''Get to the Heart'' is the 16th solo 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 ...
artist
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 ...
. The album was released in August 1985 on
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group.
Pre-history
MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...
and was produced by Tom Collins. It was Mandrell's first solo studio release since 1984's '' Clean Cut'' (which was released just months prior to her car accident in September 1984), and spawned three singles between 1985 and 1986.
Background and content
''Get to the Heart'' was recorded in June 1985 in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
. Like her previous releases, the album consisted of 10 tracks. The songs were written from the perspective of the working class American citizen with a
Country pop
Country pop (also known as pop country or urban cowboy) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends genres ...
arrangement. The singles "Angel in Your Arms" and "Fast Lanes and Country Roads" specifically followed this format. The album's title track "When You Get to the Heart" was a duet with American country music group,
The Oak Ridge Boys
The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was chang ...
. The song was also the album's closing track. ''Get to the Heart'' was released on an LP album with five songs available on each side of the record. It has not since been reissued on a
compact disc
The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Oc ...
.
Release
''Get to the Heart'' spawned three singles between summer 1985 and winter 1986. The first single from the album was the track "Angel in Your Arms", which was released in July 1985. The single peaked at #8 on the ''
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 musi ...
RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
'' Country Tracks chart. "Fast Lanes and Country Roads" was the second single released in October 1985, peaking at #4 on the ''Billboard'' Country Singles chart and #2 on the Canadian Country Chart. The final single released was the title track that included
The Oak Ridge Boys
The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was chang ...
. The song reached #20 on ''Billboard''s Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and reached the Top 40 in Canada. ''Get to the Heart'' was released in August 1985 following the success of the lead single. The album peaked at #25 on the ''Billboard Magazine''
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 ...
chart shortly after its release.
Track listing
;Side one
#"
I'm a Believer
"I'm a Believer" is a song written by Neil Diamond and recorded by the Monkees in 1966 with the lead vocals by Micky Dolenz. The single, produced by Jeff Barry, hit the number-one spot on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for the week endi ...
Roger Murrah
Roger Alan Murrah (born November 20, 1946) is a songwriter and independent music publisher who has written hits for artists including Waylon Jennings, Alan Jackson, Al Jarreau, and Alabama.Mike Reid, Naomi Martin)
#"Don't Look in My Eyes" – 2:52 (Murrah, Frank J. Myers, Bobbi Duffy)
#" Angel in Your Arms" – 3:19 (Clayton Ivey, Terry Woodford, Tom Brasfield)
;Side two
#"For Your Love" – 3:23 ( Dennis Morgan,
Stephen Allen Davis
Stephen Allen Davis (October 4, 1949 – December 26, 2022) was an American singer-songwriter. Many of his songs are credited as "Steve Davis". He has written 18 number one songs for various artists, including the single "Stand Beside Me" for co ...
)
#"If They Grow Tired of My Music" – 3:50 ( R. C. Bannon)
#"You, Only You" – 3:36 (
Mack David
Mack David (July 5, 1912 – December 30, 1993) was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning the period between the early 1940s and the early 1970s. David was credited with writing ...
Norro Wilson
Norris Denton "Norro" Wilson (April 4, 1938 – June 8, 2017) was an American country music singer-songwriter, producer, and member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Wilson wrote or co-wrote numerous hit songs during more than 40 ye ...
,
Wayland Holyfield
Wayland D. Holyfield (born March 15, 1942) is a prominent American songwriter and leader in the songwriting community. His music has been regarded as a standard for “honest simplicity” in the Nashville writing community.
Personal life
Wayla ...
The Oak Ridge Boys
The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was chang ...