''Thanks, Hank!'' is a studio album 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

Jeannie Seely Marilyn Jeanne Seely (born July 6, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and author. Primarily identified with country music, Seely found success with the Grammy Award-winning song " Don't Touch Me" (1966). Her soul-ins ...

. It was released in May 1967, by

Monument Records Monument Records is an American record label co-founded in 1958 by Fred Foster. Originally founded in Washington, D.C., the label moved to Nashville in 1960, and experienced success over the next two decades with a number of artists including ...

and was produced by Fred Foster. The album contained songs written entirely by songwriter

Hank Cochran Garland Perry "Hank" Cochran (August 2, 1935 – July 15, 2010) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting during the 1960s, Cochran was a prolific songwriter in the genre, including major hits by Patsy Cline, Ray Price, Eddy ...

, some of which were cover tunes while others were new tracks. Among the new tracks were two singles: the top 20 country song "

A Wanderin' Man "A Wanderin' Man" is a song written by Hank Cochran that was originally recorded by American Country music, country artist Jeannie Seely. Released as a Single (music), single by Monument Records, it reached the top 20 of the US country songs chart ...

" and the charting song "These Memories". The LP also made the top 20 of the US country chart. The album received reviews from

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 ...

, ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' and ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' following its release.

Background

Jeannie Seely met songwriter

and he helped launch her country music career. Upon moving to

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 ...

, she signed to

and Cochran wrote her first-label single in 1966, " Don't Touch Me". The song became Seely's breakthrough and Cochran would go on to write a series of songs that Seely would record. Her second studio album was titled ''Thanks, Hank!'' as a "salute" to Cochran for writing songs for and for helping to start her professional career.

Recording and content

''Thanks, Hank!'' was recorded under the production of Fred Foster at the Fred Foster Sound Studio, located in Nashville. The projected consisted of 12 tracks that were all solely-written by Cochran. Several of the songs had already been recorded by other country artists, such as two tracks by

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American Folk music, folk singer and actor with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his o ...

: " A Little Bitty Tear" and " Funny Way of Laughin'". Also included was a cover of

Eddy Arnold Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer. He was a Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the ''Billboard'' country music charts, second onl ...

's " Make the World Go Away" and " I Want to Go with You". Arnold also wrote a paragraph in the project's

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 ...

thanking Cochran. Ives did the same for Cochran. Seely herself spoke in the liner notes about Cochran and how his songs were among "the best of our era". The album also included "A Wanderin' Man", which was a new recording.

Release and critical reception

''Thanks, Hank!'' was released by Monument Records in May 1967. The label issued it as a vinyl LP, offered in both mono and stereo versions. Six tracks were included on either side of the LP. It was Seely's second studio album in her career. Budget company Harmony Records later re-released the album under the title ''Make the World Go Away'' in 1972 and only nine tracks were included. ''

'' magazine called the album a "spirited tribute" to Cochran's writing and further commented, "Jeannie Seely’s new LP should win the enthusiasm of numerous country listeners." ''

'' commented that "Cochran has written some of the best country songs" and gave the LP four stars in their review.

's Greg Adams gave it three out of five stars, writing, finding that "Side two bogs down a little with ballads, but closes with the ever-popular 'Make the World Go Away'."

Chart performance and singles

''Thanks, Hank!'' became Seely's second LP to make the US ''

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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, rising to the number 17 position in 1967. It was one of four albums to make the top 20 on the ''Billboard'' country chart and her final one to do so until 1970. Two singles were included on the album. The lead single was "A Wanderin' Man", which was first issued by Monument Records in December 1966. It became Seely's a top 20 single on the US country songs chart, peaking at number 13 in early 1967. "These Memories" was spawned as the second single from the LP in July 1967. It became her first single to peak outside the top 40 of the US country songs chart, peaking at number 42 the same year.

Track listing

All songs were composed by

''Thanks, Hank!''

''Make the World Go Away''

Technical personnel

All credits are adapted from the

of ''Thanks! Hank''. * Fred Foster – producer * Ken Kim – photography * Tommy Spalding – engineering * Brent Warner – technician

Chart performance

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1967 albums 1960s tribute albums Albums produced by Fred Foster Hank Cochran tribute albums Jeannie Seely albums Monument Records albums