''Home of the Brave'' is a studio album by American singer Jody Miller. It was released in October 1965 via

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

and contained 11 tracks. The material mixed pop with

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 ...

songs. Its title track reached the pop charts in several countries including Australia, Canada and the United States. The disc was Miller's third studio album in her career and received a positive review from ''

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 ...

'' following its release.

Background

Jody Miller signed to Capitol Records as a

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

recording artist in 1963. However, in 1965, she commercially broke through with a pop and country single called "

Queen of the House "Queen of the House" is a song originally recorded and made commercially successful by American singer Jody Miller. It was an answer song to Roger Miller's " King of the Road". It featured lyrics written by Mary Taylor, with credit also given to Ro ...

". Its success was followed by a protest song called " Home of the Brave". The tune described a teenage boy who was criticized in his hometown for his choice of clothing and hairstyle. The song became another pop commercial success. "Home of the Brave" would inspire Capitol to release Miller's third studio album, which would also have the same title.

Recording and content

The ''Home of the Brave'' album was recorded in sessions held between June and August 1965 at

Capitol Studios Capitol Studios are recording studios located at the landmark Capitol Records Tower in Hollywood, California. The studios, which opened in 1956, were initially the primary recording studios for the American record label Capitol Records. While t ...

, located in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

. The album was produced by Steve Douglas and included arrangements by

Billy Strange William Everett Strange (September 29, 1930 – February 22, 2012) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and an actor. He was a session musician with the famed Wrecking Crew, and was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Mus ...

. The disc included both pop and country material. On her official website, Miller herself explained the album was catered towards the teen market and described the disc as "bubblegum". With the country success from "Queen of the House", Capitol had Miller incorporate country material into the album. Among the country songs were covers of " Born to Lose" and "

Your Cheatin' Heart "Your Cheatin' Heart" is a song written and recorded by country music singer-songwriter Hank Williams in 1952. It is regarded as one of country's most important standards. Williams was inspired to write the song while driving with his fiancé ...

". "Just think ... I initiated a lot of those teenagers into loving Country Music!" Miller said on her website. As a whole, the album included both slow ballads and uptempo songs. Among its ballads were "Born to Lose", while others like "Big Time Love" were faster tempo recordings.

Release, reception and singles

''Home of the Brave'' was originally released in October 1965 on Capitol Records. It was distributed 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 a ...

, offered in both stereo and mono versions. Six songs were featured on side one while five songs were featured on side two. In November 2021,

chose to release all of Miller's albums to digital retailers, making ''Queen of the House'' available digitally for the first time. ''

'' gave the album positive reception following its original release. "Pegging this album upon her current hit, 'Home of the Brave,' this sparkling song stylist offers, in addition, a program of winning performances of country-oriented material," the publication stated. The album's title track was its only single and was first issued in August 1965. The song peaked at number 29 on Australia's pop music chart and reached number 25 on America's ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

chart. It was most commercially successful in Canada, peaking at number five on their ''

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 ...

'' Top Singles chart.

Track listing

Technical 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 ''Home of the Brave''. * Steve Douglas – Producer * George Jerman – Photography *

– Arranger, conductor

Release history

References

{{Jody Miller 1965 albums Capitol Records albums Jody Miller albums