''A Taste of Yesterday's Wine'' is a duet studio album by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artists George Jones and Merle Haggard, released in 1982. They are backed by Don Markham and Jimmy Belken of

The Strangers Strangers are people who are unknown to another person or group. Strangers or The Strangers may also refer to: History * Elizabethan Strangers or Strangers, a name applied to French and Belgian immigrants to Norwich, East Anglia, England, during ...

. The album includes the song "Silver Eagle", written by Gary Church, also of The Strangers. This was their first album together; their next album together, '' Kickin' Out the Footlights...Again'', did not come until 24 years later in 2006.

Background

Jones and Haggard were largely influenced by the

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

and

Lefty Frizzell William Orville "Lefty" Frizzell (March 31, 1928 – July 19, 1975) was an American country music singer-songwriter and honky-tonk singer. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1982. Frizzell released many songs that charted ...

tradition. They had also made no secret of how much they admired each other's work. In a ''Rolling Stone'' tribute to Jones after his death in 2013, Haggard recalled their first meeting: "I met him at the Blackboard Café in

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

, which was the place to go in '61. He was already famous for not showing up or showing up drunk, and he showed up drunk. I was onstage—I think I was singing Marty Robbins' 'Devil Woman'—and he kicked the doors of the office open and said 'Who the fuck is that?'" Haggard added that Jones's voice was "like a Stradivarius violin: one of the greatest instruments ever made". Jones had said repeatedly over the years that, next to Hank Williams, Haggard was his favorite singer. ''A Taste of Yesterday's Wine'' includes tributes to both of them: "Silver Eagle", written by Freddy Powers and Gary Church about Haggard, and "No Show Jones", written by Jones and Glenn Martin about the wayward singer's notorious inability to arrive at concert dates. The album's first single was the

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

-penned title track, which became a number one hit. A second single, "C.C. Waterback", reached number 10. The LP was produced by

Billy Sherrill Billy Norris Sherrill (November 5, 1936 – August 4, 2015) was an American record producer, songwriter, and arranger best known for his association with country artists, notably Tammy Wynette and George Jones. Sherrill and business partner Gle ...

and has backing vocals by Haggard's wife

Leona Williams Leona Belle Helton (born January 7, 1943, in Vienna, Missouri, United States) is an American country music singer known professionally as Leona Williams. Active since 1958, Williams has been a backing musician for Loretta Lynn and Merle Haggard ...

. In the UK,

Hallmark Records Hallmark Records is a British record label. History Hallmark Records was founded in the 1960s and was the first budget label in the United Kingdom. The revived company has since become a major publisher of budget CDs in the UK, issuing both pub ...

issued an LP with the same title, artwork and tracks, but with a different track order.Original copy of album #SHM 3177

Critical reception

Thom Jurek of ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

'' praises the album, marveling that the pair's voices "blend seamlessly and each other in almost symbiotic fashion... Billy Sherrill in the producer's chair was swinging for the radio fences, and he got close, but even he stayed the hell out of the way most of the time here and let the music take its course, and this pair just treated each other deferentially."

Track listing (Epic)

Track listing (Hallmark)

Personnel

* Merle Haggard – vocals * George Jones – vocals *Don Markham – trombone, trumpet *Jimmy Belkin – fiddle *Dave Kirby – guitar *Freddy Powers – guitar *

– backing vocals *Billy Sanford – guitar *Pete Bordonali – guitar *Bobby Thompson – guitar *Weldon Myrick – steel guitar *Hargus "Pig" Robbins – keyboards *Bobby Wood – keyboards *Bobby Emmons – keyboards *Terry McMillan – harmonica *Karen Taylor – backing vocals *Lea Jane Berinati – backing vocals *Hershel Wilginton – backing vocals *Dennis Wilson – backing vocals

References

External links

George Jones' official websiteMerle Haggard's official websiteRecord label
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taste of Yesterday's Wine 1982 albums George Jones albums Merle Haggard albums Epic Records albums Hallmark Records albums Vocal duet albums Albums produced by Billy Sherrill