1973...
– background vocals - Liana Manis – background vocals
- Brent MasonBrent MasonBrent Mason is an American session guitarist and occasional songwriter. He is known primarily for his work in the field of country music. In addition to releasing two instrumental studio albums, he holds several credits as a songwriter...
– electric guitar - Steve Nathan – keyboards
- Craig Nelson – double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
- Leslie Norton – french horn
- Russ Pahl – electric guitar
- Carmella Ramsey – background vocals
- Mike Rojas – pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, keyboards - Ricky SkaggsRicky SkaggsRickie Lee "Ricky" Skaggs is a country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, and banjo.-Early career:...
– background vocals - Steuart SmithSteuart SmithSteuart Smith is a guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, writer and producer currently working with American rock band the Eagles. Smith is from Arlington, VA.]].-Current work:...
– electric guitar - Bobby Taylor – English horn
- Billy Thomas – background vocals
- Travis TrittTravis TrittJames Travis Tritt is an American country music singer from Marietta, Georgia. He signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1989, releasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label between then and 1999. In the 2000s, he released two albums on Columbia Records and one for the defunct...
– background vocals - Biff Watson – acoustic guitar
- Trisha YearwoodTrisha YearwoodPatricia Lynn Yearwood, professionally known as Trisha Yearwood , is an American country music artist. She is best known for her ballads about vulnerable young women from a female perspective that have been described by some music critics as "strong" and "confident."Trisha Yearwood signed with MCA...
– background vocals - Curtis Young – background vocals
Chart performance
| Chart (2000) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 13 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 126 |
Release notes
Recording sessions for the album started in June 1998 and it was originally planned for a spring 1999 release. Initially, Loveless collaborated with Vince GillVince Gill
Vincent Grant "Vince" Gill is an American neotraditional country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman to the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s, and as a solo artist beginning in 1983, where his talents as a...
in a series of recording sessions, which were produced by Gill. The recordings for the album were finished in November 1998 and they were submitted to Sony/Epic
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
(her label at the time) in early January 1999. However, legal problems were encountered with these recordings that forced the cancellation of the Loveless/Gill collaboration.
As Loveless had not had a release of new material since the 1997 "Long Stretch of Lonesome
Long Stretch of Lonesome
Long Stretch of Lonesome is an album by Patty Lovelessin 1997. Three singles charted in the top 20 on the Billboard Top Country Songs chart. Highlights are "High on Love,"#20 "To Have You Back Again"#12 and the George Jones-backed "You Don't Seem to Miss Me,"#14 each of which both charted in the...
" album, Loveless and her husband/producer Emory Gordy, Jr.
Emory Gordy, Jr.
Emory Gordy, Jr., born December 25, 1944, in Atlanta, Georgia, is an American musician and music producer. Since 1989, he has been married to country music artist Patty Loveless. Gordy was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1992...
put together a compilation album "Classics", that included the "My Kind of Woman, My Kind of Man" duet that Gill had included on his "The Key" album; along with two new songs, "Can't Get Enough
Can't Get Enough (Patty Loveless song)
"Can't Get Enough" is a single recorded by Patty Loveless. It was included on her first compilation album with Epic Records, Classics, her third compilation album overall. The single was released in 1999...
" and "I Just Wanna Be Loved by You", which were songs already licensed by Loveless to record.
During the recording sessions of "Can't Get Enough", several alternative takes were made of the song in a more pop/rock & roll genre which Loveless and Gordy believed came out well. Sensing that country music had moved closer to the pop genre, and seeing the success of artists such as Shania Twain
Shania Twain
Shania Twain, OC is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. Her album The Woman in Me , brought her fame and her 1997 album Come On Over, became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million...
with a sold-out tour and a multimillion-selling album, "Come on Over." Loveless and Gordy went back into the studio in early 2000 with a collection of new material and recorded Strong Heart, which has a decidedly Country pop overtone.
The album was emblematic of country music in 2000. It was a time when the industry was wondering whether excellence and commercialism could go together, as they did in the past. Depending on your point of view, the album is either refreshingly diverse or perilously scattered as it struggles to hit that bull's-eye.
The fan reaction to this album was a decidedly mixed one, which as well as radio saw the album as "too pop", and it was her lowest-selling album since she switched to Epic Records seven years earlier.
The album contains a wide variety of styles, the best of which is the wonderfully bluesy "You Don't Get No More," written by Loveless and her husband-producer Emory Gordy Jr.
The frothy pop of "You're So Cool," the song that invited the Twain comparison. It's got what it takes to become a hit single, but there is an element of desperation in its gimmicky production. The song evokes memories of James Dean, Bob Dylan and other icons of cool to capture the feeling of romantic infatuation. There is some wheezy Dylan-style harmonica (played expertly by Steve Earle) thrown in as a musical joke.
According to Loveless, "...One is a song that Emory and I wrote together called You Don't Get No More.I don't hear it as a single, you know? I could be wrong... but it's fun for me. It's very swampy and has a greasy feel to it-a kind of dirty feel to it. Especially with Mr. Jimmy Hall on harmonica on it. There are a lot of wonderful musicians on her that make it come alive and make it fun: Steuart Smith on guitar, my own keyboard player Mike Rojas who's been out on the road with me, Jerry Douglas and Dan Dugmore on lap steel. We have some great musicians. They give it that swampy feel. It couldn't go any other way. I tell you though, Emory is really responsible for the feel of it because he had this weird tuning going on with his bass guitar and all the other musicians were going, "Man, what are you doing?" and they were all trying to copy his licks.".
"Another song that rocks is The Key of Love, which Emory and Al Anderson wrote. The reason I think that we were going in that direction this time is me. I would play records by a lot of blues artists. I'd play some of Bonnie Raitt and say, 'She's so cool. I'd love to find that little knack they have and merge it into what I'm doing today in country.' That's what I love about Linda Ronstadt, especially the Heart Like a Wheel album. It showed an edgy side of her but then also a country side. They were able to mix it up and I'm all for mixing. i feel like this record, out of all the records I've done, is the most adult one I've done. It's for the adult who's young at heart, like myself. That's what it's all about. Sometimes we look at our age and think, 'Oh, I'm aging. I have to act my age.' No you don't. It's what you feel in your heart. All the songs on this album are what I feel in my heart. The first cut, You're So Cool, is basically about a grown woman who gets a crush. There's nothing wrong with that. We all do still get crushes. I look at Harrison Ford and get a big, huge crush."
The single, "That's the Kind of Mood I'm In," made it to #71 on the Billboard Top Pop Singles chart and #13 on the Top Country Singles chart. The only other song to chart was the #20 Country single "The Last Thing on My Mind."