''Dottie West Sings Sacred Ballads'' 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 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, ...

artist

Dottie West Dorothy Marie Marsh West (October 11, 1932 – September 4, 1991) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with her friends and fellow recording artists Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, she is considered one of the genre's most in ...

. It was released in July 1967 on RCA Victor Records and was produced by Chet Atkins. The album was West's sixth studio effort and only

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

collection to be released during her career. The album did not spawn any singles nor did it reach positions on any national publication charts.

Background, content and reception

''Dottie West Sings Sacred Ballads'' was produced by Chet Atkins in February 1967 at the RCA Victor 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 ...

. It was West's sixth studio album recorded with Atkins and her sixth album overall. It was also her first album of gospel music to be released in her career. The album's liner notes were written by West's mother in law. On the project, her husband is featured playing

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

. The album contained a total of 12 tracks. All of the tracks were cover versions of well known gospel and inspirational songs. Included were renditions of " How Great Thou Art", " His Eye Is on the Sparrow", "

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

" and " You'll Never Walk Alone". The album was released in July 1967, becoming her third studio recording issued that year. The album was first offered 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 ...

, with six songs on each side of the record. It was later reissued tot digital retailers in the 2010s. The album's release was first announced in a July 1967 issue of ''

Billboard magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

''. It did not produce any singles at the time of its release nor did it appear on any ''Billboard'' album publications. The album was nominated at the

10th Annual Grammy Awards The 10th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 29, 1968, at Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville and New York. They recognized accomplishments of musicians for the year 1967. Award winners *Record of the Year **Johnny Rivers & Marc Gordon (produc ...

for Best Sacred Recording, becoming her seventh award nomination from the Grammy's. The album would later receive 4.5 out of 5 stars from

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 ...

Track listing

Original 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 ''Dottie West Sings Sacred Ballads''. Musical personnel *

Harold Bradley Harold Ray Bradley (January 2, 1926 – January 31, 2019) was an American guitarist and entrepreneur, who played on many country, rock and pop recordings and produced numerous TV variety shows and movie soundtracks. Having started as a session ...

–

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 ...

* Jerry Carrigan –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Floyd Cramer Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American pianist who became famous for his use of melodic "half step" attacks. He was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His signature ...

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

Ray Edenton Ray Quarles Edenton (November 3, 1926 – September 21, 2022) was an American guitar player and country music session musician. Early life Ray Edenton was born into a musical family on November 3, 1926, and grew up near Mineral, Virginia. His f ...

– guitar * Buddy Harman – drums * Roy Huskey –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* The Jordanaires – background vocals * Grady Martin – guitar * The Nashville A Strings – strings * Hargus "Pig" Robbins – piano *

Henry Strzelecki Henry Pershing Strzelecki (August 8, 1939 – December 30, 2014) was a Nashville studio musician who performed with Roy Orbison, Chet Atkins, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Eddy Arnold, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Ronnie Milsap, Merle Haggard, and man ...

– bass * Bill West –

* Dottie West – lead vocals Technical personnel * Chet Atkins – producer *

Jim Malloy James Malloy (May 23, 1932 – May 18, 1972), was an American racecar driver. Born in Columbus, Nebraska, Malloy's family moved to Englewood, Colorado, where he attended grade school and high school. Malloy lettered in football and baseba ...

– engineering

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1967 albums Albums produced by Chet Atkins Christian music albums by American artists Dottie West albums RCA Records albums