''Livin' or Dyin is the third studio album by

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

Jack Ingram Jack Owen Ingram (born November 15, 1970) is an American country music artist formerly signed to Big Machine Records, an independent record label. He has released eleven studio albums, one extended play, six live albums, and 19 singles. Although ...

, released on March 25, 1997. It was the only album of his career released via Rising Tide Records due to that label closing soon after its release. The first two singles of Ingram's career were released from this album, "That's Not Me" and "Flutter". They both charted poorly with "Flutter" peaking at No. 51 while the other failed to chart altogether in the United States.

Content

''Livin' or Dyin was produced by country artists Steve Earle and

Ray Kennedy Raymond Kennedy (28 July 1951 – 30 November 2021) was an English footballer who won every domestic honour in the game with Arsenal and Liverpool in the 1970s and early 1980s. Kennedy played as a forward for Arsenal, and then played as a le ...

, credited on the album as the Twang Trust. Of the 14 songs on the album, 9 were written or co-written by Ingram. The last track, "Airways Motel" was written with

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

based

Alt-country Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style ...

artist

Todd Snider Todd Daniel Snider (born October 11, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter whose music incorporates elements of folk, rock, blues, alt country, and funk. Early career Todd Snider was born in Portland, Oregon, but was raised in nearby Beave ...

, who also plays acoustic guitar on the track. "Dallas" was originally recorded by Jimmie Dale Gilmore in 1989 on his self-titled album. "Rita Ballou" first appeared on

Guy Clark Guy Charles Clark (November 6, 1941 – May 17, 2016) was an American folk and country singer-songwriter and luthier. He released more than 20 albums, and his songs have been recorded by other artists, including Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmy Buffet ...

's 1975 debut album, ''

Old No. 1 ''Old No. 1'' is the highly influential 1975 debut album by Texas singer-songwriter Guy Clark. The cover of the original LP featured a painting by Susanna Clark and liner notes by Jerry Jeff Walker. It was reissued on CD by Sugar Hill. Both '' ...

''. "Imitation of love" was originally recorded by

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song " He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

in 1966. Ingram had previously recorded a more stripped-down version of "Flutter" on his 1995 eponymous debut album. "Dim Lights, Thick Smoke" is a cover of

Vern Gosdin Vernon Gosdin (August 5, 1934 – April 28, 2009) was an American country music singer. He had 19 top-10 solo hits on the country music charts from 1977 through 1990. Three of these hits went to Number One: " I Can Tell By the Way You Dance (You ...

from his 1985 album ''Time Stood Still''.

Track listing

Personnel

Taken from liner notes.

The Beat Up Ford Band

*Chris Claridy -

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 ...

, background vocals *Pete Coatney - drums,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

*Jack Ingram - lead and background vocals, acoustic guitar *Gus Salmon -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, 6 string trem bass, background vocals

Other musicians

*Pat Earle - china crash * Steve Earle - harmony vocals, acoustic guitar, high string guitar, nylon acoustic guitar,

acoustic archtop guitar An archtop guitar is a hollow electric or semi-acoustic guitar with a full body and a distinctive arched top, whose sound is particularly popular with jazz, blues, and rockabilly players. Typically, an archtop guitar has: * Six strings * An ar ...

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. Th ...

*Tommy Hannum - steel guitar, dobro, tremolo steel guitar, lap steel guitar *

- Hammond organ,

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

, 6-string punk bass *Tom Littlefield - background vocals *T. Money - needle drops,

surface noise In sound and music production, sonic artifact, or simply artifact, refers to sonic material that is accidental or unwanted, resulting from the editing or manipulation of a sound. Types Because there are always technical restrictions in the way a ...

*Michael Smotherman - Hammond organ *

- acoustic guitar *

Jerry Jeff Walker Jerry Jeff Walker (born Ronald Clyde Crosby; March 16, 1942 – October 23, 2020) was an American country music and folk singer-songwriter. He was a leading figure in the progressive country and outlaw country music movement. He was bes ...

- acoustic guitar, harmonica

Chart performance

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Livin' Or Dyin' 1997 albums Jack Ingram albums Rising Tide Records albums