''Nice 'n' Easy'' is a duet studio album by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artists Johnny Duncan and

Janie Fricke Jane Marie Fricke ( ; born December 19, 1947), known professionally as Janie Fricke, is an American country music singer, record producer, and clothing designer. She has placed seventeen Single (music), singles in the top ten of the US ''Billboa ...

. It was released in October 1980 via

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

and featured ten tracks. Five of these tracks were previously released and only credited to Duncan. Five of the remaining tracks were new recordings. It was the first and only collaborative album the pair would record together. It included one single, which was a cover of the

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

recording "

She's Out of My Life "She's Out of My Life" is a song written by American songwriter Tom Bahler and performed by American singer Michael Jackson. The song was released April 1, 1980 as the fourth single from Jackson's 1979 album '' Off the Wall''. In 2004, the son ...

Background and content

Both Johnny Duncan and Janie Fricke were signed to Columbia Records in the 1970s. Duncan found his biggest commercial success on the Columbia label with the help of producer

Billy Sherrill Billy Norris Sherrill (November 5, 1936 – August 4, 2015) was an American record producer, songwriter, and arranger associated with country artists, notably Tammy Wynette and George Jones. Sherrill and business partner Glenn Sutton are regar ...

who helped him craft a sound that produced the top ten songs " Thinkin' of a Rendezvous" and " It Couldn't Have Been Any Better". Fricke had been a background singer who was heard (uncredited) in the background of several Johnny Duncan songs. She received enough attention from these appearances that she signed her own Columbia contract in 1977. Through their own recordings together, Duncan and Fricke would come to record their only studio album as a duo called ''Nice 'n' Easy''. The album was recorded in sessions held at the Columbia Studio (located in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

) between 1975 and 1980. A total of ten tracks comprised ''Nice 'n' Easy''. Five of the songs had been recorded and released previously: "Come a Little Bit Closer", "Stranger", "Thinkin' of a Rendezvous", "It Couldn't Have Been Any Better" and "Atlanta Georgia Stray". Originally these songs (some issued as singles) were credited to Duncan only. For ''Nice 'n' Easy'', both artists received credit. These tracks were co-produced by

Larry Gatlin Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers are an American country music vocal group. The group consists of lead singer Larry Gatlin (born May 2, 1948) and his brothers, Rudy and Steve Gatlin. The group achieved considerable success within the country ...

and

. The five remaining tracks were new recordings, produced solely by Sherrill. The lead track was a cover of

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

's "

", which was retitled to "He's Out of My Life".

Release, reception and singles

''Nice 'n' Easy'' was released in October 1980 on the Columbia label. It was originally offered as a

vinyl LP The LP (from long playing or long play) is an analog sound storage medium, specifically 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 specificati ...

and a

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette (format) (or ''cassette tape''), a format that contains magnetic tape for audio, video, and data storage and playback * Compact Cassette, a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ...

. Both formats featured five selections on either side of the discs. The album received a positive response from ''

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 advertis ...

'' magazine, who named it among its "Recommended LP's" in November 1980: "The mood throughout is sweet and undynamic: lots of light-hearted orchestrations honeyed up by strings and background harmonies." The album included the duo's single "He's Out of My Life". The song was issued on Columbia in August 1980. The single spent 14 weeks on the American ''

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart, peaking at number 17 in September 1980. The track also reached Canada's ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' Country Songs chart where it also reached the top 20, peaking at number 20 in 1980.

Track listing

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 cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

of ''Nice 'n' Easy''. Technical personnel * Lou Bradley – engineer * Larry Gatlin – producer * Ron Reynolds – producer *

Norman Seeff Norman Seeff (born 5 March 1939) is a South African photographer and filmmaker. Since moving to the United States in 1969, his work has been focused on the exploration of human creativity and the inner dynamics of the creative process. Early l ...

– photography * Billy Sherrill – producer * Virginia Team – art direction

Release history

References

{{Janie Fricke 1980 albums Albums produced by Billy Sherrill Columbia Records albums Johnny Duncan (country singer) albums Janie Fricke albums