"Another Neon Night" is a song written by Carolyn Sue Howard and Joanne Spain that was originally recorded by American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

singer

Jean Shepard Ollie Imogene "Jean" Shepard (November 21, 1933 – September 25, 2016), was an American country singer who was considered one of the genre's first significant female artists. Her commercial success ran from the 1950s to the 1970s while also be ...

. It was released as the second

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from her studio album ''

I'm a Believer "I'm a Believer" is a song written by Neil Diamond and recorded by the American band 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 ...

'', reaching country chart positions in both the US and Canada. Describing a one-night-stand, the song has been described as being one of Shepard's best tracks and one of her favorite recordings as well.

Background

Jean Shepard signed with United Artists Records in 1973 after many years on

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

. Her first-label single, " Slippin' Away", returned her to the top ten of the country charts. At her new label and under new producer Larry Butler, she began experimenting with new song choices, including those that discussed sexuality. Among songs that discussed the latter theme was "Another Neon Night". Written by Carolyn Sue Howard and Joanne Spain, the song describes a one night stand and its main character is alluded to as possibly being a prostitute, according to ''

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''. Under Butler's production, "Another Neon Night" was recorded at the Jack Clement Studio (located in

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) in July 1975.

Release and chart performance

"Another Neon Night" was released as a single by United Artists Records in December 1975. It was distributed as a seven-inch vinyl single, featuring a cover of "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" on the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

. It reached the number 44 position on the US ''

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chart, becoming among her final charting US country singles. It also climbed into the top 40 on Canada's ''

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'' Country Tracks chart, peaking at number 31. It would be Shepard's final-charting single in Canada. It was the second single spawned from Shepard's 1975 album ''I'm a Believer''.

Reception

'' Cashbox'' magazine described the song's main character as a "girl of the night" and further commented, "it has a strong lyric and music content and predicted strong chart action." In 2016, ''Nashville Scene'' magazine called the track "one of the most powerful recordings Shepard ever made". In an interview, Shepard named the song among one of her controversial recordings but said it had "such a haunting melody and it told a good story". In her autobiography, Shepard named "Another Neon Night" among her favorite songs that she recorded in her career. "'Another Neon Night', that's a well-written song; it's a song with a lot of truth in it. I love a song that's well-written and put together".

Track listings

;7" vinyl single * "Another Neon Night" – 3:03 * " (Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" – 2:59

Charts

References

{{Jean Shepard 1975 singles 1975 songs Jean Shepard songs Song recordings produced by Larry Butler (producer) United Artists Records singles