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Irish Songs, Country Style

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Irish Songs, Country Style
Studio album by
Hank Locklin
ReleasedJanuary 1964 (1964-01)
RecordedOctober 1963
StudioRCA Victor Studio
Genre
LabelRCA Victor
ProducerChet Atkins
Hank Locklin chronology
The Ways of Life
(1963) 		Irish Songs, Country Style
(1964) 		Hank Locklin Sings Hank Williams
(1964)

Irish Songs, Country Style is a studio album by American country singer–songwriter Hank Locklin. It was released in January 1964 via RCA Victor Records and was produced by Chet Atkins. Irish Songs, Country Style was a collection of traditional Irish songs recorded in a country fashion. It was one of several concept albums Locklin recorded during the course of his career. The album was largely inspired by his popularity in Ireland.

Background and content

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By the early 1960s, Hank Locklin had become a successful recording artist. He had several major hits, including "Please Help Me, I'm Falling," "Geisha Girl" and "Send Me the Pillow That You Dream On." Many of these hits also became successful in Europe, particularly in the United Kingdom and Ireland.[2] In 1963, he embarked on a successful tour of Ireland where his shows drew large crowds. Locklin became so successful in Ireland, that he became inspired to record an album of traditional Irish songs. Locklin was also of Irish descent and believed the album would pay tribute to ancestry.[2][3]

Locklin recorded the album once returning to the United States. The sessions were cut in Nashville, Tennessee at the RCA Victor Studio. It was produced by Chet Atkins, who had also recorded Locklin's previous seven albums. The session musicians chosen for the recorded were part of The Nashville A-Team, which included Floyd Cramer, Grady Martin and The Jordanaires.[3] Irish Songs, Country Style was a collection of twelve tracks, all of which were traditional Irish songs recorded in a country fashion.[1][3] Songs on the album included "The Old Bog Road," "Danny Boy" and "Galway Bay."[3]

Release and reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic
Record Mirror[4]

Irish Songs, Country Style was released in January 1964 via RCA Victor Records. It was Locklin's eighth studio release in his career.[3] The project was distributed as a vinyl LP, containing six songs on either side of the record.[5] No known singles were spawned from the album, unlike Locklin's previous studio releases.[6] In later years, it received a less favorable rating from Allmusic, who only gave it 2.5 out of 5 stars.[1] It was later released on a compact disc as part of a two-disc compilation set that also included various songs from his years at RCA Victor. This particular compilation received a favorable response from reviewer, Steve Leggett, who praised Locklin's voice and musical legacy. "Possessing a clear tenor voice and a knack as a songwriter for emotionally direct and deceptively simple songs, Hank Locklin was a bridge between country's rustic honky tonk roots and the lusher, modern pop sound of country that Nashville ushered in during the 1960s," he commented.[7]

Track listing

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Vinyl version

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Side one[3]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Old Bog Road"
2:57
2."Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral"James Royce Shannon3:00
3."Danny Dear"Frederick O'Donovan3:00
4."If Only We Had Ireland Over Here"Traditional2:46
5."I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen"Thomas Paine Westendorf2:14
6."My Wild Irish Rose"Chauncey Olcott2:09
Side two[3]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Danny Boy"Frederic Weatherly2:24
2."When Irish Eyes Are Smiling"
2:19
3."A Little Bit of Heaven"
  • R. Eli Ball
  • Joseph Keirn Brennan
2:20
4."Galway Bay"Arthur Colahan2:40
5."Kevin Barry"Unknown2:30
6."Forty Shades of Green"Johnny Cash2:59

Digital version

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Irish Songs, Country Style[8]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Old Bog Road"
  • Brayton
  • King O'Farrelly
2:57
2."Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral"Royce Shannon3:00
3."Danny Dear"O'Donovan3:00
4."If Only We Had Ireland Over Here"Traditional2:46
5."I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen"Thomas Paine Westendorf2:14
6."My Wild Irish Rose"Olcott2:09
7."Danny Boy"Weatherly2:24
8."When Irish Eyes Are Smiling"
  • Graff
  • Olcott
2:19
9."A Little Bit of Heaven"
  • Ball
  • Brennan
2:20
10."Galway Bay"Colahan2:40
11."Kevin Barry"Unknown2:30
12."Forty Shades of Green"Cash2:59

Personnel

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All credits are adapted from the liner notes of Irish Songs, Country Style.[3]

Musical personnel

Technical personnel

Release history

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Region Date Format Label Ref.
Canada January 1964 Vinyl RCA Victor [9]
Germany RCA International [10]
United Kingdom RCA Victor [11]
United States [3][5]
2010s
  • Music download
  • Streaming
 Sony Music Entertainment [8]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Irish Songs, Country Style: Hank Locklin: Songs, Reviews, Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Country singer Hank Locklin dies". Variety. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Locklin, Hank (January 1964). "Irish Songs, Country Style (LP Liner Notes and Album Information)". RCA Victor Records.
  4. ^ "Hank Locklin: Irish Songs; Country Style" (PDF). Record Mirror. No. 166. May 16, 1964. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 1, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Hank Locklin – Irish Songs, Country Style (1964, LP) (U.S.)". Discogs. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  6. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  7. ^ Locklin, Hank. "1955 to 1967/Irish Songs, Country Style [compilation]: Hank Locklin: Songs, Reviews, Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Irish Songs, Country Style by Hank Locklin". Apple Music. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  9. ^ "Hank Locklin – Irish Songs, Country Style (1964, LP) (Canada)". Discogs. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  10. ^ "Hank Locklin – Irish Songs, Country Style (1964, LP) (Germany)". Discogs. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  11. ^ "Hank Locklin – Irish Songs, Country Style (1964, LP) (U.K.)". Discogs. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
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