''Thanks, Hank!'' is a studio album 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 ...

artist

Jeannie Seely Marilyn Jeanne Seely (born July 6, 1940) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She also has several acting credits and published a book. Seely found success with the Grammy Award-winning hit "Don't Touch Me" (1966) ...

. It was released on May 8, 1967, by

Monument Records Monument Records is an American record label in Washington, D.C. named for the Washington Monument, founded in 1958 by Fred Foster, Buddy Deane (a prominent Baltimore disc jockey at WTTG), and business manager Jack Kirby. Buddy Deane soon left ...

and was produced by

Fred Foster Fred Luther Foster (July 26, 1931 – February 20, 2019) was an American record producer, songwriter, and music business executive who founded Monument Records. As a record producer he was most closely associated with Roy Orbison, and was also ...

. The record was Seely's second studio album issued and contained two singles, including the major hit "

A Wanderin' Man "A Wanderin' Man" is a single by American country music artist Jeannie Seely. Released in November 1966, it was the first single issued from her second album on Monument, entitled ''Thanks, Hank!''. It was also Seely's third single to be written b ...

". The album contained songs written entirely by

Hank Cochran Garland Perry "Hank" Cochran (August 2, 1935 – July 15, 2010) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting during the 1960s, Cochran was a prolific songwriter in the genre, including major hits by Patsy Cline, Ray Price, Eddy ...

, a country songwriter, who was also Seely's husband at the time.

Background and content

''Thanks, Hank!'' was composed of songs written by songwriter Hank Cochran. It was Cochran who first brought Seely to the attention of the Monument label and helped her sign a recording contract. "I have recorded this album of what I consider, not only the best songs in the Cochran catalogue, but some of the best songs in our era," Seely wrote in 1967. The record consisted of 12 songs, many of which had previously been hit singles for other recording artists. The second track, "

A Little Bitty Tear "A Little Bitty Tear" is a song written by the American country songwriter Hank Cochran. It has been recorded by many musical acts, the first being American recording artist Burl Ives. It has since been recorded by others, including Wanda Jackson ...

", was first recorded by

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

. The twelfth track, "

Make the World Go Away "Make the World Go Away'" is a country pop song composed by Hank Cochran. It has become a Top 40 popular success three times: for Timi Yuro (1963), Eddy Arnold (1965), and the brother-sister duo Donny and Marie Osmond (1975). The original vers ...

", had been a major hit for both Ray Price and

Eddy Arnold Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the ''Billboard'' cou ...

. The project was produced by Foster himself at his own Fred Foster Sound Studio 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 ...

, in November 1966. Foster commented on Seely's vocal delivery in the liner notes of the album and praised the quality of songs written by Cochran. "Thanks Hank and thanks Jeannie. May the circle be unbroken," he said in 1967.

Release and reception

''Thanks, Hank!'' was released on May 8, 1967, in a

vinyl record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

format, containing six songs on each side of the record. In 1972, the album was reissued on the Monument label under the title ''Make the World Go Away''. The album was later released in a digital format in the 2010s. Upon its original release, ''Thanks, Hank!'' peaked at number 17 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. The project also included two singles. Its lead single, "

", became a major hit, peaking at number 13 on the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Singles 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. Its second single, "These Memories", was a minor hit, reaching number 42 on the same chart. The album was reviewed positively in later years. Greg Adams of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave the release four out of five stars. "The Pennsylvania-born Seely helped set the pattern for contemporary country artists since she looked like a model and had a very pop-oriented voice, but today she seems like Kitty Wells compared to some of the pure pop that has since passed for country," Adams commented.

Track listing

All songs were composed by

Original release

Digital release

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 ''Thanks! Hank''. *

–

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

* Ken Kim – photography *

– lead vocals * Tommy Spalding – engineering * Brent Warner – technician

Chart performance

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1967 albums Jeannie Seely albums Monument Records albums Albums produced by Fred Foster