''Roots'' is a 1968 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 American singing duo

the Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

. Originally on the

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

label, the album was re-released on CD in 1995 by Warner Bros. and in 2005 by

Collectors' Choice Music Collectors' Choice Music (CCM) is an Itasca, Illinois, company originally primarily in two businesses, but since 2010 only in the second. CCM was best known for reissuing albums originally recorded in LP record form as compact disc The com ...

. The album is a classic example of early

country rock Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal s ...

Critical reception

On its release, ''Roots'' was not a commercial success for the Everly Brothers,Unterberger, Richie
Liner notes

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

official website. Accessed October 7, 2007. failing to widen their fanbase in spite of their excursion into the new field of

. Escott, Colin
Everly Brothers
. Adapted from The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s ''Encyclopedia of Country Music'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. Hosted by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Accessed October 7, 2007. At the time of its release, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'', which awarded the album 4 stars in its coverage of the band in ''

The New Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'', described the album as "a showcase for the superb talent of the Everlys as they are today", asserting that anyone "interested in the so-called country revival now sweeping rock should pick up this album". In his reviews of the bands subsequent albums, critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

often utilized ''Roots'' as a touchstone, referring to it as "sweet", "thoughtful, even-tempered, and unique".Christgau, Robert
The Everly Brothers
Accessed October 7, 2007. Today, the album is touted as "one of the finest early country-rock albums".

Track listing

;Side 1 #"The Introduction: The Everly Family (1952)" – 1:11 #" Mama Tried" (

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled af ...

) – 2:18 #"Less of Me" (

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodt ...

) – 3:03 #"

T for Texas "Blue Yodel No. 1 (T for Texas)" (originally "Blue Yodel", often called "Blue Yodel No. 1" or "T For Texas") is a song by American singer-songwriter Jimmie Rodgers. The recording was produced by Ralph Peer, who had originally recorded with Rodge ...

" (

Jimmie Rodgers James Charles Rodgers (September 8, 1897 – May 26, 1933) was an American singer-songwriter and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as "the Father of Country Music", he is best known for his distinctive rhythmi ...

) – 3:31 #"I Wonder If I Care as Much" (Don Everly, Phil Everly) – 2:59 #"

Ventura Boulevard Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east–west thoroughfares in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Ventura Boulevard is one of the oldest routes in the San Fernando Valley as it was originally a part o ...

" ( Ron Elliott) – 2:50 #" Shady Grove" (P. O. Wandz; credit also given to Jacquie Ertel (Phil's wife) and Venetia Everly (Don's wife)) – 2:31 ;Side 2 #

"Illinois" (

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early Americana (music), Americana-influenced songs (often ...

) – 2:12 #"Living Too Close to the Ground" (Terry Slater) – 2:16 #"You Done Me Wrong" (

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", ...

, Ray Price) – 2:16 #"Turn Around" (Ron Elliott) – 2:47 #"

Sing Me Back Home ''Sing Me Back Home'' is the fifth studio album by American country singer and songwriter Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1968 on Capitol Records. Background The album's title track was inspired by an inmate Haggard knew while he w ...

" (Merle Haggard) – 5:18 #"Montage: The Everly Family (1952)/Shady Grove/Kentucky" (Terry Slater, Karl Davis) – 2:43

Personnel

Performance

Don Everly The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

Phil Everly The Everly Brothers were an American rock music, rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (Januar ...

– guitar, vocals

Production

*Frank Bez – photography, cover photo * Perry Botkin, Jr. –

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

*Nick DeCaro – string arrangements *Ron Elliott – arranger *Lee Herschberg – engineer, mastering *Bill Inglot –reissue re- mastering *John Neil – engineer *Andrew Sandoval – re-issue re- mastering *Dave Schultz – mastering *Mike Shields – engineer *

Ed Thrasher Edward Lee Thrasher Jr. (March 7, 1932 – August 5, 2006), known as Ed Thrasher, was an American art director and photographer. He was the recipient of numerous Grammy Award nominations for his work on album covers and won a Grammy for Best Album ...

– art direction *

– liner notes * Lenny Waronker – producer, concept *Andrew Wickham – liner notes, concept

References

External links

Collector's Choice Music reissue liner notes by Richie Unterberger.
{{Authority control The Everly Brothers albums 1968 albums Albums arranged by Perry Botkin Jr. Albums produced by Lenny Waronker Warner Records albums