''The Pressure Is On'' is the thirty-third studio album by American musician
Hank Williams Jr.
Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of southern rock, blues, and country. He is the son of ...
It was released by
Elektra/
Curb Records
Curb Records (also known as Asylum-Curb and formerly known as MCG Curb) is an American record label started by Mike Curb, originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963. From 1969 to 1973, Curb merged with MGM Records where Curb served as President of ...
in August 1981 and was Williams' seventh studio album on the Elektra/Curb label.
Critical and commercial success
''The Pressure Is On'' was Williams' fifth consecutive Top 10 album for Curb, peaking at number 5 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. Two songs, "
All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)
"All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Hank Williams Jr. It was released in September 1981 as the first single from the album ''The Pressure Is On''. The song was Williams Jr.'s ...
" and "
A Country Boy Can Survive
"A Country Boy Can Survive" is a song written and recorded by American musician Hank Williams Jr. The song was released as a single in January 1982 and reached a peak of number 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart in March 1982. It is ...
" were released as singles, with "All My Rowdy Friends" peaking at Number One on the ''Billboard''
Hot Country Songs & Tracks chart, giving Williams his fifth career Number One single, while "A Country Boy Can Survive" peaked at number 2. They have become signature songs for Williams and remain among the most popular of his career. The album and singles were well received by critics, earning Williams an
Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country music ...
nomination for
Top Male Vocalist. It was also a major commercial success for Williams and was certified Platinum by the
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
, making it Williams' fourth album to be certified Gold and his second to be certified Platinum.
RIAA - Gold & Platinum
/ref>
Track listing
Personnel
*Acoustic Guitar: Kenny Bell, Bobby Thompson, Paul Worley
Paul Worley (born February 16, 1950 in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American record producer and session guitarist, known primarily for his work in country music. Formerly a vice president at Sony BMG, he later joined the staff of Warner Bros. Rec ...
*Electric Guitar: Reggie Young
Reggie Grimes Young Jr. (December 12, 1936 – January 17, 2019) was an American musician who was lead guitarist in the American Sound Studio house band, The Memphis Boys, and was a leading session musician. He played on various recordings with ...
, Billy Joe Walker Jr.
Billy Joe Walker Jr. (February 29, 1952 – July 25, 2017) was an American songwriter, record producer and recording artist. He composed singles for Eddie Rabbitt, including " I Wanna Dance with You", " That's Why I Fell in Love with You" and " ...
*Drums: James Stroud
James Stroud is an American musician and record producer who works in pop, rock, R&B, soul, disco, and country music. He played with the Malaco Rhythm Section for Malaco Records. In the 1990s, he was the president of Giant Records (a subsidiar ...
*Steel Guitar: "Cowboy" Eddie Long, Sonny Garrish
*Bass Guitar: Joe Osborn
Joseph Osborn (August 28, 1937 – December 14, 2018[Larry Knechtel
Lawrence William Knechtel (August 4, 1940 – August 20, 2009) was an American keyboard player and bassist who was a member of the Wrecking Crew, a collection of Los Angeles-based session musicians who worked with such renowned artists as Simon ...](_blank)
, Hargus "Pig" Robbins
Hargus Melvin Robbins (January 18, 1938 – January 30, 2022), known by his nickname "Pig," was an American session keyboard player. Having played on records for many artists, including John Stewart, Dolly Parton, Connie Smith, Patti Page, Lore ...
*Organ: Mike Lawler
*Synthesizer: Tony Migliore
*Mandolin: Vernon Derrick, Kieran Kane
Kieran Kane (born October 7, 1949) is an American country music artist, as well as the owner of Dead Reckoning Records, an independent record label. Between 1986 and 1990, he and Jamie O'Hara comprised The O'Kanes, a duo which charted seven si ...
*Fiddle: Lisa Silver, Vernon Derrick
*Viola: Buddy Spicher
Buddy Spicher (born July 28, 1938 in DuBois, Pennsylvania; pronounced “Spiker”) is an American country music fiddle player. He is a member of The Nashville A-Team of session musicians, and is Grammy-nominated. He was nominated as Instrumental ...
*Dobro: Mike Auldridge
Mike Auldridge (December 30, 1938 – December 29, 2012) was an American Dobro player and a founding member of the bluegrass group The Seldom Scene. The ''New York Times'' described Auldridge as "one of the most distinctive dobro players in the ...
, Hank Williams, Jr.
*Horns: Irve Kane (trombone), Terry Mead (trumpet), Jerry Vinett (clarinet)
*Banjo: Bobby Thompson
*Train Whistle: Boxcar Willie
Lecil Travis Martin (September 1, 1931 – April 12, 1999), whose stage name was Boxcar Willie, was an American country music singer-songwriter, who sang in the "old-time hobo" music style, complete with dirty face, overalls, and a floppy hat. ...
*Harmonica: Terry McMillan
Terry McMillan (born October 18, 1951) is an American novelist. Her work centers around the experiences of Black women in the United States.
Early life
McMillan was born in Port Huron, Michigan. She received a B.A. in journalism in 1977 from ...
*Sitar: Reggie Young
*Lead Vocals: Hank Williams Jr.
*Guest Duck: Mack Vickery
Mack Vickery (June 8, 1938 – December 21, 2004), also known as Atlanta James and Vick Vickers, was an American musician, songwriter, and inductee in the Hillbilly Hall of Fame and Alabama Music Hall of Fame. His songs have been recorded by ...
Production
*Produced by Jimmy Bowen
*Recorded at Sounds Stage Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
*Engineered by Ron Treat, Jimmy Bowen and Steve Tillisch
*Mastered at Masterfonics by Glenn Meadows
*Album Art Direction: Ron Caro and Norm Ung
*Album Design by Norm Ung
*Album Photography by Ron Slenzak
Chart performance
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Singles
References
″https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=hank+williams#search_section″
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pressure Is On
1981 albums
Hank Williams Jr. albums
Elektra Records albums
Curb Records albums
Albums produced by Jimmy Bowen