__NOTOC__ ''I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am'' is a 1969

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 ...

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

arranged by

Glen Hardin Glen Dee Hardin (born April 18, 1939) is an American piano player and arranger. He has performed and recorded with such artists as Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, Emmylou Harris, John Denver, and Ricky Nelson. Career Hardin was born in Wellington, ...

and

Jimmie Haskell Jimmie Haskell (born Sheridan Pearlman, November 7, 1926 – February 4, 2016) was an American composer and arranger for motion pictures and a wide variety of popular artists, including Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Steely Da ...

. Martin recorded very little in 1969, only devoting two three-hour sessions in the Spring to record this album. ''I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am'' peaked at 90 on the ''Billboard'' 200.

Reception

William Ruhlmann on Allmusic.com gave the album two and a half stars out of five. He described the style as "Hollywood-style country-pop" and likened the title track to

Roger Miller Roger Dean Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping Country music, country and pop hits "King of the Road (song), Ki ...

's " King of the Road," a previous recording of Martin's. The use of similar songs to his previous album, ''

Gentle on My Mind "Gentle on My Mind" is a song that was written and originally recorded by John Hartford, and released on his second studio album, '' Earthwords & Music'' (1967). Hartford composed the song after watching ''Doctor Zhivago'' in 1966, as he was i ...

'', led Ruhlmann to accuse producer Jimmy Bowen of "just trying to repeat previous successes" with the result "a bit tired...No wonder Martin was taking more interest in his golf game than in his recording activities".

Track listing

# "

I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am "I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am" is a song written and performed by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in October 1968 as the only single from his album '' Pride in What I Am''. The song peaked a ...

" ( Merle Haggard) – 3:17 # "Make It Rain" (

Billy Mize William Robert Mize (April 29, 1929 – October 29, 2017) was an American steel guitarist, band leader, vocalist, songwriter, and TV show host. Biography Mize was born in Arkansas City, Kansas, United States, but raised in the San Joaquin Valley ...

) – 3:29 # "Where the Blue and Lonely Go" (Marco Verissimo, Bill Silva, Chuck Sagle,

Harry Warren Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ...

) – 3:03 # "If You Ever Get Around to Loving Me" ( Baker Knight) – 3:03 # "Do You Believe This Town" (Charlie Williams, Joe Nixon) – 2:33 # "One Cup of Happiness (And One Peace of Mind)" (Baker Knight) – 2:44 # "The Sun Is Shinin' (On Everybody But Me)" (Chuck Deal, Don Deal) – 2:38 # "The Sneaky Little Side of Me" (Baker Knight) – 2:45 # " Crying Time" ( Buck Owens) – 3:18 # " Little Green Apples" (

Bobby Russell Bobby Russell (April 19, 1940 – November 19, 1992) was an American singer and songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, he had five singles on the Hot Country Songs charts, including the crossover pop hit "Saturday Morning Confusion". Russell w ...

) – 4:32

Personnel

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

–

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

* Ed Thrasher – art direction, photography * Jimmy Bowen –

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 ...

References

{{Authority control 1969 albums Dean Martin albums Albums arranged by Jimmie Haskell Albums produced by Jimmy Bowen Reprise Records albums