Lonestar (album)

Lonestar
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 10, 1995 (1995-10-10)
RecordedSoundshop Studio "A" (Nashville, Tennessee)
Genre
Length33:22
LabelBNA
Producer
Lonestar chronology
Lonestar
(1995)
Crazy Nights
(1997)
Singles from Lonestar
  1. "Tequila Talkin'"
    Released: August 7, 1995
  2. "No News"
    Released: January 8, 1996
  3. "Runnin' Away with My Heart"
    Released: May 20, 1996
  4. "When Cowboys Didn't Dance"
    Released: September 1996
  5. "Heartbroke Every Day"
    Released: December 7, 1996

Lonestar is the debut studio album by American country music band Lonestar. Released in 1995 on BNA Records (see 1995 in country music), it features five singles: "Tequila Talkin'", "No News", "Runnin' Away With My Heart", "Heartbroke Every Day", and "When Cowboys Didn't Dance", of which "No News" was a Number One hit on the Billboard country charts. The album has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipping 500,000 copies in the United States.

Content

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The album's lead-off single was "Tequila Talkin'", which reached a peak of number eight on the Billboard country charts. Following this song was the band's first number-one hit, "No News" (the B-side to "Tequila Talkin'"), which spent three weeks at the top of the country charts. "Runnin' Away With My Heart" also peaked at number eight, followed by the number 45 "When Cowboys Didn't Dance" (which was much more successful in Canada, peaking at number 18 there), and finally, the number eighteen "Heartbroke Every Day".[2] The latter overlapped on the charts with "Maybe He'll Notice Her Now," a duet between Lonestar's then-lead singer Richie McDonald and Mindy McCready, who also recorded on BNA at the time.[3]

Also included on the album is a cover of Roy Clark's 1982 single "Paradise Knife and Gun Club".

Critical reception

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The album received mixed critical reception. Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave it four stars out of five in his Allmusic review, where he called the album's sound "an accomplished and impassioned hardcore honky tonk."[4] Brian Wahlert of Country Standard Time magazine gave a mostly-favorable review, saying that the album was "solid [and] traditional," but also saying "Lonestar seems very similar to Shenandoah — energetic and fun, but not spectacular."[5] Rick Mitchell of New Country magazine gave a one-and-a-half star rating, with his review criticizing the album for relying on a large number of studio musicians and background singers, and calling the sound "lite rock with a twang."[6]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Heartbroke Every Day"3:07
2."Tequila Talkin'"
3:24
3."I Love the Way You Do That"3:51
4."Runnin' Away with My Heart"3:30
5."What Would It Take"
  • Billy Lawson
  • Hogin
  • Wilson
3:12
6."Does Your Daddy Know About Me"
3:01
7."Ragtop Cadillac"Lawson2:30
8."No News"
  • Hogin
  • Phil Barnhart
  • Sanders
2:53
9."Paradise Knife and Gun Club"Chick Rains3:56
10."When Cowboys Didn't Dance"
3:58
Total length:33:22

Personnel

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As listed in liner notes.[1]

Lonestar
  • Richie McDonald – keyboards, acoustic guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals (2, 4, 5, 8, 10)
  • Dean Sams – acoustic piano, keyboards, acoustic guitar, harmonica, backing vocals
  • Michael Britt – electric guitar, B-Bender guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
  • John Rich – lead vocals (1, 3, 6, 7, 9), backing vocals, bass guitar
  • Keech Rainwater – drums
Additional musicians

Production

  • Don Cook – producer
  • Wally Wilson – producer
  • Mike Bradley – recording, mixing
  • Mark Capps – recording assistant, mix assistant
  • John Kunz – recording assistant, mix assistant
  • Hank Williams – mastering at MasterMix (Nashville, Tennessee)
  • Scott Johnson – production assistant
  • Susan Eaddy – art direction
  • Deb Mahalanobis – design
  • Peter Nash – photography

Chart performance

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Chart (1995) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums 11
U.S. Billboard 200 69
U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers 2
Canadian RPM Country Albums 2

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[7] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[8] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b Lonestar (CD liner notes). Lonestar. BNA Records. 1995. 66642.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 244. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  3. ^ Whitburn, p. 267
  4. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Lonestar - Lonestar". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
  5. ^ Wahlert, Brian. "Lonestar - Lonestar". Country Standard Time. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
  6. ^ Mitchell, Rick (November 1995). "Album reviews". New Country. 2 (14): 58. ISSN 1074-536X.
  7. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Lonestar – Lonestar". Music Canada.
  8. ^ "American album certifications – Lonestar – Lonestar". Recording Industry Association of America.