Post by erik on May 27, 2012 12:16:41 GMT -5
Linda pretty much found herself to be the most wanted woman in the music business in 1978, especially insofar as her fans and her peers on either side of the fence between country and rock went. Though her private life was becoming grist for the media mill, both mainstream and tabloid, her musicianship was unmistakable. When it was all said and done, she had managed to sell in excess of ten million albums in the span of four years, more than any female singer around in any genre. She continued that streak at the end of that summer with Living In The USA.
That the album should have gone double Platinum within just four months of its release, and climbed to #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart was not in and of itself a shock, since the folks at Asylum realized that Linda had the ability to do it out of sheer force of will without even trying. What was astonishing was the album's #4 placement on the Country Album Chart, because none of the three singles that made it onto the C&W singles chart from that album got past #40.
BACK IN THE USA
09/02/78--#75 (Linda's thirteenth Top 100 country hit)
09/09/78--#65
09/16/78--#53
09/23/78--#48
09/30/78--#41
10/07/78--#41
10/14/78--#47
10/21/78--#61
OOH BABY BABY
12/02/78--#94 (Linda's fourteenth Top 100 country hit)
12/09/78--#92
12/16/78--#87
12/23/78--#85
12/30/78--#85
LOVE ME TENDER
03/10/79--#88
03/17/79--#71
03/24/79--#61
03/31/79--#59
04/07/79--#59
04/14/79--#71
So how could an album that was largely a straight rock and roll piece still make it big with country fans, even without any Top 40 country singles hits?
Quite simply, it was what separated her from most of the female singers of the past. Her career and reputation were based on complete albums as personal entities and glimpses into her emotional state of mind, something not always touched on with previous female rock singers, and something still considered taboo with female country singers save for her good friend Emmy. Living In The USA found fans on the country side of the fence because of the almost-roadhouse feel of "Back In The USA" and the folk-like poignancy of her cover of the King's immortal 1956 ballad "Love Me Tender" (which she added to her repertoire following Elvis' tragic demise in August 1977, and which she did in the live concert sequence involving her in the modest box office hit FM).
One should also not read too much into the low country singles chart placements of the singles from Living In The USA either. A lot of country stations, including KLAC AM 570 in Los Angeles, still played those songs because audience demand was high enough to support their being played, even with the greater emphasis on mainstream pop and rock.
As always, Linda kept herself busy when it came to helping friends out. She helped her good friend Nicolette Larson with backing vocals on Nicky's 1978 debut album Nicolette (on "Mexican Divorce", "Give A Little", and "Come Early Morning"), and even guested with Emmy and Ricky Skaggs on a CBS-TV special tribute to the legendary Carter Family late in 1979 (the three performed "Gold Watch And Chain" on that special, a song that would end up on Emmy's 1980 album Roses In The Snow). Linda was also invited by her good friends in the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band to add her illustrious (and sexy) harmony voice to the title track of their album American Dream, which would hit the Top 15 early in 1980; and during Emmy's appearances that year at the Palomino, Linda was invited to duet with her for an illustrious bit of traditional West Coast honky-tonk C&W.
The beginning of the next decade would see Linda take chances with her career that would make country music fans turn their heads even more than the rock and roll ones, but she'd still make three C&W singles chart appearances. Those will be looked at in the next segment.
That the album should have gone double Platinum within just four months of its release, and climbed to #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart was not in and of itself a shock, since the folks at Asylum realized that Linda had the ability to do it out of sheer force of will without even trying. What was astonishing was the album's #4 placement on the Country Album Chart, because none of the three singles that made it onto the C&W singles chart from that album got past #40.
BACK IN THE USA
09/02/78--#75 (Linda's thirteenth Top 100 country hit)
09/09/78--#65
09/16/78--#53
09/23/78--#48
09/30/78--#41
10/07/78--#41
10/14/78--#47
10/21/78--#61
OOH BABY BABY
12/02/78--#94 (Linda's fourteenth Top 100 country hit)
12/09/78--#92
12/16/78--#87
12/23/78--#85
12/30/78--#85
LOVE ME TENDER
03/10/79--#88
03/17/79--#71
03/24/79--#61
03/31/79--#59
04/07/79--#59
04/14/79--#71
So how could an album that was largely a straight rock and roll piece still make it big with country fans, even without any Top 40 country singles hits?
Quite simply, it was what separated her from most of the female singers of the past. Her career and reputation were based on complete albums as personal entities and glimpses into her emotional state of mind, something not always touched on with previous female rock singers, and something still considered taboo with female country singers save for her good friend Emmy. Living In The USA found fans on the country side of the fence because of the almost-roadhouse feel of "Back In The USA" and the folk-like poignancy of her cover of the King's immortal 1956 ballad "Love Me Tender" (which she added to her repertoire following Elvis' tragic demise in August 1977, and which she did in the live concert sequence involving her in the modest box office hit FM).
One should also not read too much into the low country singles chart placements of the singles from Living In The USA either. A lot of country stations, including KLAC AM 570 in Los Angeles, still played those songs because audience demand was high enough to support their being played, even with the greater emphasis on mainstream pop and rock.
As always, Linda kept herself busy when it came to helping friends out. She helped her good friend Nicolette Larson with backing vocals on Nicky's 1978 debut album Nicolette (on "Mexican Divorce", "Give A Little", and "Come Early Morning"), and even guested with Emmy and Ricky Skaggs on a CBS-TV special tribute to the legendary Carter Family late in 1979 (the three performed "Gold Watch And Chain" on that special, a song that would end up on Emmy's 1980 album Roses In The Snow). Linda was also invited by her good friends in the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band to add her illustrious (and sexy) harmony voice to the title track of their album American Dream, which would hit the Top 15 early in 1980; and during Emmy's appearances that year at the Palomino, Linda was invited to duet with her for an illustrious bit of traditional West Coast honky-tonk C&W.
The beginning of the next decade would see Linda take chances with her career that would make country music fans turn their heads even more than the rock and roll ones, but she'd still make three C&W singles chart appearances. Those will be looked at in the next segment.