''The Midnight Oil'' is the second solo 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, ...

singer

Barbara Mandrell Barbara Ann Mandrell (born December 25, 1948) is an American country music singer and musician. She is also credited as an actress and author. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was considered among country's most successful music artist ...

, released in 1973. Mandrell had not released a solo studio album since 1971. It was her most successful album while under her Columbia label. This album brought Mandrell into more controversial territory, especially with the title track, "The Midnight Oil" which discussed a woman cheating on her husband. The album spawned five Top 40 Country hits, "Tonight My Baby's Coming Home" (#10), "Show Me" (#11), "Holdin' On (To the Love I Got)" (#27), "Give a Little, Take a Little" (#24), and the title track (#7). This album brought Mandrell's first pair of solo Top 10 hits on the

Hot Country Singles & Tracks 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. The album consisted of 11 tracks, some of which were cover versions, including

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature int ...

's "Jamestown Ferry",

Martha Carson Martha Carson (March 19, 1921 – December 16, 2004), born Irene Amburgey, was an American gospel-country music singer most popular during the 1950s. Biography Early life and rise to fame Amburgey was born in Neon, Kentucky (since absorbed int ...

's "Satisfied" and the

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", ...

and

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Ly ...

hit, "We're Gonna Hold On". The album peaked at #8 on the Top Country Albums chart in 1974.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Midnight Oil, The 1973 albums Barbara Mandrell albums Albums produced by Billy Sherrill Columbia Records albums