''Me and the First Lady'' is the second studio album by

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 An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...

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 ...

, released on August 7, 1972, on the

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

label.

Recording and composition

The duets found on the early albums that Jones and Wynette recorded together feature songs that almost always celebrate the joys of domestic bliss and true love, something producer

Billy Sherrill Billy Norris Sherrill (November 5, 1936 – August 4, 2015) was an American record producer, songwriter, and arranger associated with country artists, notably Tammy Wynette and George Jones. Sherrill and business partner Glenn Sutton are regar ...

did purposefully to reflect the assumptions of their captivated audience. A good example of this is "The Ceremony", a song Sherrill co-wrote; the song, which mimics a wedding service, begins with a minister's preamble over a church organ and contains verses where George and Tammy renew their vows and profess their love for each other. It became a highlight of their live shows, with Bob Allen wryly noting in his book ''George Jones: The Saga of an American Singer'': "When they sang "The Ceremony" onstage in places like

Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Iowa. The county seat of Woodbury County, Sioux City is the primar ...

and Peoria, they enacted for the benefit of their fans an elaborate wedding ritual which, in reality, was quite unlike the quickie civil ceremony with which they'd actually sealed their nuptial bond." In 1996 Jones admitted in his autobiography, "It sounds cheesy now, but it was a show-stopper for two people whose divorce was often the subject of tabloid speculation. People went crazy when we did 'The Ceremony' live." As if mirroring their doomed marriage, a couple of the songs on ''Me and the First Lady'' hint at the cracks that had already appeared in the relationship of country music's first couple: "A Lovely Place To Cry" (co-written by Wynette with Earl Montgomery) and "The Great Divide" both contemplate fading love and the possibility of divorce.

Reception

Jones biographer Bob Allen has a dim view of the album, comparing the "syrupy" songs to "two-and-a-half-minute-long musical Cliff's Notes to Harlequin novels."

Track listing

#"We Believe in Each Other" (

Curly Putman Claude "Curly" Putman Jr. (November 20, 1930 – October 30, 2016) was an American songwriter. Born in Princeton, Alabama, his greatest success was "Green, Green Grass of Home" (1964, sung by Porter Wagoner), which was covered by Roger Miller, E ...

) – 2:39 #"Lovely Place to Cry" (Tammy Wynette, Earl Montgomery) – 2:45 #"There's Power in Our Love" (Montgomery) – 2:11 #"Perfect Match" (

Glenn Sutton Royce Glenn Sutton (September 28, 1937 – April 17, 2007) was an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer, and one of the architects of the countrypolitan sound. Biography Sutton was born in Hodge, Louisiana, and grew up in C ...

Ben Peters Benjamin James Peters (June 20, 1933 – May 25, 2005) was an American country music songwriter who wrote many #1 songs. Charley Pride recorded 68 of his songs and 6 of them went to #1 on the American country charts. Peters was inducted into the N ...

) – 2:11 #"Great Divide" (Putman) – 2:40 #"To Live on Love" (Montgomery) – 2:57 #"You and Me Together" (Jimmy Peppers) – 1:52 #"Lovin' You Is Worth It" (Carmol Taylor,

Quinton Claunch Quinton Mavis Claunch (December 3, 1921 – April 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, record producer and record label owner, who was responsible with others for setting up Hi Records in the 1950s and Goldwax Records in the 1960s. ...

) – 2:28 #"We're Gonna Try to Get Along" (Peppers) – 2:08 #"It's Been a Beautiful Life" (Taylor, Billy Sherrill) – 2:27 #"The Ceremony" (Taylor, Sherrill, Jenny Strickland) – 3:06

Chart positions

In 1972, ''Me and the First Lady'' peaked at #6 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 ...

'' Top Country Albums chart.

References

External links

George Jones' Official WebsiteTammy Wynette's Official SiteRecord Label
{{Authority control 1972 albums George Jones albums Tammy Wynette albums Albums produced by Billy Sherrill Epic Records albums Vocal duet albums