Leona Williams & Merle Haggard Old Loves Never Die (CD)

When Leona Williams signed with Mercury, disc jockeys simply weren't responsive to women who sang hard, unrelenting country music. Loretta and Tammy no longer racked up top hits andDolly made the jump to pop. Pleasant, unassuming stylists like Janie Fricke and Anne Murray ruled the country airwaves.Patty Loveless and Kathy Mattea's breakthroughs were years away.

PerhapsLeona Williams' recordings were behind the times or maybe they were ahead of them. Whatever the reason, they never received the chart success they deserved. Nevertheless, Leona Williamspersevered with her career. She remains an active performer, drawing loyal fans to her shows in Branson, Missouri, and in concerts throughout the United States and Canada.

Treasured by many country music fans, Leona Williams' records are long overdue for rediscovery. This Bear Family release, (insert title), restores all of her surviving Mercury recordings to print, including her 1983 duet album 'Heart to Heart' with then-husband Merle Haggard and 1984 solo effort, 'Someday When Things Are Good.' This collection also includes six previously unissued songs, plus an in-studio gag' recording about fabled Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda. Ten tracks feature Merle Haggard's classic Strangers line-up of the early '80s, with lead guitarist Roy Nichols, mandolin legend Tiny Moore, fiddler Jimmy Belkin and Norman Hamlett on steel.