Connie Smith - Latest Shade Of Blue: The Columbia Recordings 1973-1976

Bear Family Records® proudly announces the release of the third and final CD box set in our retrospective of Connie Smith's RCA and Columbia recordings.Includes all of the tracks from the second chapter in Connie Smith's epochal recording career as she moved to the Columbia Records label from RCA Victor in 1973-and the first reissue of the majority of them.Classic, infectious 1970s honky tonk singles such as Just One Time, Ain't Love A Good Thing, her own co-write You've Got Me Right Where You Want Me and her hit takes on the Everly Brothers' (Till) I Kissed You and So Sad.Dozens of out-of-print and long hard-to-find recordings, including her unforgettable Christmas album 'Joy to the World,' shaped by her own arrangements of sacred holiday songs, and the singular, history-making 'Connie Smith Sings Hank Williams Gospel.'Connie Smith's riveting interpretations of prime era country songs from the pens of Dallas Frazier, Don Gibson, Bill Anderson, Doug Kershaw, Tom T. Hall, Lefty Frizzell, Harlan Howard, Eddie Raven and Jessi Colter.Connie's deep grounding in country gospel music applied to introduction of new songs in the genre by Kris Kristofferson, Dolly Parton, Porter Wagoner, Larry Gatlin and Dottie Rambo, in addition to that full album of eleven Hank Williams gospel songs.New exploration of the steel guitar foregrounding 'Connie Smith sound' as she performs virtual vocal-guitar duets with steel heroes Weldon Myrick, Lloyd Green, John Hughey, Jimmy Day, Buddy Emmons and Hal Rugg.Detailed stories of Connie Smith's close work with Columbia producers Ray Baker and George Richey, as they arrived at the song choices and up-to-date, yet traditionalist sounds that brought her through the pop-centric John Denver-Olivia Newton John country era with her core classic country attack intact. Based on extensive new interviews with Connie herself and with producer Baker by the book's author, Barry Mazor.