''Honky Tonk Angels'' is a collaborative studio album by

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "Hey Loretta", "The Pill (song), The P ...

and

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music singer and songwriter, considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Lynn, Wynette helped bring a ...

. It was released on November 2, 1993, by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. The album was certified Gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

on January 5, 1994, for sales of 500,000 copies.

Background

The album had been a long-rumored project between the country singers for over a decade. It was mostly Parton's idea to bring together the women who made their musical breakthroughs in the '60s. These were also the women who changed the texture of the music by weaving strands of modern life into the traditional country patterns they grew up with and helped enlarge the audience for country music. Once Parton talked the others into doing the project–an easy argument, by all accounts–she asked Steve Buckingham to co-produce with her.

Content

The album features many country standards, including " It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" (which features a guest vocal appearance by the song's originator and the original country queen, Kitty Wells), " Wings of a Dove" (a 1960 hit for Ferlin Husky), " I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know" (a 1953 hit for the Davis Sisters), "Put It Off Until Tomorrow" (a 1966 Bill Phillips hit that was Parton's first success as a songwriter), " Lovesick Blues" (a country classic known for

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

' 1949 rendition; here the trio sings along with a vintage recording of the song by

Patsy Cline Patsy Cline (born Virginia Patterson Hensley; September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963) was an American singer. One of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century, she was known as one of the first country music artists to successfully Cross ...

), and "I Dreamed of a Hillbilly Heaven", Tex Ritter's 1962 classic that features new spoken dialogue written by Parton. The original songs by Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette are solo performances by each of them with harmony vocals by Parton and "Sittin' on the Front Porch Swing" is a Parton solo. The album features liner notes written by

Ralph Emery Walter Ralph Emery (March 10, 1933 – January 15, 2022) was an American country music disc jockey, radio and television host from McEwen, Tennessee. Emery promoted numerous stars on his radio and TV shows, and was called the Dick Clark (ent ...

Critical reception

The review published in the November 27, 1993, issue of ''

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 ...

'' said that the album is "a spirited collaboration that brings together three country music cornerstones and throws in a pinch of Patsy Cline and Kitty Wells for good measure." The review went on to say, "There are a few musically inspired moments here, notably Parton's "Sittin' on the Front Porch Swing" and Wynette's "That's the Way It Could Have Been". But, for the most part, this is more of a nostalgic look back than a celebration of present–day glories." Kelly McCartney of

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 ...

wrote that "for fans of traditional country or great singers, this is a fun listen because it nicely captures three of the best voices around."

Commercial performance

The album peaked at No. 6 on the US ''

'' Top Country Albums chart and No. 42 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart. In Canada, the album peaked at No. 6 on the ''

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 Albums chart and No. 44 on the ''RPM'' Albums chart. The only single, " Silver Threads and Golden Needles", was released in November 1993 and peaked at No. 68 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.

Accolades

The album and its single were nominated for several awards. The album was nominated for Album of the Year at the 1994 TNN Music City News Country Awards and " Silver Threads and Golden Needles" was nominated for Vocal Collaboration of the Year. "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" also received a nomination at the 37th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals and Vocal Event of the Year at the 28th Annual Country Music Association Awards. 37th Annual Grammy Awards , - , style="text-align:center;", 1995 , style="text-align:center;", " Silver Threads and Golden Needles" , Best Country Collaboration with Vocals , , - 28th Annual Country Music Association Awards , - , style="text-align:center;", 1994 , style="text-align:center;", "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" , Vocal Event of the Year , , - 1994 TNN Music City News Country Awards , - , rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;", 1994 , style="text-align:center;", ''Honky Tonk Angels'' , Album of the Year , , - , style="text-align:center;", "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" , Vocal Collaboration of the Year , , -

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes. * Eddie Bayers – drums * Harold Bradley – tic-tac ("Lovesick Blues") *

Owen Bradley William Owen Bradley (October 21, 1915 – January 7, 1998) was an American musician, bandleader and record producer who, along with Chet Atkins, Bob Ferguson, Bill Porter, and Don Law, was a chief architect of the 1950s and 60s Nashville sou ...

– producer ("Lovesick Blues") *Steve Buckingham – producer *

– guest vocals ("Lovesick Blues") *Don Cobb – editing *

Floyd Cramer Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American pianist who became famous for his use of melodic "whole-step" attacks. He was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His signatur ...

– piano ("Lovesick Blues") *Jimmy Day – steel ("Lovesick Blues") *Richard Dennison – backing vocals *

Hank Garland Walter Louis Garland (November 11, 1930 – December 27, 2004), known professionally as Hank Garland, was an American guitarist and songwriter. He started as a country musician, played rock and roll as it became popular in the 1950s, and release ...

– electric guitar ("Lovesick Blues") *Steve Gibson – guitar, tic-tac *Rob Hajacos – fiddle *Vicki Hampton – background vocals * Buddy Harman – drums ("Lovesick Blues") * Roy Huskey Jr. – upright bass *Bill Johnson – art direction, design *Beth Kindig – art assistance *Cari Landers – production assistant *Jason Lehning – assistant engineer *Loretta Lynn – lead vocals, harmony vocals * Grady Martin – electric guitar ("Lovesick Blues") * Bob Moore – upright bass ("Lovesick Blues") *Marshall Morgan – engineer *Farrell Morris – vibes * Weldon Myrick – steel *Louis Nunley – backing vocals *Jennifer O'Brien-Enoch – backing vocals, vocal coordinator *Gary Paczosa – engineer *Dolly Parton – lead vocals, harmony vocals, producer *Denny Purcell – mastering *Tom Robb – bass * Hargus "Pig" Robbins – piano *Billy Sanford – guitar *Alan Schulman – additional engineering *Toby Seay – additional engineering *Ed Simonton – assistant engineer *Adam Steffy – mandolin *Bruce Watkins – acoustic guitar *Cindy Reynolds Watt – harp *Rollow Welch – art direction, design * Kitty Wells – guest vocals ("It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels") *Bruce Wolfe – cover painting *

– lead vocals, harmony vocals *Note: "Lovesick Blues" was recorded by Patsy Cline on January 27, 1960, and produced by

. The musicians for this session are noted above.

Charts

Album Singles

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1993 collaborative albums Loretta Lynn albums Dolly Parton albums Tammy Wynette albums Albums produced by Steve Buckingham (record producer) Albums produced by Owen Bradley Columbia Records albums