The Second of Five No. 1 Hits
With a variety of influences, Razzy Bailey grew up melding different styles of strong country music as the base of his music. Razzy’s soul sensible was underscored even in the name of his group the “RB Band.” Obviously, the name stood for “Razzy Bailey,” however it could have meant “Rhythm and Blues.”
The rhythm and blues style was prominent in Bailey’s second No. 1 hit, “I Keep Coming Back.” The song was written by three of the House of Gold writers namely, Johnny Slate, Jim Hurt and Larry Keith. Razzy Bailey together with his producer, Bob Montgomery, first heard the song on their way to the studio one day. Their schedule of the recording was 6 pm and the songs were already lined up. However, about 5:45 pm, Slate ran in the studio and said:
“Wait a minute! You gotta hear this song before you go in the studio!”
Razzy listened to the song and liked it. He said that he had always wanted to do one of those R&B feeling, country, and bluesy ballads. All the three writers were back-up vocals on the record.
Another Host of Country Music Legends
Danny Morrison, a co-writer of Johnny Slate, missed the chance of co-writing “I Keep Coming Back.” However, he was also given credits to the B side of the song by co-writing another hit, “True Life Country Music.” Danny wrote the song with Jeff Silbar and Sam Lorber. Just like George Jones’ “Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes” and Moe Bandy’s “Yesterday Once More,” this song was also a host of country music legends. In fact, there were fourteen which includes Waylon Jennings, Crystal Gayle, Charlie Rich, Tammy Wynette, George Jones, Kenny Rogers, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Roy Acuff, Sammi Smith, Glen Campbell and Jeanne Pruett.
Razzy Bailey said that the “True Life Country Music” wasn’t meant to be in the B side. Normally, an artist would not be putting a strong song on the back of another strong song. That side was actually meant for a weaker cut. However, since Bailey’s tracks were considered strong, RCA decided to release A-grade material on both front and back and marketed it as a double-sided release. Three of Bailey’s singles were released the same way and both songs reached No. 1 two out of three times.
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charlie rich, crystal gayle, George Jones, glen campbell, hank williams, I Keep Coming Back, Jeanne Pruett, Johnny Cash, kenny rogers, Razzy Bailey, roy acuff, Sammi Smith, Tammy Wynette, Waylon Jennings