Only the Greatest
| Only the Greatest | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Waylon Jennings | ||||
| Released | July 1968 | |||
| Recorded | 28:44 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Producer | Chet Atkins | |||
| Waylon Jennings chronology | ||||
| ||||
Only the Greatest is a 1968 album by Waylon Jennings on RCA Victor. It includes the single "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line," which Jennings took to #2 on the country music charts that year.
Background
Only the Greatest was Jennings eighth LP for RCA in four years. Contrary to the title, it is not a "best of" package, although it does contain the singer's first pair of Top 5 country hits: "Walk On Out of My Mind," which rose to #5, and "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line, which just missed the #1 spot. Written by Jimmy Bryant, "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line" was released in July 1968 as the second single from Only the Greatest.[1] Billboard, in a review of the album, said that it and "Walk On Out of My Mind" were "typical of the robust, compelling vocal style" that Jennings became known for.[2] Nathan Brackett and Christian Hoard, in The New Rolling Stone Album Guide, wrote that Jennings began to "really assert his rough-hewn sensibility" on "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line."[3] The song spent eighteen weeks on the Hot Country Singles charts, peaking at #2 and holding that peak for five weeks.
In Canada, the song reached Number One on the RPM Country Tracks charts for the week ending September 30, 1968.[4] Jennings would perform the song as part of a medley on The Johnny Cash Show. Although the single was Jennings' biggest success yet, he was chafing under the constrictions imposed by RCA, and remained frustrated that the strapping sound of his live shows with his backing band the Waylors was not coming across on record with the studio musicians that played on his recordings.
Jennings co-wrote two songs for the album but primarily relied on other songwriters, including Harlan Howard, Bobby Bare, Jerry Chesnut, Billy Sherrill, and Neil Diamond.
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | link |
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line" | Ivy Bryant | 2:21 |
| 2. | "California Sunshine" | Harlan Howard | 2:13 |
| 3. | "Weakness in a Man" | Jerry Chesnut | 2:51 |
| 4. | "Sorrow (Breaks a Good Man Down)" | Waylon Jennings, Jimmy Rule | 2:08 |
| 5. | "Christina" | Steve Karliski | 2:14 |
| 6. | "Such a Waste of Love" | Bobby Bare | 2:34 |
| 7. | "Walk On Out of My Mind" | Red Lane | 2:21 |
| 8. | "Kentucky Woman" | Neil Diamond | 2:21 |
| 9. | "Long Gone" | Jerry Reed Hubbard | 2:31 |
| 10. | "You'll Think of Me" | Hank Cochran | 2:12 |
| 11. | "Wave Goodbye to Me" | Jennings, Don Bowman | 2:04 |
| 12. | "Too Far Gone" | Billy Sherrill | 2:54 |
References
- ↑ Jurek, Thom. "Only the Greatest". Allmusic. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- ↑ "Album reviews". Billboard: 73. 20 July 1968.
- ↑ Bracket, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. p. 428. ISBN 0743201698. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- ↑ "RPM Country Tracks for September 30, 1968". RPM. Retrieved 8 September 2010.