''Dream Painter'' is a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

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

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 ...

, issued in July 1973 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 ...

. The album was released following Smith's departure from RCA Victor and contained previously-released material. Two new recordings were also featured, including 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 ...

. Released as a

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 ...

, the title track would reach the top 30 of American country songs chart. The album itself would chart the American country LP's chart in 1973.

Background, recording and content

Connie Smith reached the peak of her commercial career while recording for RCA Victor. Between 1964 and 1973, she would have 18 top ten country singles and release a series of popular albums. In 1973, Smith left RCA Victor and was signed by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. After Smith transitioned to Columbia, RCA Victor released several LP's that compiled some of Smith's most popular recordings, singles and album cuts. Among the RCA compilations released during this period was ''Dream Painter'' in 1973. The album contained ten tracks in total, eight of which were previously released. Among these previously-released songs was the track " Tiny Blue Transistor Radio", which originally appeared as

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 ...

to Smith's 1965 single "

Then and Only Then "Then and Only Then" is a song written by Bill Anderson and recorded by the American country artist, Connie Smith, on her Connie Smith album. It was produced by Bob Ferguson and released in January 1965, reaching the Top 5 on the ''Billboard'' co ...

". Two new recordings were also part of the ''Dream Painter'' track listing. The title track was one new recording, penned by

Dallas Frazier Dallas Frazier (October 27, 1939 – January 14, 2022) was an American country musician and songwriter who had success in the 1950s and 1960s. Life and career Frazier was born in Spiro, Oklahoma, on October 27, 1939, but was raised in Bakersfie ...

and Sanger D. Shafer. Frazier had been a close friend of Smith's and she had previously cut a series of songs penned by him. A second new recording was the

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

track, "All the Praises". In 1974, the song was nominated by the

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

for Best Inspirational Performance. The album's two new recordings were cut in sessions held in 1972. The eight previously-released tracks were recorded between 1964 and 1972 at RCA Victor Studios 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 ...

. All sessions were produced by Bob Ferguson.

Release and reception

''Dream Painter'' was released by the RCA Victor label in July 1973. It was distributed 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 ...

, containing five songs on either side of the record. The album debuted on the American ''

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 LP's chart on August 11, 1973. It spent seven weeks on the chart before peaking at the number 39 position on September 15, 1973. Following its release, ''Billboard'' magazine gave the disc a positive response when reviewing the album: "RCA has reached again into its files to get fine cuts by its departed (to Columbia) Connie Smith, and comes up with enough to make it a fine album." The title track was released as a single prior in June 1973. Later that year, the single reached number 23 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 and number 39 on 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 chart.

Track listing

Chart performance

Release history

References

Footnotes

Books

* * {{Connie Smith 1973 compilation albums Albums produced by Bob Ferguson (musician) Connie Smith compilation albums RCA Records compilation albums