''The Bradley Barn Sessions'' is a duet album released in 1994 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, ...

artist

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

Recording

The concept behind ''The Bradley Barn Sessions'' was to place Jones in the hands of traditionalist country producer Brian Ahern, record at

Owen Bradley William Owen Bradley (October 21, 1915 – January 7, 1998) was an American musician and record producer who, along with Chet Atkins, Bob Ferguson, Bill Porter, and Don Law, was one of the chief architects of the 1950s and 1960s Nashville sou ...

's legendary studios, compile a selection of the singer's greatest hits, and have him sing duets with not just some of the biggest names in country but also

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

as well. Although the album – Jones' fourth for MCA – did not break the top twenty on ''Billboard''s country albums chart, peaking at 23, it features the first recorded duet between the singer and his ex-wife

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Ly ...

since their 1981 LP Together Again. The only single release from the album was "

A Good Year for the Roses "A Good Year for the Roses" is a ballad written by Jerry Chesnut and originally recorded by American country singer George Jones. It rose to #2 on the country singles chart in 1970. Background "A Good Year for the Roses" describes the thoug ...

", a collaboration with

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many o ...

. As Jones noted in his autobiography two years later, "After the duets album was released, radio didn't know what to do with it...Alan was white-hot on the radio, and programmers wanted his voice. But some didn't want his if they had to take mine. The vast majority of Alan's other single records have gone to number one. His duet with me was his first not to crack the top 50." It actually peaked at number 57. In June 1995, the song won the Music City News Country Awards "Vocal Collaboration of the Year". In addition to a who's who of past and present country stars, the album boasted two significant contributors from outside the country music field. The first was

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a s ...

, primarily known as leader and guitarist for the rock band

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and percuss ...

. A big country fan who had recorded an album with

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music s ...

in 1990, Knopfler played guitar and sang background on a remake of Jones's first number one country hit from 1959, " White Lightning", and can be heard laughing as Jones hams it up on the vocal. The other rock musician who sang with Jones was

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

of the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

on " Say It's Not You", which originally appeared on Jones's 1967 album ''If My Heart Had Windows''. In a 2004 interview that was posted on his website, Richards said of the meeting, "That was a great experience...To sing with George – and get away with it! – was amazing. What a possum." In a 1996 ''Rolling Stone'' interview Jones confessed to Chuck Dean, "I'll be honest with you: I love Keith Richards more than anything as a person. He's a character – just fun to be around." An hour-long documentary-style special was filmed in late 1994 to promote the duet album. It aired in 1995 on

The Nashville Network The Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, game shows, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows. On September ...

. Among the guests were the duet partners, Tony Brown, Brian Ahern, and Owen Bradley. Several unreleased tracks recorded during this album's sessions were later included on Jones' 2008 duets album '' Burn Your Playhouse Down''.

Reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine 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 ...

calls ''The Bradley Barn Sessions'' "a stilted, nearly lifeless album. The production is too clean and polished, lacking any of the grit of true honky tonk records. Furthermore, songs like "A Good Year for the Roses" suffer from the stringless, stripped-down arrangements.

Track listing

Personnel

* Brian Ahern – rhythm guitar (track 1), bass (track 10), acoustic guitar (tracks 2, 5 – 7, 9, 11) *

Eddie Bayers Eddie Bayers (born January 28, 1949) is an American session drummer who has played on 300 gold and platinum albums. He received the Academy of Country Music 'Drummer of the Year Award' for fourteen years, has three times won the Nashville Music ...

– drums (tracks 1 – 3, 5, 7 – 10) * Richard Bennett – acoustic guitar (tracks 1, 4, 6, and 11) *

James Burton James Edward Burton (born August 21, 1939, in Dubberly, Louisiana) is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 (his induction speech was given by longtime fan Keith Richards), Burton has also been recognized ...

– electric guitar (tracks 5 and 11) *

Jerry Douglas Gerald Calvin "Jerry" Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer. Career In addition to his fourteen solo recordings, Douglas has played on more than 1,600 albums. As a sideman, he has ...

– resonator guitar (tracks 1 – 4, 8, and 9) * Paul Franklin – steel guitar (tracks 5, 7, and 10) *

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist b ...

– guitar (tracks 4, 6, 7, and 10) *

Glen D. Hardin Glen Dee Hardin (born April 18, 1939) is an American piano player and arranger. He has performed and recorded with such artists as Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, Emmylou Harris, John Denver, and Ricky Nelson. Career Hardin was born in Welling ...

– piano (tracks 2, 3, 7 – 9) *

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...

– acoustic guitar (track 5) * Randy Howard – mandolin (track 11) *

John Hughey John Hughey (December 27, 1933 – November 18, 2007) was an American musician. He was known for his work as a session pedal steel guitar player for various country music acts, most notably Vince Gill and Conway Twitty. A member of the Steel Guit ...

– steel guitar (tracks 4 and 6) *

David Hungate William David Hungate (born August 5, 1948) is an American bass guitarist noted as a member of the Los Angeles pop-rock band Toto from 1976 to 1982 and again from 2014 to 2015, and the son of judge William L. Hungate. Along with most of his T ...

– bass (tracks 4, 6, and 11) *

John Jennings John Jennings may refer to: Politicians * John Jenyns (1660–1717), MP * John Jennings (Burton MP) (1903–1990), British Conservative Party politician * John Jennings (American politician) (1880–1956), U.S. Representative from Tennessee, 1939 ...

– electric guitar (tracks 3 and 9) *

– electric guitar (track 10) *

Mac McAnally Lyman Corbitt McAnally Jr. (; born July 15, 1957), known professionally as Mac McAnally, is an American country music singer-songwriter, session musician, and record producer. In his career, he has recorded ten studio albums and eight singles. ...

– acoustic slide guitar (track 1), acoustic guitar (tracks 2, 3, 5, 7 – 10) *

– electric guitar (track 5) *

Hargus "Pig" Robbins Hargus Melvin Robbins (January 18, 1938 – January 30, 2022), known by his nickname "Pig," was an American session keyboard player. Having played on records for many artists, including John Stewart, Dolly Parton, Connie Smith, Patti Page, Lore ...

– piano (tracks 1 and 10) *

Brent Rowan Brent Rowan (born May 28, 1956 in Waxahachie, Texas) is an American session musician and record producer who works primarily in country music. Active since the 1970s, Rowan began working with John Conlee through the recommendation of record produce ...

– electric guitar (tracks 2 and 8) *

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock and ...

– piano (tracks 4 – 6, 11) *

Ricky Skaggs Rickie Lee Skaggs (born July 18, 1954), known professionally as Ricky Skaggs, is an American neotraditional country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, ma ...

– harmony vocals (tracks 4 and 8), fiddle (tracks 1, 2, 5 – 11), acoustic guitar (tracks 3 and 4) * Tommy Spurlock – steel guitar (tracks 2, 3, 8, 9, and 11), resonator guitar (track 7) *

Harry Stinson Harry Stinson (born June 3, 1953 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian real estate developer from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He is president of Stinson Properties, Inc. He has been called Toronto's "condo king". Biography Stinson's most significant ...

– drums (tracks 4, 6, and 11) *

Marty Stuart John Marty Stuart (born September 30, 1958) is an American country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter, and musician. Active since 1968, Stuart initially toured with Lester Flatt, and then in Johnny Cash's road band before beginning work as a ...

– electric slide guitar (track 1), mandolin (tracks: 2 – 10) *

Glenn Worf Glenn Worf is an American bassist known mainly for his work as a session musician. He has recorded with many major country music acts and also tours with Mark Knopfler. Early life and education Worf was born in Dayton, Ohio, and grew up in Madis ...

– acoustic guitar (track 3), acoustic bass (tracks 1, 2, 5, 7–10) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradley Barn Sessions 1994 albums George Jones albums MCA Records albums Vocal duet albums Albums produced by Brian Ahern (producer)