''Me and the First Lady'' is the second studio album by
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, ...
artists
George Jones
George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song " He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...
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 ...
, released on August 7, 1972, on the
Epic Records label.
Recording and composition
The duets found on the early albums that Jones and Wynette recorded together feature songs that almost always celebrate the joys of domestic bliss and true love, something producer
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 ...
did purposefully to reflect the assumptions of their captivated audience. A good example of this is "The Ceremony", a song Sherrill co-wrote; the song, which mimics a wedding service, begins with a minister's preamble over a church organ and contains verses where George and Tammy renew their vows and profess their love for each other. It became a highlight of their live shows, with Bob Allen wryly noting in his book ''George Jones: The Saga of an American Singer'': "When they sang "The Ceremony" onstage in places like
Sioux City
Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County ...
and
Peoria, they enacted for the benefit of their fans an elaborate wedding ritual which, in reality, was quite unlike the quickie civil ceremony with which they'd actually sealed their nuptial bond."
In 1996 Jones admitted in his autobiography, "It sounds cheesy now, but it was a show-stopper for two people whose divorce was often the subject of tabloid speculation. People went crazy when we did 'The Ceremony' live."
As if mirroring their doomed marriage, a couple of the songs on ''Me and the First Lady'' hint at the cracks that had already appeared in the relationship of country music's first couple: "A Lovely Place To Cry" (co-written by Wynette with Earl Montgomery) and "The Great Divide" both contemplate fading love and the possibility of divorce.
Reception
Jones biographer Bob Allen has a dim view of the album, comparing the "syrupy" songs to "two-and-a-half-minute-long musical Cliff's Notes to Harlequin novels."
[
]
Track listing
#"We Believe in Each Other" (Curly Putman
Curly is a surname, given name, nickname or stage name. It may refer to:
First name, nickname or stage name
* Crazy Horse (1840–1877), Oglala Sioux war chief nicknamed "Curly"
* Curly (scout), nickname of Ashishishe (c. 1856–1923), Crow In ...
) – 2:39
#"Lovely Place to Cry" (Tammy Wynette, Earl Montgomery) – 2:45
#"There's Power in Our Love" (Montgomery) – 2:11
#"Perfect Match" (Glenn Sutton
Royce Glenn Sutton (September 28, 1937 – April 17, 2007) was an American country music songwriter, record producer, and one of the architects of the ''countrypolitan'' sound.
Biography
Sutton wrote or co-wrote many of Tammy Wynette's early h ...
, Ben Peters
Ben James Peters (born Greenville, Mississippi, June 20, 1933; died Nashville, Tennessee, May 25, 2005) was an American country music songwriter who wrote many #1 songs. Charley Pride recorded 68 of his songs and 6 of them went to #1 on the Americ ...
) – 2:11
#"Great Divide" (Putman) – 2:40
#"To Live on Love" (Montgomery) – 2:57
#"You and Me Together" (Jimmy Peppers) – 1:52
#"Lovin' You Is Worth It" (Carmol Taylor, Quinton Claunch
Quinton Mavis Claunch (December 3, 1921 – April 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, record producer and record label owner, who was responsible with others for setting up Hi Records in the 1950s and Goldwax Records in the 1960s.
B ...
) – 2:28
#"We're Gonna Try to Get Along" (Peppers) – 2:08
#"It's Been a Beautiful Life" (Taylor, Billy Sherrill) – 2:27
#"The Ceremony" (Taylor, Sherrill, Jenny Strickland) – 3:06
Chart positions
In 1972, ''Me and the First Lady'' peaked at #6 on the '' Billboard'' Top Country Albums chart.
References
External links
George Jones' Official WebsiteTammy Wynette's Official SiteRecord Label
{{Authority control
1972 albums
George Jones albums
Tammy Wynette albums
Albums produced by Billy Sherrill
Epic Records albums
Vocal duet albums