''Special Delivery'' is a

studio 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-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

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

Dottie West Dottie West (born Dorothy Marie Marsh; October 11, 1932 – September 4, 1991) was an American country singer and songwriter. She also had several credits as an actress. A distinguished figure in the country genre, West was among several people ...

. It was released by both

Liberty Records Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Alvin Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous rev ...

and

United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1958 ...

in November 1979. The album was released following a successful commercial comeback in West's career. Its new

country pop Country pop (also known as urban cowboy or even urban country) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends g ...

production style was considered a departure from her previous recordings. The project consisted of ten tracks, six of which were composed by producers

Randy Goodrum Charles Randolph Goodrum (born July 7, 1947) is an American songwriter, pianist, and producer. Goodrum wrote number one songs in each of the four decades after his first number one hit, 1978's " You Needed Me". Goodrum's songs have appeared on ...

and

Brent Maher Brent Maher is a record producer, producer, audio engineer, engineer, and songwriter currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee. He has produced and engineered six Grammy Award-winning records and received awards from the Country Music Associati ...

. Three of the tracks were singles, including West's first solo chart-topper "

A Lesson in Leavin' "A Lesson in Leavin'", also titled as "Lesson in Leavin"', is a song written by Randy Goodrum and Brent Maher. It was originally recorded in 1979 by American country music singer, Dottie West, for her '' Special Delivery'' album. Following seve ...

". ''Special Delivery'' reached the top 20 of the US country chart and was among her longest-running albums on the country survey

Background

Dottie West first found country success in the 1960s, recording self-composed songs that were considered to be both "plaintive" and "heart-wrenching". After recording the 1973 single " Country Sunshine", West found crossover pop success. In 1976, she moved to

and had a top 20 single with " When It's Just You and Me". West's career was elevated higher with several chart-topping duet singles with

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (born Kenneth Donald Rogers) (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particul ...

. Her solo singles between 1977 and 1978 made lower chart positions. This prompted West to make changes in career, beginning with a management shift in the late 1970s. West then chose

and

to help change her musical production.

Recording and content

''Special Delivery'' was recorded at both the Creative Workshop and the Jack Clement Recording Studio. Both studios were located in Tennessee. The album was cut in sessions held between July and September 1979. Randy Goodrum and Brent Maher produced the majority of the project while Larry Butler was brought in to help with some of the production. The album was considered "a departure" from West's previous studio releases because it relied on pop production. The album's production was also said to embed the styles of

and country-soul. In an interview with ''

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 ...

'' magazine, West explained why the album's sound shifted: "Kenny ogersdraws very sophisticated and contemporary fans, and I had to change my style to fit with him. The album is finally reflecting these changes." ''Special Delivery'' consisted of ten tracks. Six of its songs were co-written by Goodrum and Maher. This included the disc's lead single "You Pick Me Up (And Put Me Down)". Also included was the song "All He Did Was Tell Me Lies", which was composed by

Kim Carnes Kim Carnes (; born July 20, 1945) is an American singer and songwriter born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles. A veteran writer of many of her own hits, as well as those for numerous other artists, she began her career in 1966 as ...

. Also featured was a cover of

Bob Seger Robert Clark Seger ( ; born May 6, 1945) is a retired American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded with the groups Bob Seger and the Last Heard and the Bob Seger System throu ...

's "

We've Got Tonite "We've Got Tonite" is a song written by American rock musician Bob Seger, from his album ''Stranger in Town (album), Stranger in Town'' (1978). The single record charted twice for Seger, and was developed from a prior song that he had written. F ...

" and

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

's " Hey Mr. Dream Maker".

Release, critical reception and legacy

''Special Delivery'' was released in November 1979 by both the Liberty and United Artists labels. It was distributed as both 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 ...

and a

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette (format) (or ''cassette tape''), a format that contains magnetic tape for audio, video, and data storage and playback * Compact Cassette, a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ...

. Five tracks were included on either side of the discs. It was the twenty eighth studio album of West's recording career. It was given a positive review by '' Cashbox'' magazine, who took notice of West's new pop approach. They also described it as a "very listenable album". ''Billboard'' magazine described the album as "splashy".

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 Tom Roland gave ''Special Delivery'' three out of five stars and commented, "With her career revitalized by the duets with Kenny Rogers, West takes a new tack. Her 'Country Sunshine' is replaced with country-funk and a touch of melancholy." Writers have since pointed to ''Special Delivery'' as being one of the country albums that signified a pop transition within the genre. In his book, ''Music of the 1980s'', Thomas Harrison pointed to ''Special Delivery'' as being "a significant example of how country had embraced its pop counterparts." David Cantwell of ''Rolling Stone'' later explained that the album showcased "the country-soul style of

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

’s early hits was absorbed into mainstream country vocalizing."

Chart performance and singles

''Special Delivery'' made its debut on the US

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 on December 22, 1979. It was West's fourth longest-running album on the country survey, spending a total of 30 weeks. On May 31, 1980, the album reached the number 13 position. It was West's highest-charting solo album since 1973's '' Country Sunshine''. ''Special Delivery'' spawned a total of three singles. Its lead single was "You Pick Me Up (And Put Me Down)", which was issued by United Artists in September 1979. It reached number 12 on the US

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 28 on the Canadian ''

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 Tracks chart. It was followed by "A Lesson in Leavin'", which United Artists issued in February 1980. The song became the first solo single in West's career to reach the number one spot, topping the US Hot Country Songs chart in April 1980. Yet, it only reached number 23 on the Canadian ''RPM'' country chart. The single was also West's third to make the US

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

, peaking at number 73. The third and final single was "Leavin's for Unbelievers", which United Artists issued in June 1980. It was also a top 20 US country single, peaking at number 13.

Track listing

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 ''Special Delivery''. Musical personnel *Pete Bordonali –

Mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

*Steve Chapman –

Banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

*Sonny Garrish –

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 ...

*Kenny Malone – Drums, percussion *Jon Goin – Guitar *Dennis Good – Trombone *Randy Goodrum –

Acoustic piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an action mechanism where hammers strike strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a chromatic scale in equal tempe ...

Wurlitzer electronic piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from 1954 to 1983. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptually similar to ...

Shane Keister Shane Keister is an American musician. He is known for his work as a studio musician, writer, arranger and producer. He plays synthesizer, piano, Hammond B3, Synclavier, Fairlight CMI, Fender Rhodes, and others. History Keister was born in Huntin ...

–

Fender Rhodes Piano The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes (inventor), Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, b ...

*Sheri Kramer – Background vocals *The Shelly Kurland Strings – Strings *Donna McElroy – Background vocals *George Tidwell – Trumpet *Dottie West – Lead vocals *Jack Williams – Bass, horn Technical personnel *Michael Brokaw – Management *Bill Burks – Cover *Randy Goodrum – Producer *Krager & Co. – Management *Brent Maher – Producer *Ken Perry – Mastering *Bergen White – String arrangements

Chart performance

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1979 albums Albums produced by Brent Maher Albums produced by Larry Butler (producer) Dottie West albums Liberty Records albums United Artists Records albums