''Connie Smith'' is the debut 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 ...

artist

Connie Smith Connie Smith (born Constance June Meador; August 14, 1941) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Her contralto vocals have been described by music writers as significant and influential to the women of country music. A similarity ...

. It was released in March 1965 by

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

and was produced by Bob Ferguson. The album included Smith's debut single, "

Once a Day "Once a Day" is a song written by Bill Anderson and recorded as the debut single by American country artist Connie Smith. It was produced by Bob Ferguson for her self-titled debut album. The song was released in August 1964, topping the ''Bill ...

". The song became her signature recording and biggest hit, reaching number one on the ''Billboard'' country songs chart. The album would also reach the top spot of the Top Country Albums chart in 1965, spending multiple weeks at the top of the chart.

Background and content

Connie Smith rose to country music stardom with the 1964 song "

". Penned by

Bill Anderson James William Anderson III (born November 1, 1937) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and television host. His soft-spoken singing voice earned him the nickname "Whispering Bill" from music critics and writers. As a songwriter, hi ...

, the disc topped the country chart and prompted her record label to release her debut studio album. The album was recorded at

RCA Studio B RCA Studio B was a music recording studio in Nashville, Tennessee, established in 1957 by Steve Sholes and Chet Atkins for RCA Victor. Originally known simply as the RCA Victor Studio, in 1965 the studio was designated as Studio B after RCA Vic ...

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 ...

. Sessions were held between July and November 1964. The production for the album was performed by Bob Ferguson. It featured the background vocalists, The Anita Kerr Singers. Six of the songs on the album were written by singer-songwriter,

, including "Once a Day" and "Then and Only Then." Also included was Smith's cover of

Charlie Louvin Charles Elzer Loudermilk (July 7, 1927 – January 26, 2011), known professionally as Charlie Louvin, was an American country music singer and songwriter. He is best known as one of the Louvin Brothers, and was a member of the Grand Ole Opry ...

's " I Don't Love You Anymore". Additionally, singer and songwriter

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

composed the album's track, "Darling, Are You Ever Coming Home".

Release and reception

Smith's eponymous album was released in March 1965 on RCA Victor Records. It was the debut album in her career. It was issued 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 ...

album, with six tracks on each side of the record. ''Connie Smith'' peaked at number one on the

Top Country Albums Top Country Albums is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The 50-position chart lists the most popular country music albums in the country, calculated weekly by Broadcast Data Systems based on physical sales ...

chart, spending 7 weeks on top of the albums chart, and 30 weeks overall. "Once a Day" was released in August 1964, and peaked at number one on November 28, spending eight weeks at the top spot. "Then and Only Then" was released as the follow-up single in early 1965, peaking within the Top 5 on the country charts. In addition, both songs also placed in the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

. A digital version of the original album was released in later years by

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

. The album was reviewed by

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

and received five out of five stars. Reviewer, Dan Cooper called Smith's voice to be, "blowing through the Nashville Sound production like a down-home Streisand fronting The Lennon Sisters." Slipcue.com reviewed the album and gave it a positive review, calling the sound, "Nashville Girl Group at its best." The songs "Once a Day," "Tiny Blue Transistor Radio," and "I Don't Love You Anymore" as "classic examples of the style." The website later concluded by stating, "Them folks at the label could make a lot of people really happy if they just reissued this album whole, as is, and let us hear what Smith sounded like coming out the gate. A doozy."

Track listings

Original version

All tracks written by

, except where noted.

Digital version

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 ''Connie Smith''. Musical personnel *

Harold Bradley Harold Bradley may refer to: Others * Harold Bradley (guitarist) (1926–2019), American country and pop guitarist * Harold Bradley (pianist) (1906–1984), Canadian pianist * Harold Bradley (trade unionist) (1895–1979), British trade union leade ...

–

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

Floyd Chance Floyd Taylor Chance (December 21, 1925 – April 11, 2005), often credited as Lightnin' Chance, was an American session musician who played bass on many successful country and pop records, especially in the 1950s and 1960s. His bass playing can ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

* Dorothy Dillard –

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

Ray Edenton Ray Quarles Edenton (November 3, 1926 – September 21, 2022) was an American guitarist and country music session musician. Early life Ray Edenton was born into a musical family on November 3, 1926, and grew up near Mineral, Virginia. His fi ...

– guitar * Dolores Edgin – background vocals * Karl Garvin – background vocals * Priscilla Hubbard – background vocals *

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 ...

– guitar *

Anita Kerr Anita Jean Kerr (''née'' Grilli; October 13, 1927 – October 10, 2022) was an American singer, arranger, composer, conductor, pianist, and music producer. She recorded and performed with her vocal harmony groups in Nashville, Los Angeles, and ...

– background vocals * Jimmy Lance – guitar * Leonard Miller –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

Weldon Myrick Weldon Myrick (born Weldon Merle Myrick; April 10, 1938 – June 2, 2014) was an American steel guitar player.steel guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...

* Louis Nunley – background vocals * Harold Ragsdale – background vocals *

Hargus "Pig" Robbins Hargus Melvin Robbins (January 18, 1938 – January 30, 2022), known by his nickname "Pig", was an American session keyboard player. He played on records for many artists, including Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Connie Smith, Patti Page, Loretta Ly ...

–

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

*Connie Smith - lead vocals, harmony vocals * William Wright – background vocals

Chart performance

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1965 debut albums Connie Smith albums Albums produced by Bob Ferguson (musician) RCA Victor albums