Lonely Hearts Club
Studio album by
Billie Jo Spears
ReleasedFebruary 1978 (1978-02)
RecordedAugust 1977
StudioJack Clement Recording Studio
Genre
LabelUnited Artists
ProducerLarry Butler
Billie Jo Spears chronology
If You Want Me
(1977)		 Lonely Hearts Club
(1978)		 Love Ain't Gonna Wait for Us
(1978)
Singles from If You Want Me
  1. "Lonely Hearts Club"
    Released: December 1977
  2. "I've Got to Go"
    Released: March 1978
  3. "'57 Chevrolet"
    Released: July 1978

Lonely Hearts Club is a studio album by American country artist Billie Jo Spears. It was released in February 1978 via United Artists Records and contained 11 tracks. The album featured mostly new recordings, which included three singles: the title track, "I've Got to Go" "'57 Chevrolet". All three recordings reached the top 20 of the American country chart, while also reaching top positions in Canada. The album itself reached the American country albums chart. Lonely Hearts Club was met with positive reviews from critics.

Background, recording and content

Billie Jo Spears reached the peak of her career while recording for United Artists Records in the 1970s. She topped the country charts with "Blanket on the Ground" (1975) and had three top ten singles with "What I've Got in Mind" (1976), "Misty Blue" (1976) and "If You Want Me" (1977). A string of top 20 singles followed through the decade, including "Lonely Hearts Club".[3] The song would serve as the title for Spears's 1978 studio album. The project was recorded in August 1977 at the Jack Clement Recording Studio, located in Nashville, Tennessee. The sessions were produced by Larry Butler.[4]

Lonely Hearts Club consisted of 11 tracks.[1] Featured were five songs written by Larry Butler: the title track, "There's More to a Tear (Than Meets the Eye)", "That's the Way It Is", "The Lovin' Kind" and "I've Got to Go". Songwriter Roger Bowling co-wrote the latter recordings with Butler, along with solely writing the track "'57 Chevrolet". Spears herself contributed to the writing of "There's More to a Tear (Than Meets the Eye)".[4] The album project was described as having both traditional country and pop sounds.[5][2]

Release and critical reception

Lonely Hearts Club was released by United Artists Records in February 1978. It was the thirteenth studio album of Spears's career. The label distributed it as a vinyl LP and a cassette.[4][6] The album was met with positive reviews. Cashbox magazine praised the production of Larry Butler in their review: "Larry Butler manages to dress up country music with pop flavor without destroying the basic feel'." They also described Spears as a "versatile vocalist" who often recorded material with a "strong storyline".[2] Alan Cackett of Country Music People magazine called it "her most commercial album so far". Cackett also noted that Spears's vocal delivery was stronger on the album: "For the first time since she left Capitol, Billie Jo is allowed to use the full scope of her voice on an album without the listener having to strain to hear it through layers of instrumental work."[5]

Chart performance and singles

Lonely Hearts Club entered America's Billboard Top Country Albums chart in April 1978. It reached its peak position of 46 on the chart and spent three weeks on Billboard in total. It was Spears's second to last album appearance on the Billboard country survey.[7] A total of three singles were spawned from the Lonely Hearts Club. The title track was the first single issued for the intended project. United Artists first released it in December 1977.[8] It reached number 18 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in America[9] and number nine on Canada's RPM Country chart.[10] "I've Got to Go" was released as the second single in March 1978.[11] The single reached number 17 on the Billboard country chart and number 26 on the RPM country chart.[9][10] "'57 Chevrolet" was then issued as the final single in July 1978.[12] It reached number 16 on the Billboard country songs chart and number 12 on the RPM country tracks chart.[9][10]

Track listing

Side one[4]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Lonely Hearts Club"
2:41
2."There's More to a Tear (Than Meets the Eye)"
2:48
3."That's the Way It Is"
  • R. Bowling
  • L. Butler
3:04
4."The Lovin' Kind"
  • R. Bowling
  • L. Butler
3:20
5."Last Night Ev'ry Night"
2:35
Side two[4]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I've Got to Go"
  • R. Bowling
  • L. Butler
2:37
2."'57 Chevrolet"R. Bowling2:48
3."Lover's Reunion"
  • J. McCollum
  • D. Rutherford
3:36
4."His Little Something on the Side"
  • D. Chamberlain
  • J. Vest
2:39
5."All the Love I Have to Give You"E. Bruce2:03
6."The Last Rose of Summer"J. Chesnut2:57

Personnel

All credits are adapted from the liner notes of Lonely Hearts Club.[4]

Chart performance

Chart (1978) Peak
position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[13] 46

Release history

Region Date Format Label Ref.
Germany February 1978 Vinyl LP United Artists Records [14]
New Zealand [15]
North America [4]
United Kingdom
  • Vinyl LP
  • cassette
 [6]

References

  1. 1 2 "Lonely Hearts Club: Billie Jo Spears: Songs, reviews, credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "45 / Reviews / LP" (PDF). Cashbox: 36. April 8, 1978. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  3. ↑ Huey, Steve. "Billie Jo Spears Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Spears, Billie Jo (February 1978). "Lonely Hearts Club (Disc Information)". United Artists Records. UA-LA859-G (LP).
  5. 1 2 Cackett, Alan (November 1978). "Billie Jo Spears". Country Music People Magazine. Vol. 9, no. 11.
  6. 1 2 Spears, Billie Jo (February 1978). "Lonely Hearts Club (Disc Information)". United Artists Records. UAS-30150 (LP); TCK-30150 (Cassette).
  7. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1997). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Albums: 1967-1997. Record Research Inc. ISBN 0898201241.
  8. ↑ Spears, Billie Jo (December 1977). ""Lonely Hearts Club"/"His Little Something on the Side" (Single Information)". United Artists Records. UA-XW1127.
  9. 1 2 3 "Billie Jo Spears chart history (Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 "Search results for "Billie Jo Spears"". RPM. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
  11. ↑ Spears, Billie Jo (March 1978). ""I've Got to Go"/"There's More To A Tear (That Meets The Eye)" (Single Information)". United Artists Records. UA-X1190-Y.
  12. ↑ Spears, Billie Jo (July 1978). ""'57 Chevrolet"/"The Lovin' Kind" (Single Information)". United Artists Records. UA-X1229-Y.
  13. ↑ "Billie Jo Spears Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  14. ↑ Spears, Billie Jo (February 1978). "Lonely Hearts Club (Germany)". United Artists Records. UAS-30-150-XOT (LP).
  15. ↑ Spears, Billie Jo (February 1978). "Lonely Hearts Club (New Zealand)". United Artists Records. L-36547 (LP).
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