''What Mattered Most'' is the debut studio album by American

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

Ty Herndon Boyd Tyrone Herndon (born May 2, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His music career began in the 1980s as a member of the Tennessee River Boys, a predecessor to the country band Diamond Rio. Herndon quit the band early on ...

, issued in 1995 on

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 ...

. The album's title track, which was Herndon's debut single, reached No. 1 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 ...

'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now

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. ...

) charts in mid-1995. Other singles from the album were, in order, "I Want My Goodbye Back," "Heart Half Empty" (a duet with

Stephanie Bentley Stephanie Kay Bentley (born April 29, 1963) is an American country music artist. She made her debut in 1996 as a duet partner on Ty Herndon's single "Heart Half Empty", which peaked at No. 21 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Track ...

) and "In Your Face." Doug Johnson produced the entire album, with additional production from Ed Seay on "Heart Half Empty".

Content

''What Mattered Most'' was released on April 18, 1995, via

Nashville. The album is led off by its title track, which is also the first single from it. Written by

Gary Burr Gary Burr (born 1952 in Meriden, Connecticut) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, primarily in the country music genre. Many of the songs he has written have become Top-10 hits, the first of which was " Love's Been A Litt ...

and

Vince Melamed Vincent Edward "Vince" Melamed is an American keyboardist and songwriter who resides in Nashville, Tennessee. He was born in New York, and moved to Los Angeles at an early age. Melamed has appeared with many bands as a keyboardist (Bob Dylan, JD ...

, this song became Herndon's first No. 1 country hit in May 1995, peaking on both the U.S. ''

'' Country Singles charts and 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 Singles charts. Following it were "I Want My Goodbye Back," "Heart Half Empty" (another Gary Burr co-write), and "In Your Face." Respectively, these reached 7, 21, and 63 on the U.S. Country charts. "Heart Half Empty," a duet with

, was her first chart single. It was reprised on her 1996 debut album '' Hopechest'', also on Epic Records. "You Just Get One" was later released as a single by Jeff Wood from his 1997 debut album '' Between the Earth and the Stars''. Additionally, "Summer Was a Bummer" was later recorded by

Wade Hayes Tony Wade Hayes (born April 20, 1969) is an American country music artist. Signed to Columbia Records in 1994, he made his debut that year with his gold-certified album '' Old Enough to Know Better''. Its title track " Old Enough to Know Better", ...

on his 1998 album '' When the Wrong One Loves You Right'', and "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" is a cover of the

Jim Croce James Joseph Croce (; January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973) was an American Folk music, folk and rock singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, he released five studio albums and numerous singles. During this period, Croce took a series of o ...

song from 1972. ''What Mattered Most'' debuted at number 15 on

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 ...

and #1 on

Top Heatseekers The Heatseekers charts were "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales b ...

, the highest album debut for a country artist since

Billy Ray Cyrus William Ray Cyrus ( ; born August 25, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. Having released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, he is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs cha ...

' ''

Some Gave All ''Some Gave All'' is the debut studio album by American singer Billy Ray Cyrus. It was his first album for Mercury Records in 1992 and became the best selling album of that year in the United States, selling over 9 million copies in the first 12 m ...

'' in 1992. It peaked at number 9 on the former chart. In addition, the album had the highest first-day shipment in the history of Epic Records' Nashville division.

Critical reception

Giving it 3.5 stars out of 5, Michael McCall of ''New Country'' wrote that "For the most part, Herndon comes on like a confident newcomer worthy of attention." He praised the title track, "Pretty Good Thing", "Hat Full of Rain", and "I Want My Goodbye Back" for Herndon's vocal delivery, but criticized the same on the "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" cover. He also panned "Heart Half Empty", "You Just Get One", and "In Your Face" for their "unduly shallow" lyrics. An uncredited review in ''

'' was favorable, saying that "With a rich, expressive voice that is equally suited to pensive ballads and rollicking, uptempo tunes, Herndon is one of country's most impressive newcomers."

Track listing

Personnel

- duet vocals (track 5), background vocals (track 9) *

- background vocals *John Catchings -

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

(track 10) *Carol Chase - background vocals (track 4) *

Joe Chemay Joseph Chemay is an American bassist and backing vocalist, known for his recording session work. Biography Chemay started out working as a session and touring support musician in Los Angeles, but moved to Nashville in 1989. Chemay has worked ...

- bass guitar *David Davidson - strings (track 10) *

Joe Diffie Joe Logan Diffie (December 28, 1958 – March 29, 2020) was an American country music singer and songwriter. After working as a demo (music), demo singer in the mid 1980s, he signed with Epic Records' Nashville division in 1990. Between then and ...

- background vocals (tracks 3, 10) *

Dan Dugmore Dan Dugmore is an American session musician known primarily for playing the pedal steel guitar Born in 1949, Dugmore was raised in Pasadena, California. Influenced by the Flying Burrito Brothers, he learned to play steel guitar after Flying Bur ...

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 ...

*Connie Ellisor - strings (track 10) * Paul Franklin -

Dobro Dobro () is an American brand of resonator guitars owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally a gui ...

(tracks 1, 9), steel guitar (track 2) *

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He played in a number of local bluegrass music, bluegrass bands in the 1970s, and from 1978 to 1982, he achieved his first mainstream attention after ta ...

- background vocals (track 7) *Jim Grosjean - strings (track 10) *Rob Hajacos - fiddle *Connie Heard - strings (track 10) *

- lead vocals *

Dann Huff Dann Lee Huff (born November 15, 1960) is an American record producer, studio guitarist, and songwriter. For his work as a producer in the country music genre, he has won several awards, including the ''Musician of the Year'' award in 2001, 2004 ...

- electric guitar (track 5) *Kraig Hutchens - electric guitar (tracks 1, 7) *Mike Jones - background vocals *

Paul Leim Paul William Leim (born December 29, 1950) is an American drummer and recording session musician based in Nashville. Biography Leim was born in Port Huron, Michigan and raised in Troup, Texas. He was inspired to take up drumming as a child a ...

- drums (tracks 1, 5, 6, 7, 9) *

Patty Loveless Patty Loveless (born Patricia Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957) is an American country music singer. She began performing in her teenaged years before signing her first recording contract with MCA Records' Nashville division in 1985. While her first ...

- background vocals (track 10) *

Terry McMillan Terry McMillan (born October 18, 1951) is an American novelist known for her vivid portrayals of African American women's lives, relationships, and journeys of self-discovery. Her best-selling works, including ''Waiting to Exhale'' and ''How S ...

- percussion *

Steve Nathan Steven Jay Nathan (born April 20, 1951) is an American keyboardist. He is known for his session work in Muscle Shoals and Nashville studios. Biography Nathan was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. In 1977, Nathan moved to Muscle Shoals, A ...

- keyboards *Kathryn Plumber - strings (track 10) *

Brent Rowan Brent Rowan (born May 28, 1956, in Waxahachie, Texas) is an American session musician and record producer who works primarily in country music. Active since the 1970s, Rowan began working with John Conlee through the recommendation of record produ ...

- electric guitar *Christian Teal - strings (track 10) * Ron Wallace - background vocals *

Biff Watson Fletcher Bangs "Biff" Watson (born 1952) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. His musicianship has been a part of recording sessions for many artists. Biography Early years Raised in Chatham, Virginia, Watson learned how to play ...

- acoustic guitar *Kristin Wilkinson - strings (track 10) *

Lonnie Wilson Lonnie Wilson is an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer, known primarily for his work in country music. Life and career Born in Monroe, Louisiana, Wilson was originally the lead singer of the band Bandana, which charted ten single ...

- drums (tracks 2, 3, 4, 8, 10)

Production

*Jim Burnett - digital editing, assistant engineer *Don Cobb - editing *Paige Conners - production assistant * Emory Gordy, Jr. - string arrangement (track 10) *Bill Johnson - art direction * Doug Johnson - production (all tracks) *Anthony Martin - assistant engineer *Frank Ockenfels - photography *Denny Purcell - mastering *Ed Seay - production (track 5 only), engineering, mixing *Rollow Welch - art direction

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

* ''What Mattered Most''at

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 ...

* {{Authority control 1995 debut albums Ty Herndon albums Epic Records albums Albums produced by Doug Johnson (record producer)