Release Date: November 1978 Produced by Jeff Goldstein Genre: Country, Country Rock, Rock, Pop Label: MCA
Chart Positions: #54 (US), #52 (Canada), #2 (US Country, Canada Country) Certifications: Gold (US, Canada) Awards: Nominated for the “Best Female Rock Performance” Grammy Award (Donna Summer won the award that year)
Singles and Chart Positions: “Texas (When I Die)” #3 (Canada Country), #5 (US Country), “I’m The Singer, You’re The Song #6 (Canada Country), #18 (US Country), #25 (Canada Adult Contemporary) Singles Certifications: N/A Other Charting Tracks: “Not Fade Away” #70 (US) Best Tracks: “Not Fade Away,” “Lover Goodbye,” “Angel From Montgomery,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Bown Eyed Handsome Man,” “Texas (When I Die)”
“TNT” was Tanya Tucker’s 9th studio album and was her first to be certified Gold in both the US and Canada. The album also received a Grammy nomination in the category of "Best Female Rock Performance." This was Tanya's third of 10 Grammy nominations. She has yet to win a Grammy.
With “TNT” Tucker made a bold departure from her classic country music style to do a more rock-flavored album – but for good measure kept a slight hint of that country there for her longtime fans. The departure proved to be extremely successful for Tucker as the album is her second highest charting on the US Country chart and her highest charting on the Canadian Country chart. The album was also her highest charting on the US Billboard Top 200 albums chart reaching #54. Only 1991’s “What Do I Do With Me” and 1992’s “Can’t Run From Yourself” have charted higher reaching #48 and #51 respectively. IN Canada “TNT” is Tucker’s highest charting album on the pop charts reaching #52. It was also her first album to make it onto the Canadian Country charts.
Because of the success of “TNT” Tucker followed the album with 1979’s “Tear Me Apart,” another rock-influenced album but captured much less success and by 1980 returned to her country music roots.
Featuring a playful somewhat flirtatious exuberant attitude from Tanya, "TNT was in many ways her coming of age album. She had just turned 20 a month before it's release and was ready to prove she was more than just a cute country music sweetheart.
The album opens with Phil Everly’s synth drum rocker “Lover Goodbye” and sets the mood for the album. Her remake of John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery” is a beautiful southern rock ballad. Prine wrote and recorded this song for his 1971 debut album “John Prine.” Seals and Crofts helped on backing vocals on the ballad “The River and The Wind.”
The album’s first single “Texas (When I Die)” was the only true country number on the album. The song peaked at #5 on the US country chart and with time has become one of Tucker’s signature songs.
Tucker’s rendition of Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away” is a real scorching treat. The song was released as the b-side to “Texas (When I Die).” Receiving a fair amount of radio airplay and fan requests it ended up charting on Billboard’s Top 100 Singles chart reaching #70, making it the third highest charting pop single of her career.
Not Fade Away (1978)
Easily one of the album highlights is her rockin’ rendition of Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel,” why they did not release this as a single is a mystery to me. Tucker puts in a flavorful rockabilly rendition of Chuck Berry’s “Brown Eyed Handsome Man.” The song was originally released on Chuck Berry’s 1957 debut album “After School Session” and was used as the b-side to his 1956 single “Too Much Monkey Business.”
Often "TNT" sounds as if Tanya's aim was to crack the AOR radio format and would have done well alongside the queens of AOR such as Pat Benatar, Linda Ronstadt and Anne & Nancy Wilson (Heart).
“Living in the USA” is the 9th studio album by American singer/songwriter/producer Linda Ronstadt (her 12th if you count the three albums she released with The Stone Poneys). The album was Ronstadt's third No. 1 on the Billboard album chart and was the first album in history to ship Double Platinum. As a measure of her impact on popular culture in this time period, the front cover photograph of a roller skating Linda in a satin exercise outfit was noted to have increased the popularity of skating in the United States at the time. As People Magazine put it, “Anyone who gave Linda Ronstadt her first pair of roller skates deserves a place in this decade’s social history.”
It was Ronstadt's record sixth consecutive million-selling Platinum album. It was certified by the RIAA for 2 million copies sold in the US alone and has estimated real sales of 3 million US units sold.
“Living in the USA” was a smash hit even before it arrived in stores on Sept. 19, 1978. Given Ronstadt’s incredible streak of five million-selling albums, retailers couldn’t wait to pre-order the new disc; as a result, it reached the shelves as the first album in history to earn double-platinum status prior to its official release. And unlike certain other high-profile records that benefited from advance buzz, only to end up in the cutout bin, “Living in the USA” went on to dominate radio as well as retail sales.
The first hint of anything from the album happened on April 3, 1978 when Linda made an appearance for the premiere of the film FM she did a live performance of Elvis Presley’s “Love Me Tender.” The song was not featured on the film’s soundtrack album but it did appear on Ronstadt’s upcoming album “Back In The USA.”
The album featured a mix of covers of proven hits and newer compositions by some of Ronstadt's favorite singers. Yet there were changes evident as well. For one, as the album's cover photo showed, Ronstadt had cut her trademark long hair and sported a short permed hairstyle. She also traded in her usual country-style dresses for hot pants, and her high heel shoes for roller skates.
In reference to the album cover Ronstadt said, "I remember I wanted to bring my roller skates into the studio. "My friend Nicolette Larson and I used to skate everywhere. She used to bring her skates into the studio because it was really big and she could skate around between takes. My studio wasn't that big. It had too much carpet, so I wanted them to take it out so I could skate."
While Ronstadt paid tribute to the King with a cover of "Love Me Tender," she also acknowledged the influence of the burgeoning British new wave movement by covering the other Elvis. "Allison" had first appeared on Elvis Costello's debut LP, My Aim Is True, and remains his best-known tune today. "I had a friend at the time and that song reminded me of her, so I sang it for her," Ronstadt says. "She was a really sweet girl, but kind of a party-girl type. I felt like she needed somebody to talk to her in a stern voice, because she was getting married and she would have to change." Ronstadt's version was released as a single in the U.K. but stalled at #66, and was dismissed in interviews by the acid-tongued Costello. Ronstadt commented, “I’ve never communicated with him directly, but I heard that someone asked him what he thought and he said he’d never heard it but that he’d be glad to get the money. So I sent him a message. ‘Send me some more songs, just keep thinking about the money.'” (Costello would ultimately end up contributing three songs to Ronstadt’s next album, 1980’s Mad Love.)
The album's first single, a remake of Chuck Berry's "Back in the U.S.A," climbed to US #16. "Back in the U.S.A" was afforded its greatest impact when Linda Ronstadt remade the song in 1978. Ronstadt had heard the Berry original while being driven around Los Angeles by Eagles member Glenn Frey who had once been in her band, the track being on a "home-made" cassette Frey had playing in his tape deck. When 'Back in the U.S.A. came on Ronstadt said, “Boy that would be a great song to sing. I think I'll do that one."
"Back In The USA (1978)
A take of Doris Troy's "Just One Look" stalled at US #44, but Ronstadt wasn't happy with the recorded version. "It took me years to learn how to really sing that, but I could nail it now," she says, 15 years later.
The biggest hit from “Living in the USA” was Ronstadt's cover of Smokey Robinson's "Ooh Baby Baby," which climbed to US #7 and features alto sax by David Sanborn. "We used a live vocal from the rough mix," Ronstadt says. "We tried to go in and add things to it, but it never sounded as good as that live vocal."
Ronstadt is especially strong on her soulful cover of Little Feat’s “All That You Dream.” The song first appeared on Little Feat’s 1975 album titled “The Last Record Album.” Her soulful bluesy take of J.D Souther’s “White Rhythm and Blues” brings side one of the album to an inspiring close. Souther wrote this song for Ronstadt (he also wrote “Faithless Love” and “Heart Like A Wheel” for her). Souther later recorded “White Rhythm and Blues” for his 1979 hit album “You’re Only Lonely” as a duet with Phil Everly.
Although it was never released as a single, Linda Ronstadt's recording of "Love Me Tender" was edited together with the original by Elvis, creating a duet between the two that was played by many radio stations at the time. Elvis did the first verse alone, straight from his original recording, as Ronstadt didn't sing this verse on her version. It garnered enough airplay to chart at #59 on the US Country chart. Ray Quinn, program manager of radio station WCBM in Baltimore, dubbed together Elvis’s 1956 single and Ronstadt’s 1978 version. Although demand for the tape grew, no copies were made available to the public. A three-dollar bootleg single was made, however, on the Duet Label (Duet 101). The duet was inspired by the Barbra Streisand-Neil Diamond’s duet You Don’t Bring Me Flowers. Linda's version was in the same key as Elvis's record, and that would have made it easier for the record company to blend their voices together. There was some talk of recording additional instrumentation to smooth over the parts of the two recordings to give the impression it was just one recording. But that never came to be seen as RCA and Asylum could not agree on a contract for the release.
Billboard Magazine Review (September 1978)
Aside from being one of Linda Ronstadt's more perfect
albums, this collection of 10 songs ranging from Hammerstein/Romberg's
"When I Grow Too Old To Dream," to Elvis Costello's
"Alison" provides a unique display of her vocal charm. The
instrumentation, for the most part, is sparse, and it enables the special
qualities of Ronstadt's voice to shine through. There are many moods portrayed
here, including some husky ones that indicate maturity and a broadening taste,
although Ronstadt has always chosen material beyond the merely popular.
"All That You Dream" is a classic and could be her biggest song so
far. Best cuts: "All That You Dream," "Back In The USA,"
"Mohammed's Radio," "Just One Look," "Love Me Tender,"
"Alison."
Singles and Chart Positions: “Moody Blue” #4 (Belgium), #5 (New Zealand), #6 (UK, Norway), #9 (South Africa), #10 (Netherlands), #17 (Australia) #31 (US), #57 (Canada), #1 (US Country Songs), #2 (US Adult Contemporary, Canadian Adult Contemporary), #3 (Canadian Country Songs) “Way Down” #1 (Ireland, UK), #5 (France), #7 (New Zealand), #9 (Netherlands), #11 (Norway), #12 (Sweden, Spain), #13 (South Africa), #14 (Belgium), #15 (Canada, Germany), #18 (US), #94 (Switzerland), #1 (US Country Songs, Canadian Country Songs), #15 (US Adult Contemporary), #23 (Canadian Adult Contemporary) Singles Certifications:“Moody Blue” Gold (US), “Way Down” Gold (UK), Platinum (US) Other Charting Tracks: “She Thinks I Still Care” (#1 US Country Songs), “Pledging My Love” (#1 US Country Songs) Best Tracks: “If You Love Me (Let Me Know)”, “Let Me Be There,” “Way Down,” “Pledging My Love,” “Moody Blue,” “She Thinks I Still Care”
“Moody Blue” is a historical album. It has the distinction of being Elvis’ last completed and released album during his lifetime.
Moody Blue is the 43rd and final studio album by Elvis Presley (this is including his soundtrack albums), released by RCA Records the month before his death in August 1977. The album was a mixture of live and studio work, and included the four tracks from Presley's final studio recording sessions in October 1976 and two tracks left over from the previous Graceland session in February 1976. "Moody Blue" was a previously published hit song recorded at the earlier Graceland session and held over for this album. Also recorded at the February session was "She Thinks I Still Care". "Way Down" became a hit after Presley's death less than one month after this album's publication. The album was certified Gold and Platinum on September 12, 1977 and 2x Platinum on March 27, 1992 by the RIAA.
The album was originally released on blue vinyl. During this time period colored vinyl was very rare and it was assumed that the blue vinyl edition of this album would be a collectors item. However it is the first pressings of the black vinyl that have become collectible as these were pressed for a short time immediately before Presley's death. After his death RCA shifted back to the blue vinyl.
The album made it into the Top 40 before his passing and then made it to US #3 after his untimely death in August 1977.
The recording also featured J.D. Sumner singing the words "way on down" at the end of each chorus down to the note low C (C2). According to the Guinness Book of World Records it is the lowest recorded note ever produced by the human voice, first accomplished by Sumner in a 1966 recording of the hymn "Blessed Assurance."
"Moody Blue" was written by Mark James who also penned Elvis' "Suspicious Minds". "Moody Blue" was Presley's last No. 1 hit in his lifetime, topping the US Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in February 1977. “Way Down” also topped the Country chart but didn’t reach #1 until after Presley’s death.
RCA issued a very limited quantity of blue vinyl pressings of the 7" single "Moody Blue." I have seen mint copies of this issue going for as much as $400 US currency.
The guitar heavy “Way Down” was released as a single in June 1977 and initially reached #31 on the US chart just ten days before Elvis’ death (the same peak position of the single “Moody Blue” a few months earlier). After his passing the song immediately rose to #18 and stayed there for two weeks. The song was released Platinum and was his biggest selling hit since 1972’s “Burning Love.”
