''An American Classic'' is a studio album by American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

artist

Jeannie Seely Marilyn Jeanne Seely (born July 6, 1940) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She also has several acting credits and published a book. Seely found success with the Grammy Award-winning hit "Don't Touch Me" (1966) ...

. It was released on August 14, 2020, via

Curb Records Curb Records (also known as Asylum-Curb and formerly known as MCG Curb) is an American record label started by Mike Curb, originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963. From 1969 to 1973, Curb merged with MGM Records where Curb served as President of ...

. The album was produced by

Don Cusic Don Cusic (born ) is an American author, songwriter and record producer who is best known as a historian of U.S. popular music. He is the author of 28 books, most of them related to country music; they include biographies of performers like Eddy A ...

and contained thirteen tracks. The record is Seely's seventeenth studio project and first in three years. The album contains a mixture of new recordings as well as re-recordings of her familiar tunes. Various collaborators are featured on the project that provide harmony and duet vocals to different recordings. The album was given a positive critical response upon its release.

Background

''An American Classic'' was produced by Don Cusic. The idea for the project was crafted by Cusic who became interested in recording an album for Seely. Seely agreed after finding that Cusic was interested in recording her, later saying that she was "thrilled" to work with him. "She is a favorite of fans, as well as country singers who admire and respect her talent and love her as a classy lady. The title of this album, ''An American Classic'' fits her perfectly," Cusic commented.

Jim Ed Norman Jim Ed Norman is an American musician, multi-platinum record producer, arranger and label-head. As an arranger and producer, he was one of the principal architects of the distinctive sound of West Coast 1970s pop and country rock. He was Preside ...

also contributed a track featuring

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "Misty", as well as novelty ...

to the record's production.

Content

''An American Classic'' consists of 13 tracks. The album includes a mixture of re-recorded songs and new songs. In addition, many of the project's tracks included collaborations with other artists. Among the collaborations is the track, "Not a Dry Eye in the House." The song is a duet with

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 ...

that was first recorded by its songwriter

Dallas Wayne Dallas Wayne (born 1956) is a singer, songwriter, voice-over artist and on-air radio personality for SiriusXM Satellite Radio. A native of Springfield, Missouri, he grew up in Branson, Missouri and Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Dallas began performing ...

. Seely and Nelson first began a friendship in 1963 around the time she began her music career. In addition to vocals from Nelson, Seely also collaborated with several other country artists for the album. This includes Bill Anderson,

Lorrie Morgan Loretta Lynn Morgan (born June 27, 1959) is an American country music singer and actress. She is the daughter of George Morgan, widow of Keith Whitley, and ex-wife of Jon Randall and Sammy Kershaw, all of whom are also country music singers. Mo ...

Waylon Payne Waylon Malloy Payne (born April 5, 1972) is an American country singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He is the son of the country singer Sammi Smith. Early life Payne was born in Nashville, Tennessee, the son of guitarist Jody Payne and Grammy ...

Steve Wariner Steven Noel Wariner (born December 25, 1954) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Initially a backing musician for Dottie West, he also worked with Bob Luman and Chet Atkins before beginning a solo career in the late 1 ...

and

The Whites The Whites is an American country music vocal group from Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It consists of sisters Sharon White and Cheryl White, and their father, Buck White. Sharon on guitar, Cheryl on bass and Buck on Mandolin. Formed in 1972, ...

. Seely and Anderson recorded the track "When Two Worlds Collide" for the album, which he had first composed with

Roger Miller Roger Dean Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping Country music, country and pop hits "King of the Road (song), Ki ...

. With Ray Stevens, Seely recorded a duet of

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

's " Dance Tonight." Seely also recorded other collaborations, including the song "All Through Crying Over You." The track features harmony vocals from Seely's longtime friend

Rhonda Vincent Rhonda Lea Vincent (born July 13, 1962) is an American bluegrass singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Vincent's music career began when she was a child in her family's band The Sally Mountain Show, and it has spanned more than four de ...

, who had recently cut one of Seely's compositions, "Like I Could", which was later issued as a single. Additional tracks also feature artists on the project. An example is the song "If You Could Call It That." The song was written after a friend found an unfinished song journal from Seely's friend and country artist

Dottie West Dorothy Marie Marsh West (October 11, 1932 – September 4, 1991) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with her friends and fellow recording artists Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, she is considered one of the genre's most in ...

. Songwriters Bobby Tomberlin and

adapted West's journal notes into a song. Two of Seely's former hits were re-recorded for the album project: "

Don't Touch Me "Don't Touch Me" is a song written by Hank Cochran. It was originally written for and recorded by American country artist Jeannie Seely. The song was released as a single on Monument Records in March 1966 and became a major ''Billboard'' country ...

" and "

Can I Sleep in Your Arms "Can I Sleep in Your Arms" is a single by American country music artist Jeannie Seely. Released in May 1973 under MCA Records, the song peaked at #6 on the ''Billboard Magazine'' Hot Country Singles chart, becoming Seely's first top ten solo hit si ...

." Both songs were written by her first husband and songwriter,

Hank Cochran Garland Perry "Hank" Cochran (August 2, 1935 – July 15, 2010) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting during the 1960s, Cochran was a prolific songwriter in the genre, including major hits by Patsy Cline, Ray Price, Eddy ...

Release and reception

The announcement of ''An American Classic'' was first made public in fall 2019. The original intention was to release the album in the spring of 2020. However, the album was pushed back to summer 2020 In conjunction with Seely's 80th birthday on July 6, "Not a Dry Eye in the House" was released as a digital download. "To have a duet with Willie Nelson be the first song released from my upcoming album is icing on the cake," Seely later commented. ''An American Classic'' was officially released on August 14, 2020, via

. The album was offered as both a

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...

and a

music download A music download (commonly referred to as a digital download) is the digital transfer of music via the Internet into a device capable of decoding and playing it, such as a personal computer, portable media player, MP3 player or smartphone. Thi ...

. Following its release, ''An American Classic'' received positive review by writers and music critics. Tom Netherland gave the project a positive response in his story of the album's release, calling it a project full of "postcards from the heart." Netherland also added that the album's release signifies Seely's status as an important female country artist. "Seely belongs in the midst of

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as " You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My M ...

and

Kitty Wells Ellen Muriel Deason (August 30, 1919 – July 16, 2012), known professionally as Kitty Wells, was an American pioneering female country music singer. She broke down a barrier to women in country music with her 1952 hit recording "It Wasn't God W ...

as a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Like an author with pen in hand, whenever she sings, Seely adds another page in the annals of a career made legendary," he concluded. In addition, Markos Papadatos of ''Digital Journal'' gave the album a positive critical response in his review. Papadatos praised the album's eclectic mix of collaborations as well as its mix of musical styles. He concluded by giving the collection an "A" rating: "Grand Ole Opry star Jeannie Seely proves that she is like fine wine, where she only better with age and experience on her latest studio offering An American Classic."

Track listing

Personnel

Musical personnel * Bill Anderson – guest vocals * Vince Gill – guest vocals * Lorrie Morgan – guest vocals * Willie Nelson – guest vocals * Waylon Payne – guest vocals * Jeannie Seely – lead vocals * Ray Stevens – guest vocals * Rhonda Vincent – guest vocals * Steve Wariner – guest vocals * The Whites – guest vocals Technical personnel * Don Cusic – producer * Jim Ed Norman – executive producer

Release history

References

External links

Discography
at Jeannie Seely's official website {{DEFAULTSORT:American Classic, An 2020 albums Albums produced by Jim Ed Norman Curb Records albums Jeannie Seely albums