''I Am Just a Rebel'' is the debut studio album 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, ...

band Billy Hill. Released by

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

in 1989, the album contains the hit song "Too Much Month at the End of the Money". It was the band's only album. "Rollin' Dice" was originally recorded by lead singer

Dennis Robbins Dennis Anthony Robbins (born August 23, 1949) is an American musician who first made himself known as a guitarist in the band Rockets. After his departure from The Rockets, he began a career in country music, recording three major-label albums an ...

in 1986 for his

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

album, ''The First of Me''. It was also featured on the soundtrack to the film '' Pink Cadillac''. Billy Hill's version of "

I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" is a 1965 hit song recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "I Can't Help Myself" is one of the most well-know ...

" made an appearance in the 1990 film '' My Blue Heaven''.

Critical reception

The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' deemed ''I Am Just a Rebel'' a "rollicking album," writing that "Billy Hill delivers heat, humor and heart." ''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * ''The Advocate'' (LGBT magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States *''The Harvard Advocate'', a literary magazin ...

'' wrote: "Imagine Levon Helm getting together with Little Feat to play some hillbilly music and you have some idea of what Billy Hill sounds like ... There's lots of hot playing, and the songs are good, too." ''

The Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It recently sold its headquarters to Uniland Development Corp. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by W ...

'' concluded that Billy Hill "have a big, fun, 'bloozy' sound that is heavy on slide guitar, somewhat similar to the Rolling Stones' occasional forays into country." The ''

Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digital Fiest/Media News subsidiaries. ...

'' stated that the "music is down and dirty, R&B-influenced barroom country rock with a ballad or two thrown in for good measure." ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' listed ''I Am Just a Rebel'' as the 25th best country album of 1989.

Track listing

Personnel

Compiled from liner notes.

Billy Hill

Bob DiPiero Robert John DiPiero (born March 3, 1951) is an American country music songwriter. He has written 15 US number one hits and several Top 20 single for Tim McGraw, The Oak Ridge Boys, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Shenandoah, Neal McCoy, ...

— background vocals * Reno Kling — bass guitar * Martin Parker — drums, percussion *

— lead and background vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, slide guitar *

John Scott Sherrill John Scott Sherrill is an American songwriter whose work is primarily in the field of country music. His brother, Donn Sherrill, was a Vanderbilt student. He introduced John Scott to his fraternity brother, Scott Siman who recorded demos of his m ...

— lead and background vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar

Additional musicians

Bucky Baxter William "Bucky" Baxter (1955May 25, 2020) was an American guitarist. He is best known as a member of Steve Earle and The Dukes and as a member of Bob Dylan's backing band in the mid-90s during the Never Ending Tour. He released his only solo ...

— steel guitar *

Barry Beckett Barry Edward Beckett (February 4, 1943 – June 10, 2009) was an American keyboardist, session musician, record producer, and studio founder. He is best known for his work with David Hood, Jimmy Johnson, and Roger Hawkins, his bandmates in th ...

— piano, Hammond B-3 organ * Bessyl Duhon — accordion * Glen Duncan — fiddle, mandolin

Chart performance

References

External links

*{{Cite web, url=https://www.discogs.com/release/2715834-Billy-Hill-I-Am-Just-A-Rebel, title=''I Am Just a Rebel'' – Billy Hill (1989, CD), access-date=December 22, 2022, website=Discogs 1989 debut albums Reprise Records albums