''Would You Take Another Chance on Me?'' is an album by

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis ma ...

that was released on

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...

in 1971.

Recording

Lewis's fourth Mercury album of 1971 includes his radical arrangement of the

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are " Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", " Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and " Help Me Make It Through the ...

classic "

Me and Bobby McGee "Me and Bobby McGee" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson and originally performed by Roger Miller. Fred Foster shares the writing credit, as Kristofferson wrote the song based on a suggestion from Foster. A posthu ...

". Although producer

Jerry Kennedy Jerry Glenn Kennedy (born 10 August 1940)Cusic, Don. (1998) "Jerry Kennedy". In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. Paul Kingsbury, ed. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 277–278. is an American record producer, songwriter and guitar pla ...

avoided releasing singles in the country market that featured Jerry Lee's trademark "

boogie woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communities since 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually extended from pi ...

" piano style, by late 1971 Lewis had amassed so many country hits that Kennedy began to alter his approach. As

Colin Escott Colin Escott (born August 31, 1949) is a British music historian and author specializing in early U.S. rock and roll and country music. His works include a biography of Hank Williams, histories of Sun Records and The Grand Ole Opry, liner note ...

writes in 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 desc ...

to the 2006 retrospective ''A Half Century of Hits'', "Since the country breakthrough in 1968, Lewis's records had been spare, unornamented and unremittingly slow-paced. After three years Kennedy decided to break out of the artistic straitjacket. When Lewis arrived at Mercury's studio in August 1971 he was greeted by a 10-piece string section rehearsing a Kris Kristofferson song. Kennedy wanted to give the big-budget treatment to 'Me and Bobby McGee'. The song had been a country hit for Roger Miller and a pop hit for Janis Joplin, and so if Lewis was to do it, he would have to rethink it. And that's what he did. In losing Kristofferson's whimsicality, he created a new song." In addition to Kristofferson,

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled a ...

had been another writer Lewis kept returning to during his impressive run, this time recording the honky-tonk "drinkin' song" " Swinging Doors". ''Would You Take Another Chance on Me?'' does betray a "countrypolitan" influence, containing more elaborate productions that were becoming more common on country radio largely due to the influence of

Billy Sherrill Billy Norris Sherrill (November 5, 1936 – August 4, 2015) was an American record producer, songwriter, and arranger best known for his association with country artists, notably Tammy Wynette and George Jones. Sherrill and business partner Gl ...

, who was enjoying tremendous success at Epic Records producing Lewis's old Sun label-mate Charlie Rich 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 ...

by employing strings and layered background vocalists to create a

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

-like "

wall of sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session ...

". As Lewis's behaviour became more erratic as the decade wore on, Kennedy would do his best to keep his artist relevant in the country charts by turning more towards this sweetened sound.

Reception

The album's title track became Lewis's second number one country hit of 1971, and "Me and Bobby McGee" would crack the top 40 on the pop charts, the first time he had done so since 1961. The album itself peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' country albums chart.

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 databa ...

states that the collection "is slowed by layers of backing vocals, gauzy accouterments that turn this into an album approximating romance..."

Track listing

Personnel

*Jerry Lee Lewis - vocals, piano *Chip Young,

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 ...

, Ray Edenton - guitar *

Pete Drake Roddis Franklin "Pete" Drake (October 8, 1932 – July 29, 1988), was a Nashville-based American record producer and pedal steel guitar player. One of the most sought-after backup musicians of the 1960s, Drake played on such hits as Lynn Anderson' ...

- steel guitar *

Kenny Lovelace Kenneth Lovelace (born August 18, 1936) is an American guitarist and singer best known for his former tenure with Jerry Lee Lewis. Life Lovelace was born in Cloverdale, Alabama. He grew up in a small village 12 miles from Florence, where his fam ...

- fiddle *

Bob Moore Bob Loyce Moore (November 30, 1932 – September 22, 2021) was an American session musician, orchestra leader, and double bassist who was a member of the Nashville A-Team during the 1950s and 1960s. He performed on over 17,000 documented recor ...

- bass *Bill Strom - organ *

Buddy Harman Murrey Mizell "Buddy" Harman, Jr. (December 23, 1928 – August 21, 2008) was an American country music session musician. Career Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Harman played drums on over 18,000 sessions for artists such as Elvis Presley, Jerry ...

- drums *The Nashville Edition - vocal accompaniment; Cam Mullins - arrangements on "Would You Take Another Chance on Me", "Me and Bobby McGee" and "For the Good Times" *The Nashville Sounds - vocal accompaniment

External links

* {{Authority control 1971 albums Jerry Lee Lewis albums Albums produced by Jerry Kennedy Mercury Records albums