''I'm a Lady'' 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 Bette Smith, who would later become commercially successful under the name

Margo Smith Margo Smith (born Betty Lou Miller; April 9, 1942 in Dayton, Ohio) is an American country and Christian music singer–songwriter. She had several years of country success during the 1970s, which included two number one hits on the '' Billboard' ...

. It was the debut studio recording in her career and was released on Nashville North Records. The album contained 12 tracks of new material, including several songs penned by Smith herself. The title track would also be released 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 ...

in 1971.

Background, content and release

In 1971, Bette Smith was a elementary school teacher in New Carlisle, Ohio. Musically-inclined, she often created songs for her students to sing while they were in class. Smith eventually began singing at functions outside of school and developed a following. With the assistance of husband Ken Smith, she went to Nashville, Tennessee to record her first studio album titled ''I'm a Lady''. The project was produced by Floyd Whited and engineered by Brian Fisher. The album was a collection of 12 tracks. Nine of the album's songs were written by Smith herself, including "Ode to the Confessor" and "Say You Love Me". ''I'm a Lady'' also included covers of gospel songs, such as "

In the Garden IN, In or in may refer to: Places * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Independ ...

". ''I'm a Lady'' was released in 1971 on Nashville North Records. It was originally 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 a ...

, containing six songs on each side. The album's title track was spawned as its only single, which was released in July 1971 on

Sugar Hill Records Sugar Hill Records is an American bluegrass and Americana record label. It was founded in Durham, North Carolina in 1978 by Barry Poss and David Freeman, the owner of County Records and Rebel Records. Poss acquired full control of Sugar Hil ...

. Smith continued to maintain her full-time teaching career following the record's release and continued performing shows in the Ohio area. In subsequent years, she would later adopt the stage name of Margo Smith and have commercial success as a country music artist during the late 1970s.

Track listing

Credits are extracted from the liner notes of ''I'm a Lady''. All tracks are composed by Bette Smith, unless otherwise noted.

Personnel

All credits are adapted from the liner notes of ''I'm a Lady''. * Brian Fisher – Engineer * Bette Smith – Lead vocals * Floyd Whited – Producer

Release history

References

{{Margo Smith 1971 debut albums Margo Smith albums