Barbara Mandrell- Live

12844510This was 80 cents. I am pretty sure my folks had this when I was a kid. Also, I watched her show pretty religiously when I was a young. The current work load has led to an increase in run-on sentences as well as sentence fragments so sorry for the poor grammar on my part.mgid_uma_artist_mtv

Barbara Mandrell was born right here in Houston, Texas in 1948 and like many talented people, she left it in search of fame. Born into a musical family, she developed a talent for reading music, playing instruments, and singing at an early age. She started out at steel guitar and at age 13, she toured with Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, and George Jones. This lead to her touring with her sisters in the Mandrell Family Band.  From here, Mandrell moved to Nashville and signed with Colombia Records in 1969.BM.jpg

She was a superstar in the 70’s and 80’s.  In 1980, she had a variety show that she hosted with her sisters.  I remember watching this show.  I think I had a thing for her younger sister Irlene.  Back to the point, a serious car crash slowed down her career for a while and in 1997, she retired from music.untitled

Mandrell’s Page

One of the things I found odd was that despite her many songs about couple’s infidelities and marriages falling apart, her own marriage has been intact since 1967. I would not have guessed being young and listening to her songs.  Kudos to her. Incidentally, she married the drummer from her Family Band.main

This album was a live album released in 1981 at the peak of her career and her television show. The album produced a hit single “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool” which hit number 1# on the country charts and became her signature song.  A second single “Wish You Were Here” featuring a guest spot by  George Jones, also did well and hit #2.  The album was one of Mandrell’s biggest sellers in the US. The back album features pictures of her playing guitar, mandolin, steel guitar, and even saxophone.  Like I said, the woman was talented.ARC_4_04323

For a sample, I went with what was one of her biggest singles before this album, “Sleeping Single in a Double Bed”. It was her first Billboard #1, originally released in 1978. Again, it was songs like this that led me to believe she would have a rocky marriage when the opposite seems true.2009_cma_awards_pressroom3_-8-x600

Good enough album that takes me down memory lane, listening to this in the back seat of a car when back seats seemed huge to me. Satisfactory.

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