''Softly'' 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 American

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 ...

singer–songwriter Hank Locklin. It was released in December 1968 via RCA Victor Records and contained 11 tracks. The album was co-produced by Chet Atkins and Danny Davis. ''Softly'' was Locklin's nineteenth studio album released in his career and third to be released in 1968. It contained one single, " Where the Blue of the Night Meets the Gold of the Day." The song became a charting single in 1969. The album itself would also reach a charting position following its original release.

Background and content

Hank Locklin had several years of limited commercial success during the mid 1960s. In 1968 however, his single titled " The Country Hall of Fame," reached the top ten of the American country charts. This brought a commercial resurgence to his career. His recent success prompted RCA Victor to release additional studio material of Locklin's, including ''Softly.'' The album was recorded in November 1968 at the RCA Victor Studio, located in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. The sessions were co-produced by Chet Atkins and Danny Davis. It was Locklin's second studio effort to be co-produced by both men. ''Softly'' consisted of 11 tracks. Many of the record's tracks were new material. Also included was a cover of Merle Haggard's " Today I Started Loving You Again." "

With One Exception "With One Exception" is a song written by Billy Sherrill and Glenn Sutton, and recorded by American country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United S ...

" was originally a hit for country artist David Houston. The album's eventual lead single was also a cover of the hit, notably recorded by

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

Release and chart performance

''Softly'' was released in December 1968 via RCA Victor Records. The record marked Locklin's nineteenth studio album release in his career. It was originally 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 ...

, containing six songs on "side A" and five songs on "side B." In the 2010s, it was re-released in a digital format for music downloads and streaming. ''Softly'' spent six weeks on the ''

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 ...

Top Country Albums Top Country Albums is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The 50-position chart lists the most popular country music albums in the country, calculated weekly by Broadcast Data Systems based on physical sales a ...

chart and peaked at number 32 in March 1969. It would be Locklin's final album to chart any ''Billboard'' list. One single was spawned from the album: "Where the Blue of the Night Meets the Gold of the Day." It was released on RCA Victor in January 1969. The single spent ten weeks on the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart and peaked at number 34 in March 1969. It was Locklin's final top 40 entry on the ''Billboard'' country songs chart.

Track listings

Vinyl version

Digital version

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 ''Softly.'' Musical and technical personnel * Chet Atkins – producer * Danny Davis – producer * Hank Locklin – lead vocals * Bill McElhiney – arrangement

Chart performance

Release history

References

{{Hank Locklin 1968 albums Albums produced by Chet Atkins Albums produced by Danny Davis (country musician) Hank Locklin albums RCA Victor albums