Standing Tall (Billie Jo Spears album)

Billie Jo Spears had a string of popular country singles and albums during the seventies decade. Among them was the chart-topping song "Blanket on the Ground" and the top ten recordings "What I've Got in Mind" and "If You Want Me". Many of Spears's recordings portrayed female survivors. This included the 1980 single "Standing Tall".[2] The song's success inspired the title of Spears's 1980 album project. The disc was recorded in July 1979 at the Jack Clement Recording Studio, located in Nashville, Tennessee. The project was produced by Larry Butler.[3]

Standing Tall consisted of ten tracks.[1] Several of the project's songs were cover tunes. Among them was "Callin' Baton Rouge", which was first cut by The Oak Ridge Boys[4] and would become a chart-topping single a decade later by Garth Brooks. Another song, "Free to Be Lonely Again", was recorded and made a top 20 country single by Debby Boone. Boone's version appeared on the charts around the same time as Spears's album was issued. Another song Spears covered for Standing Tall was Gene Watson's "You Could Know as Much About a Stranger". Watson's version was first a top ten country single in 1976.[5] New tracks included the title song, "Natural Attraction", "It Can Wait", "Freedom Song", "Love Ain't The Question (Love Ain't The Answer)" and "Any Old Wind That Blows".[3]

Standing Tall was released in February 1980 by United Artists Records. The disc was offered as both a vinyl LP and a cassette.[3] It received positive reviews following its release. Cashbox magazine called it "solid country with a lot of class". The magazine further praised the production and Spears's vocal delivery: "The production of Larry Butler and the voice of Billie Jo Spears is an unbeatable combination and this album shows them at their finest."[6] Billboard magazine named it among its "Top Album Picks" and described it as "a tasty collection of songs". While Billboard mostly praised the project, they did give to negative criticism to the project's "overabundance of strings".[7]

Standing Tall spent two weeks on the American Billboard Top Country Albums chart, peaking at number 70 in May 1980. It was Spears's lowest charting album on the publication and her final to chart.[8] Two singles were spawned from Standing Tall. The first was its title track, which was issued in February 1980.[9] It reached number 15 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart[5] and climbed to number nine on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart.[10] It was followed by the single "Natural Attraction" in June 1980.[11] It only reached the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, peaking at number 39.[5]

All credits are adapted from the liner notes of Standing Tall.[3]