Ain't We Havin' Us a Good Time is the eighteenth solo studio album by American country singer Connie Smith, released in April 1972 by RCA Victor. The album contained ten tracks which were considered to have a "thicker seventies" sound, according to one biographer. Included on the album was Smith's single, "Just for What I Am". It became a top five single on the North American country songs chart while the album itself reached the American country LP's top 25. Ain't We Havin' Us a Good Time received a favorable review from Billboard magazine following its release.
| Ain't We Havin' Us a Good Time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 1972 | |||
| Recorded | February 1971 – January 1972 | |||
| Studio | RCA Victor Studios | |||
| Genre | Country[1] | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Producer | Bob Ferguson | |||
| Connie Smith chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Ain't We Havin' Us a Good Time | ||||
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Background edit
By 1972, Connie Smith had nearly eight years of commercial country music success. She reached her career zenith in the mid 1960s with a series of top ten hits fueled by her eight-week number one debut single titled "Once a Day". After discovering Christianity in 1968, Smith's commercial momentum slightly dipped after she re-evaluated her personal and professional choices. Yet, she continued having top ten country singles with regularity such as 1970's "I Never Once Stopped Loving You" and 1971's "Just One Time". In 1972, Smith would have three top ten country singles, including "Just for What I Am".[2] The song would appear on Smith's next studio album, which would be titled Ain't We Havin' Us a Good Time. The album's title track would inspire the name of the project.[3]
Recording and content edit
Smith entered the RCA Victor Studios in Nashville, Tennessee to record the project in late 1971 and early 1972. The album's material was taken from sessions held on December 10, 1971 and January 14, 1972. The track "As Long as We've Got Each Other" was pulled from a recording session on February 25, 1971. Overdub sessions were also included for the project that featured background vocals from the Nashville Edition and The Jordanaires.[4] Smith preferred to have the background singers be overdubbed because she often found "herself phrasing with them rather than singing spontaneously", according to biographer Barry Mazor.[5] The session instrumentation was a departure from Smith's previous material. Mazor described it as having a "thicker seventies sound" that included four rhythm guitarists. "With that rhythm behind me, it made singing so much easier – and a lot more fun," recalled Smith[3] The recording sessions were overseen by Smith's longtime producer at RCA Victor, Bob Ferguson.[6]
Ain't We Havin' Us a Good Time consisted of ten tracks.[6][1] The title track and "Just for What I Am" were composed by Dallas Frazier. Doodle Owens co-composed these selections. Frazier had become friends with Smith by this point and had written a series of songs she had recorded. Frazier had written both cuts as a reflection on Smith's personal life at the time. "By this time, we were good friends, and she was calling and saying 'You know, I'm cutting, and I need a couple of things' and I'd try to accommodate her directly, as best I could," he recounted.[5] Frazier and Owens also contributed "I Know You're Going Away", "Thank You for Loving Me" and "As Long as We've Got Each Other" for the project.[6] Smith's religious convictions prompted her to included one or two gospel selections on her studio albums.[7] For Ain't We Havin' Us a Good Time, she included the gospel songs "Way Up on the Mountain" and "If God Is Dead (Who's That Living in My Soul)".[6]
Release and reception edit
Ain't We Havin' Us a Good Time was originally released in April 1972 on the RCA Victor label. It was Smith's twentieth studio album released in her career. The label originally distributed the disc as a vinyl LP, with five songs on each side of the record.[6] Decades later, Sony Music Entertainment re-issued the album to digital platforms including Apple Music.[8] Following its initial release, the disc received a favorable response from Billboard magazine. Reviewers found Smith to have a "seemingly effortless delivery" when singing and highlighted several album cuts including the title track.[9] The album entered the American Billboard Country LP's chart in May 1972 and spent 11 weeks on the chart before reaching number 25 in July 1972.[10] Included on the album was the single "Just for What I Am", which RCA Victor released in February 1972.[11] The single spent 15 weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and peaked at number five in April 1972.[12] The single also became her second-highest charting song on Canada's RPM Country survey, peaking at number four.[13]
Track listings edit
Vinyl version edit
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "If We Want Love to Last" | L. E. White | 2:43 |
| 2. | "How Sweet It Is" | Bobby Braddock | 2:26 |
| 3. | "Just for What I Am" | 2:25 | |
| 4. | "As Long as We've Got Each Other" |
| 2:27 |
| 5. | "Way Up on the Mountain" |
| 2:30 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Thank You for Loving Me" |
| 3:10 |
| 2. | "I Know You're Going Away" | Frazier | 2:52 |
| 3. | "Ain't We Havin' Us a Good Time" |
| 2:10 |
| 4. | "Precious Love" | Byron R. Walls | 2:13 |
| 5. | "If God Is Dead (Who's That Living in My Soul)" | Lawrence Reynolds | 2:48 |
Digital version edit
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "If We Want Love to Last" | White | 2:45 |
| 2. | "How Sweet It Is" | Braddock | 2:29 |
| 3. | "Just for What I Am" |
| 2:26 |
| 4. | "As Long as We've Got Each Other" |
| 2:30 |
| 5. | "Way Up on the Mountain" |
| 2:33 |
| 6. | "Thank You for Loving Me" |
| 3:13 |
| 7. | "I Know You're Going Away" | Frazier | 2:55 |
| 8. | "Ain't We Havin' Us a Good Time" |
| 2:14 |
| 9. | "Precious Love" | Walls | 2:16 |
| 10. | "If God Is Dead (Who's That Living in My Soul)" | Reynolds | 2:51 |
Personnel edit
All credits are adapted from the liner notes of Ain't We Havin' Us a Good Time[6] and the biography booklet by Barry Mazor titled Just for What I Am.[4]
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Musical personnel
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Technical personnel
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Chart performance edit
| Chart (1972) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[14] | 25 |
Release history edit
| Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | April 1972 | Vinyl | RCA Victor | [6] |
| 2010s |
|
Sony Music Entertainment | [8] |
References edit
Footnotes edit
- ^ a b "Ain't We Havin' Us a Good Time: Connie Smith: Songs, reviews, credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
- ^ Bush, John. "Connie Smith Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
- ^ a b Mazor 2012, p. 42-43.
- ^ a b Mazor 2012, p. 64-66.
- ^ a b Mazor 2012, p. 43.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Smith, Connie (April 1972). "Ain't We Havin' Us a Good Time (LP Liner Notes and Album Information)". RCA Victor. LSP-4694.
- ^ Mazor 2012, p. 36.
- ^ a b c "Ain't We Havin' Us a Good Time by Connie Smith". Apple Music. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
- ^ "Billboard Album Reviews". Billboard. Vol. 84, no. 17. April 22, 1972. p. 58. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
- ^ "Connie Smith chart history (Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
- ^ Smith, Connie (February 1972). ""Just for What I Am"/"I'd Still Want to Serve Him Today" (7" vinyl single)". RCA Victor. 74-0655.
- ^ "Connie Smith chart history (Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
- ^ "Search results for "Connie Smith"". RPM. Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
- ^ "Connie Smith Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
Books edit
- Mazor, Barry (February 27, 2012). Just for What I Am (Box Set Biography). Bear Family Records. ISBN 978-3-89916-638-5.