''Count Your Blessings, Woman'' is a

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

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,

Jan Howard Jan Howard (born Lula Grace Johnson; March 13, 1929 – March 28, 2020) was an American country music singer and songwriter. As a singer, she placed 30 singles on the ''Billboard'' country songs chart, was a Grand Ole Opry member and was nomin ...

. It was released in June 1968 on

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

and contained 11 tracks. Most of the disc featured covers of popular songs of the era. The album's

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title. Title track may al ...

was spawned as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, becoming a top 20 song on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' country chart in 1968. Additionally, the album would reach peak positions on the American country albums chart. It was reviewed positively by ''Billboard'' magazine.

Background and content

Jan Howard reached her peak commercial success as a country artist during the mid sixties. On

, she had a series of top 20 and top 40 singles. This included the top ten songs "

Evil on Your Mind "Evil on Your Mind" is the name of a popular Country music song, originally made famous by Grand Ole Opry star Jan Howard in 1966. The song was written by her husband at the time, songwriter Harlan Howard. In the mid-'60s, Jan Howard was not acq ...

", " Bad Seed", and a number one duet with Bill Anderson titled "

For Loving You "For Loving You" is a 1967 duet by Bill Anderson and Jan Howard. The single was the duo's most successful release. "For Loving You" went to number one on the country charts in four weeks and spent 20 weeks on the chart. Chart performance Bill ...

". In 1968 Anderson penned Howard's popular solo single, "Count Your Blessings Woman". Her sixth studio collection was named for the single. The album was recorded at Bradley's Barn, located 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, ...

. It was recorded in several sessions between 1967 and 1968. It was produced entirely by

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 ...

. The disc was a collection of 11 tracks. New songs on the disc included the title track and the

Dallas Frazier Dallas Frazier (October 27, 1939 – January 14, 2022) was an American country musician and songwriter who had success in the 1950s and 1960s. Life and career Frazier was born in Spiro, Oklahoma, on October 27, 1939, but was raised in Bakersfie ...

composition, "But Not for Love My Dear". Covers of country songs were featured as well. Among them were

Jack Greene Jack Henry Greene (January 7, 1930 – March 14, 2013) was an American country musician. Nicknamed the "Jolly Greene Giant" due to his height and deep voice, Greene was a long time member of the Grand Ole Opry. A three-time Grammy Award nomine ...

's number one country single "

You Are My Treasure "You Are My Treasure' is a 1968 single by Jack Greene Jack Henry Greene (January 7, 1930 – March 14, 2013) was an American country musician. Nicknamed the "Jolly Greene Giant" due to his height and deep voice, Greene was a long time member o ...

" and

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 ...

's number one song "

Take Me to Your World "Take Me to Your World" is a 1968 single written by Billy Sherrill and Glenn Sutton and recorded by Tammy Wynette. "Take Me to Your World" was Tammy Wynette's second number one on the country charts as a solo artist. The single stayed at number o ...

". It also featured

Lynn Anderson Lynn Renée Anderson (September 26, 1947 – July 30, 2015) was an American country singer and television personality. Her crossover signature recording, "Rose Garden," was a number one hit in the United States and internationally. She charte ...

's top ten song, " Promises, Promises" and the

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

Porter Wagoner Porter Wayne Wagoner (August 12, 1927 – October 28, 2007) was an American country music singer known for his flashy Nudie and Manuel suits and blond pompadour. In 1967, he introduced singer Dolly Parton on his television show, ''The Po ...

duet single, "

The Last Thing on My Mind "The Last Thing on My Mind" is a song written by American musician and singer-songwriter Tom Paxton in the early 1960s and recorded first by Paxton in 1964. It is based on the traditional lament song "The Leaving of Liverpool". The song was rele ...

". Pop hits of the era were also featured like

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

's "You'd Better Sit Down, Kids" Jimmie Rodger's " It's Over" and "

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

's "

The Minute You're Gone "The Minute You're Gone" is a song written by Jimmy Gateley (often miscredited as "Gately" or "Gatelie"), a Nashville, Tennessee based fiddle player and singer, for Sonny James in 1963. This song originally made No. 95 in the US charts and No. 9 ...

Release, reception and singles

''Count Your Blessings, Woman'' was released in June 1968 on

. It was the sixth studio release of Howard's career and her fifth with the Decca label. It was distributed in a

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

record format. Six songs were included on "Side A" while five songs were included on "Side B". The album debuted on the ''

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 a ...

chart on July 6, 1968 and peaked at number 27 on July 20, 1968. It was Howard's fourth album release to peak on the country albums chart. ''Count Your Blessings, Woman'' received positive reviews from critics.

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 ...

gave the album 5 out of 5 possible stars. In ''

s 1968 review, critics commented, "This one will melt off the shelves, for Miss Howard's performances are loaded with sincerity and heart." The

was first released in February 1968. It peaked at number 16 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 sal ...

chart later that year, becoming Howard's fifth top 20 song on the country singles chart. The single also peaked at number 6 on the Canadian '' RPM Country Tracks'' chart. It was her first single to reach the Canada country chart.

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 desce ...

of ''Count Your Blessings, Woman''. *

–

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

* Hal Buksbaum – photography *

– lead vocals, background vocals

Chart performance

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1968 albums Jan Howard albums Albums produced by Owen Bradley Decca Records albums