''Cristy Lane Is the Name'' 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 ...

and Christian singer

Cristy Lane Cristy Lane (born Eleanor Johnston; January 8, 1940) is an American Christian and country music singer. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, she had a series of hits on the North American country charts with songs like " Let Me Down Easy", " I Just ...

. The album was released in February 1978 via

LS Records LS Records is an American record label. It was founded by Lee Stoller in 1975. History In the mid 1970s, Lee Stoller chose to sign country music act, Daniel Willis, as the label's first artist. Willis was later dropped from the label after having ...

and contained a total of 12 tracks. It was the second album issued in Lane's recording career and the first of many to be released on the LS label. The album featured seven singles releases, four of which became major hits on the North American country music charts between 1977 and 1978: " Let Me Down Easy", " Shake Me I Rattle", " I'm Gonna Love You Anyway" and " Penny Arcade". The album received positive reviews following its release.

Background and content

Cristy Lane began a singing career in the 1960s following her husband's (Lee Stoller) discovery of her musical talent. In her earliest dates, Lane performed in nightclubs and toured overseas in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

for American troops. After several years of rejection from the music industry Stoller and Lane moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

where she could pursue a country music career. Stoller established his own record label during this period titled

and began promoting her records. Stoller arranged for his wife to record her first sessions for her eventual second album beginning in May 1976. Over the next two years (through June 1977), Lane recorded a variety of songs that would comprise ''Cristy Lane Is the Name''. All sessions were held at LSI Studios, located in Nashville. The sessions were produced by Nashville songwriter, Charlie Black. The project was a collection of 12 tracks of material. The album featured compositions originally recorded by others, including

Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been carried by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early l ...

's pop hit "

Midnight Blue Midnight blue is a dark shade of blue named for its resemblance to the apparently blue color of a moonlit night sky around full moon. Midnight blue is identifiably blue to the eye in sunlight or full-spectrum light, but can appear black unde ...

" and Marion Worth's "Shake Me I Rattle". New material for the album included "Penny Arcade" and "I Can't Tell You" (the latter was co-written by Lane and Charlie Black). The album featured liner notes from disc jockey Chris Lane, who helped establish her early music career in Peoria, Illinois.

Release and reception

Five singles were released to country music radio prior to the album's release. The album's first single was Lane's cover of "Midnight Blue," which was issued on LS Records in June 1976. It was followed that August with the song "By the Way". The album's third single, "Tryin' to Forget About You," was issued in January 1977 on LS. It was her first to reach the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart, peaking at number 52. The fourth single spawned from the LP was "Let Me Down Easy", which was first issued in August 1977. The single was Lane's first major hit in her career, peaking at number seven on the ''Billboard'' country songs chart. "Shake Me I Rattle" was released as the LP's fifth single, which occurred in November 1977. The song reached the top 20 on the ''Billboard'' country singles chart, peaking at number 16. On Canada's ''

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 survey, both "Let Me Down Easy" and "Shake Me I Rattle" climbed to the number 28 position. In February 1978, ''Cristy Lane Is the Name'' was released on the LS label. It was issued 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 ...

, containing six tracks on either side of the record. The album was licensed by

GRT Records GRT Records was the name of both a U.S. and a Canadian record label, both created by General Recorded Tape, a California-based company that existed from 1965 to 1979.Richard GreenGRT of Canada, Ltd. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2013-02-26. ...

, which is credited on the album information featured on the record. In March 1978, LS spawned the album's sixth single titled "I'm Gonna Love You Anyway". It became her second top ten hit on the ''Billboard'' country songs chart, climbing to the number ten position. The project's seventh and final single release was issued in June 1978: "Penny Arcade". The track was Lane's third top ten hit, peaking at number seven on the Hot Country Songs chart. It also became her first top ten hit in Canada. ''Cristy Lane Is the Name'' received a positive response from ''Billboard'' magazine, which named it among its "Top Album Picks" in February 1978. Reviewers commented that the album's "exceptional production by harlieBlack brings Lane's soft and flowing vocals upfront while combining a pleasant backdrop of musical stylings for the variety of material included."

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 ''Cristy Lane Is the Name''. Musical personnel * Charlie Black – Acoustic guitar, background vocals,

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

Harold Bradley Harold Ray Bradley (January 2, 1926 – January 31, 2019) was an American guitarist and entrepreneur, who played on many country, rock and pop recordings and produced numerous TV variety shows and movie soundtracks. Having started as a session ...

– Electric guitar *

Kenneth Buttrey Aaron Kenneth Buttrey (April 1, 1945 – September 12, 2004) was an American drummer and arranger. According to CMT, he was "one of the most influential session musicians in Nashville history". Buttrey was born in Nashville, Tennessee, became a ...

– Drums * David Byrd – Keyboards * Sadie Callaway – Background vocals *

Jerry Carrigan Jerry Kirby Carrigan (September 13, 1943 – June 22, 2019) was an American drummer and record producer. Early in his career he was a member of the original Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and later worked as a session musician in Nashville for over ...

– Drums * Charlie Chappelear – Bass * Rita Figlio – Background vocals * Sonny Garrish – Steel guitar * Steve Gibson – Electric guitar *

Jerry Gillespie Jerry Wayne Gillespie (born Decatur, Alabama) is an American country songwriter. He co-wrote " Do You Love as Good as You Look", a #1 song in 1981 for The Bellamy Brothers and wrote " Heaven's Just a Sin Away", a #1 country hit in 1977 for The K ...

– Acoustic guitar * Jim Isbell – Drums *

Shane Keister Shane Keister is an American musician. He is known for his work as a studio musician, writer, arranger and producer. He plays synthesizer, piano, Hammond B3, Synclavier, Fairlight CMI, Fender Rhodes, and others. History Keister was born in Huntin ...

– Keyboards * Dave Kirby – Acoustic guitar * The Shelly Kurland Strings – Strings * Cristy Lane – Background, lead vocals *

Kenny Malone Kenny Malone (August 4, 1938 – August 26, 2021) was an American drummer and percussionist. Life and career Malone was born in Denver, Colorado. From the 1970s onwards, he was a prominent session musician in folk, country and many other acoust ...

– Drums * Bill McMath – Acoustic guitar * The Alan Moore Singers – Background vocals *

Weldon Myrick Weldon Myrick (born Weldon Merle Myrick; April 10, 1938 – June 2, 2014) was an American steel guitar player.Joe Osborn – Bass * Doug Renaud – Drums * Chip Young – Acoustic guitar * Reggie Young – Electric guitar Technical personnel * Charlie Black – Producer * Febrig – Photography * Alan Moore – Arrangement * Farrell Morris – Percussion * Steve Moser – Engineer * Lee Stoller – Manager

Release history

References

{{Cristy Lane 1978 albums Albums produced by Charlie Black Cristy Lane albums LS Records albums