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Standing Tall (Billie Jo Spears album)

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Standing Tall
Studio album by
Billie Jo Spears
ReleasedFebruary 1980 (1980-02)
RecordedJuly 1979 (1979-07)
StudioJack Clement Recording (Nashville, Tennessee)
GenreCountry[1]
LabelUnited Artists
ProducerLarry Butler
Billie Jo Spears chronology
The Billie Jo Spears Singles Album
(1979) 		Standing Tall
(1980) 		Only the Hits
(1981)
Singles from Standing Tall
  1. "Standing Tall"
    Released: February 1980
  2. "Natural Attraction"
    Released: June 1980

Standing Tall is a studio album by American country artist Billie Jo Spears. It was released in February 1980 via United Artists Records and contained ten tracks. The collection contained cover songs along with new material. Of its new recordings were two singles: the title track and "Natural Attraction". The title tune was a top 20 single on the American country chart and a top ten single on the Canadian country chart. The album reached the top 70 of the American country albums chart and received positive reviews from critics.

Background and recording

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Billie Jo Spears had a string of popular country singles and albums during the seventies decade. Among them was the chart-topping song "Blanket on the Ground" and the top ten recordings "What I've Got in Mind" and "If You Want Me". Many of Spears's recordings portrayed female survivors. This included the 1980 single "Standing Tall".[2] The song's success inspired the title of Spears's 1980 album project. The disc was recorded in July 1979 at the Jack Clement Recording Studio, located in Nashville, Tennessee. The project was produced by Larry Butler.[3]

Content

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Standing Tall consisted of ten tracks.[1] Several of the project's songs were cover tunes. Among them was "Callin' Baton Rouge", which was first cut by The Oak Ridge Boys[4] and would become a chart-topping single a decade later by Garth Brooks. Another song, "Free to Be Lonely Again", was recorded and made a top 20 country single by Debby Boone. Boone's version appeared on the charts around the same time as Spears's album was issued. Another song Spears covered for Standing Tall was Gene Watson's "You Could Know as Much About a Stranger". Watson's version was first a top ten country single in 1976.[5] New tracks included the title song, "Natural Attraction", "It Can Wait", "Freedom Song", "Love Ain't The Question (Love Ain't The Answer)" and "Any Old Wind That Blows".[3]

Release, reception, chart performance and singles

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Standing Tall was released in February 1980 by United Artists Records. The disc was offered as both a vinyl LP and a cassette.[3] It received positive reviews following its release. Cashbox magazine called it "solid country with a lot of class". The magazine further praised the production and Spears's vocal delivery: "The production of Larry Butler and the voice of Billie Jo Spears is an unbeatable combination and this album shows them at their finest."[6] Billboard magazine named it among its "Top Album Picks" and described it as "a tasty collection of songs". While Billboard mostly praised the project, they did give to negative criticism to the project's "overabundance of strings".[7]

Standing Tall spent two weeks on the American Billboard Top Country Albums chart, peaking at number 70 in May 1980. It was Spears's lowest charting album on the publication and her final to chart.[8] Two singles were spawned from Standing Tall. The first was its title track, which was issued in February 1980.[9] It reached number 15 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart[5] and climbed to number nine on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart.[10] It was followed by the single "Natural Attraction" in June 1980.[11] It only reached the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, peaking at number 39.[5]

Track listing

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Side one[3]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Standing Tall"
3:06
2."Free to Be Lonely Again"Diane Pfeifer2:43
3."Love Ain't the Question (Love Ain't the Answer)"Hazel Smith3:35
4."Callin' Baton Rouge"Dennis Linde2:21
5."It Can Wait"Peters2:50
Side two[3]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Natural Attraction"
  • Linde
  • Alan Rush
3:23
2."Let-Down-Your-Hair-Sweet-Lady-Man"
2:18
3."You Could Know as Much About a Stranger"Nadine Bryant3:14
4."Freedom Song"
  • Stephanie Boosahda
  • Gary Tedder
2:54
5."Any Old Wind That Blows"Dick Feller3:07

Personnel

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All credits are adapted from the liner notes of Standing Tall.[3]

Chart performance

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Chart (1980) Peak
position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[12] 70

Release history

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Region Date Format Label Ref.
Germany February 1980 Vinyl LP
[13]
North America
  • Vinyl LP
  • cassette
 United Artists [3]
United Kingdom Vinyl LP [14]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Standing Tall: Billie Jo Spears: Songs, reviews, credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  2. ^ Bufwack, Mary A.; Oermann, Robert K. (2003). Finding Her Voice: The History of Women in Country Music. Nashville, Tennessee: Vanderbilt University Press. pp. 271–272. ISBN 978-0826514325.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Spears, Billie Jo (February 1980). "Standing Tall (Disc Information)". United Artists Records. LT-1018 (LP); 4LT-1018 (Cassette).
  4. ^ "Room Service (Liner Notes)". MCA Records. May 1978. 31113.
  5. ^ a b c Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. various.
  6. ^ "Country: Album Reviews" (PDF). Cashbox. February 2, 1980. p. 29. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Billboard's Top Album Picks: Country" (PDF). Billboard. February 2, 1980. p. 58. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  8. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1997). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Albums: 1967-1997. Record Research Inc. ISBN 0898201241.
  9. ^ Spears, Billie Jo (February 1980). ""Standing Tall"/"Freedom Song" (Single Information)". United Artists Records. UA-X1336-Y.
  10. ^ "Search results for "Billie Jo Spears"". RPM. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
  11. ^ Spears, Billie Jo (June 1980). ""Natural Attraction"/"You Could Know As Much About A Stranger" (Single Information)". United Artists Records. UA-X1358-Y.
  12. ^ "Billie Jo Spears Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  13. ^ Spears, Billie Jo (February 1980). "Standing Tall (Germany)". EMI/Electrola Records/United Artists Records. 1C-064-82-880 (EMI); 1C-064-82-880 (United Artists).
  14. ^ Spears, Billie Jo (February 1980). "Standing Tall (United Kingdom)". United Artists Records. UAG-30291 (LP).
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