NASHVILLE, Tenn. (June 18, 2019) — Jeannie C. Riley, best known for her worldwide mega hit, “Harper Valley P.T.A.” has a new single heading to radio todayvia CDX. The song is her soulful and very personal version of “Me and Bobby McGee,” written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster that became a posthumous No. 1 hit in 1971 for the late Janis Joplin.
Jeannie C. Riley, “The Music City Sessions,” was recently released by Country Rewind Records who’s well known tradition of bringing unreleased traditional country music into the contemporary country era has proven successful with previous projects.
Riley’s recording is unique in that it had never previously been commercially released. She had recorded the song for her 1972 album Give Myself a Party, but this version, now being released, was recorded at Scotty Moore’s Music City Recorders studio in Nashville and intended solely for radio broadcast. Unlike a commercial recording, this version has a more relaxed and intimate feel that perfectly suits Riley’s unique vocal style.
“Me and Bobby McGee” is the first single from Jeannie C. Riley “The Music City Sessions” released by Country Rewind Records. All the tracks on the album were intended solely for broadcast over Country radio and were then forgotten. The original master tapes of those radio shows, long thought to have been destroyed were discovered by Country Rewind Records CEO, Tom Gramuglia, among those masters were recordings by Waylon Jennings, Connie Smith, Johnny Russell, Mickey Gilley, Ferlin Husky, Faron Young, Conway Twitty and others, dating from the same era. Check availability at www.countryrewindrecords.com.
Although the decades-old master tapes were still in good condition, they needed to be restored and brought up to 21st century audio standards. Gramuglia entrusted the recordings to Nashville sound engineer J. R. McNeely, and additional enhancements were carried out by musician, record producer and engineer Larry Marrs. Some background vocals were added as well as some instrumentation. Both McNeely and Marrs worked diligently to maintain the original ‘feel’ of the recordings that had been made for broadcast in 1970.
Jeannie C. Riley’s unmistakable voice is perfectly suited to ‘story’ songs, as was immediately apparent with “Harper Valley P.T.A.” Now, this rare and special recording of “Me and Bobby McGee” will reach a whole new generation of Country music fans.
Country Rewind Records has dedicated itself to bring classic country with this contemporary feel to not only the past country fans but also to the new country listeners.
The latest release is being distributed by Select-O-Hits and available to order on Country Rewind Records website countryrewindrecords.com and on digital music platforms here.
Order Jeannie C Riley “The Music City Sessions” on Amazon Music, Apple Music / iTunes and Google Play.
Stay current with Country Rewind Records on their websitecountryrewindrecords.com and social media platform Facebook for more details and track listings for Jeannie C. Riley, “The Music City Sessions” and other previously-unreleased albums from Carl Smith, Johnny Russell, Ferlin Husky, Mickey Gilley, Waylon Jennings, Faron Young, Connie Smith, Conway Twitty and more.
About Country Rewind Records:
Country Rewind Records (CRR) was founded by Thomas Gramuglia of Hindsight Records in 2014, Gramuglia obtained a treasure chest of unreleased recordings from recruitment radio shows from the ‘60s and ‘70s. The superb CRR collection of original master recordings contains music from more than 100 country music legends and trendsetters (including intimate performances by country music greats such as Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Connie Smith, Faron Young, Dolly Parton, Conway Twitty and many more). These recordings were never released for commercial use. After a diligent quest to collect appropriate and legal permissions from artists and/or their estates, CRR has now recorded and produced multiple, quintessential, “must-hear” projects. With the mission to transfer these never-heard-before tracks to a high quality, state-of-the-art recording; complemented by contemporary instrumentation and background vocals, Country Rewind Records will release this historical American music to America’s music generations of the future. For more information visit countryrewindrecords.com
About Select-O-Hits:
Select-O-Hits is owned by Sam W. Phillips and John Phillips, was co-founded in 1960 by their father, Tom Phillips, and uncle, Sam Phillips, the legendary founder of Sun Records. Tom Phillips began his career in music as Jerry Lee Lewis road manager for a number of years. He had invested all of his savings into an upcoming 1958 European tour when news of Lewis marriage to his 13 year-old cousin hit the front pages. Lewis career came to a sudden, although temporary, halt. The tour was cancelled, and Tom was broke. Sam helped him by giving him a job in the Sun Records warehouse and allowing Tom to live with him while his family stayed behind in Mobile, Alabama. Eventually, Tom saved enough money to send for his family in 1960. Tom was not satisfied with running the warehouse, so with the help of his wife, Lucille, he opened a small record store and one-stop that provided small, predominantly black-owned record stores with everything from phonograph needles to display racks. In the mid-1970s, Select-O-Hits began to concentrate more on distributing and less on retail and one-stops. The retail store closed in the mid-1980s, and the one-stop followed a few years later. Select-O-Hits has formed a number of successful record labels, such as Avenue, Icehouse, SOH, Brutal Records, Basix Music, Blues Works and Prophet Entertainment. In 1997 half of the company was sold to Malaco Records of Jackson, Mississippi. While all genres of music are represented in the family of labels Select-O-Hits distributes, Rap, Blues, Soul and Gospel are still the largest portion of the business. Today with sales offices and staff in Memphis, Atlanta, Nashville, Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Miami, Chicago, Houston and Seattle, Select-O-Hits is one of the largest independent record distributors in the country, providing services for over 300 independent vendors to all key US music traditional “brick and mortar” retailers and digital media sites. For more information visit selectohits.com