"Cryin' Game" is a song written by Jamie O'Hara. It 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, ...

artist

Sara Evans Sara Lynn Evans (; born February 5, 1971) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is also credited as a record producer, actress, and author. She had five songs reach the number one spot on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboar ...

and released as the lead

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

off her second studio album, ''

No Place That Far ''No Place That Far'' is the second studio album by American country music artist Sara Evans. It was released in October 1998 via RCA Records Nashville. The album's first single, "Cryin' Game", peaked at number 56 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot C ...

.'' The song became a minor hit on the ''

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 ...

'' country chart in 1998. "Cryin' Game" received positive reviews from critics and writers alike.

Background

"Cryin' Game" was composed by Jamie O'Hara. Previously O'Hara had written Evans's single " Shame About That," which was released in 1997. In reviewing her second studio album,

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 ...

's Thom Jurek described "Cryin' Game" as an upbeat track that displayed a "country pub rock shuffle." The song was recorded in March 1998 at Emerald Sound Studios, which was 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 ...

. The song's eventual B-side, "Wait a Minute," was also cut during the same recording session. The sessions were co-produced by

Buddy Cannon Buddy Cannon (born April 20, 1947 in Lexington, Tennessee) is an American country music songwriter and record producer active since the 1970s best known for his work with Kenny Chesney and Willie Nelson. Career Cannon began working in Nashvill ...

and

Norro Wilson Norris Denton "Norro" Wilson (April 4, 1938 – June 8, 2017) was an American country music singer-songwriter, producer, and member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Wilson wrote or co-wrote numerous hit songs during more than 40 yea ...

. It was Evans's first experience recording at the studio and her first session with both producers. Cannon and Wilson would also co-produce her 1998 studio album.

Critical reception

Upon its release, "Cryin' Game" received a positive response from writers and critics. In July 1998, ''

'' reviewed the single, praising its traditional production and Evans's vocal stylings. Reviewers also noted that the song was "strong" lyrically and may lead to Evans reaching commercial success: "The song is strong. Her performance is stunning. Here's hoping this is the one." Allmusic's Thom Jurek also praised the song when reviewing Evans's second album. Jurek compared its sound and style to that of early work by

Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Cash. Although Cash is often classified as a country artist, her music draws f ...

. He also made comparisons to the songwriting of

Hank DeVito Henry M. "Hank" DeVito is an American musician and photographer known primarily for his pedal steel guitar work and songwriting. Biography After high school, DeVito attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He studied graphic arts and ...

in his commentary: "It was a place where Evans' voice was left pretty much untreated and allowed to display its natural range and emotional depth."

Release and chart performance

"Cryin' Game" was released as a single to country radio on June 23, 1998 via

RCA Nashville RCA Nashville is an American country music record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is distributed by Sony Music Nashville which is part of Sony Music. Artists Current artists *Kane Brown * Corey Kent * Nate Smith * Morgan Wade Former art ...

. It Evans's fourth single release in her career. It was issued as both a

CD single A CD single is a single (music), music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the ''CD single'' standard (as defined in the Rainbow Books, Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (''CD3''); later on the term referred to any si ...

and a

vinyl single Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

. It included a

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 ...

, "Wait a Minute." The song spent ten weeks on the ''Billboard''

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 in the summer of 1998. In August, it reached a peak of 56. The single became Evans's fourth charting song on the ''Billboard'' country chart. The single also was her first to reach the Canada ''

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, peaking at number 82. "Cryin' Game" was later released on Evans's second studio album, ''

.'' Despite only being a minor country hit, Evans would go on to have a series of major hits following "Cryin' Game." The

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-t ...

off of ''No Place That Far'' would reach number one on the country charts in 1998. Evans would then continue having major hits through the next decade, including four more number one singles.

Track listing

CD single, 7" vinyl single * "Cryin' Game" – 2:53 * "Wait a Minute" – 2:43

Charts

References

{{authority control 1998 singles 1998 songs RCA Records singles Sara Evans songs Song recordings produced by Buddy Cannon Song recordings produced by Norro Wilson Songs written by Jamie O'Hara (singer)