''Bill'' 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 ...

singer-songwriter Bill Anderson. It was released in July 1973 on

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...

and was produced by Owen Bradley. It was Anderson's first studio album to be released on the MCA label after Decca Records merged with the label. It was also his twenty first studio recording to be released and only album project to be issued in 1973. The album included three singles, two of which became number one hits in either the United States and Canada. The album itself also would reach peak positions on national publication charts.

Background and content

''Bill'' was recorded in April 1973 in

Mount Juliet, Tennessee Mt. Juliet (also referred to as Mount Juliet) is a city located in western Wilson County, Tennessee. A suburb of Nashville, it is approximately east of downtown Nashville. Mt. Juliet is located mostly between two major national east-west routes, ...

. The sessions were held specifically at Bradley's Barn, a studio owned by the album's producer, Owen Bradley. Anderson and Bradley had been collaborating on albums since Anderson's debut record was released in 1963. This would be his twenty first album all together. The record consisted of 11 tracks. Three of its tracks were written by Anderson. This included the single, "If You Can Live with It (I Can Live Without It)". Some of the album tracks were covers of songs previously recorded by other performers. Among these covers was "(Altogether Now) Let's Fall Apart", which was first made a hit single by Ronnie Milsap. The record also featured a cover of the pop track "

Have You Seen Her "Have You Seen Her" is a song by American soul music, soul vocal group the Chi-Lites, released on Brunswick Records in 1971. Composed by the lead singer Eugene Record and Barbara Acklin, the song was included on the group's 1971 album ''(For God's ...

". This song was first recorded by

The Chi-Lites The Chi-Lites (, ) are an American R&B/soul vocal quartet from Chicago, Illinois, United States. Forming at Chicago's Hyde Park High School in 1959, The group's original lineup consisted of singers Robert Lester, Eugene Record, Creadel Jones, ...

Release and reception

''Bill'' was released in July 1973 on

. It was Anderson's first album to be released under MCA after his previous label (Decca) merged with the company. It was issued originally as a

vinyl LP The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and ...

and as a

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in th ...

. Both formats featured tracks on both side of the record. ''Bill'' peaked at number 15 on the '' Billboard''

Top Country Albums Top Country Albums is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The 50-position chart lists the most popular country music albums in the country, calculated weekly by Broadcast Data Systems based on physical sales ...

chart in September 1973 after spending 14 weeks on the chart. The album also included three singles released to radio in 1973. The first was "If You Can Live With It (I Can Live Without It)" in January 1973. It peaked at number two on the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sa ...

chart while also reaching number two on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Country Singles chart in Canada. In June 1973, "The Corner of My Life" was issued as the second single. Like its previous single, "The Corner of My Life" peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' country chart. Additionally, the single reached the top spot of the ''RPM'' country singles chart. The third and final single release came with "

World of Make Believe "World of Make Believe" is a 1973 single by Bill Anderson. "World of Make Believe" was Bill Anderson's last number one as a solo artist. The single stayed at number one for a single week and spent a total of twelve weeks on the country chart. An ...

" in November 1973. It became Anderson's first number one hit in the United States since 1969 when it reached the position in February 1974. The song also topped the Canadian country chart around the same time. In years following its release, ''Bill'' received a rating of 2.5 stars from

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 databa ...

Track listing

Personnel

All credits are adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desc ...

of ''Bill''. * Bill Anderson – lead vocals * Hal Bauksbaum – photography * Owen Bradley – record producer

Chart performance

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1973 albums Albums produced by Owen Bradley Bill Anderson (singer) albums MCA Records albums