Janie Fricke

Janie Fricke

Janie Fricke (born December 19, 1947 in South Whitney , Indiana ), actually Jane Marie Fricke , at times also Janie Frickie , is an American country singer.

Beginnings

Janie grew up on a farm in the US state of Indiana. Influenced by her parents - father was a guitarist and mother played the organ - she developed a passion for music as a child. During her college days, she made money playing sung commercials called jingles. Thanks to her exceptionally beautiful voice, she quickly achieved a certain degree of popularity in the scene. In 1972, after completing her teaching degree , she decided to try a career in the music world.

The search for interesting and lucrative jobs led her to Memphis, Dallas, Los Angeles and finally, in 1975, to Nashville . In Music City, she quickly developed into a sought-after backup singer. Over the years she has contributed to the production of more than 1200 albums. She worked with practically all the greats, with Elvis Presley she was on stage at a concert in Memphis.

Career

Established country musician Johnny Duncan became aware of the talented singer and had her sing a few solo passages during his recordings. That, in turn, caught the interest of influential producer Billy Sherrill . It took some effort to convince Janie Fricke to pursue a solo career. She was doing well as a backup singer and shied away from the touring stress that musicians had to submit to with their own records.

Her first singles were produced in 1977 for the Columbia label. They reached respectable hit parade positions. A year later she achieved her first number 1 hit with On My Knees, sung in a duet with Charlie Rich . One problem was their vocal diversity. She mastered numerous styles and was accordingly difficult to classify. Her proximity to pop music was by no means unusual for a country singer in those years.

In 1982 she changed producers. Two more number 1 hits were recorded straight away under Bob Montgomery: He's A Heartache (Looking For A Place To Happen) and Tell Me A Lie . In the same year and also in 1983 she won the CMA Award "Country Singer of the Year". Further awards and other top hits followed. In the mid-eighties she briefly renamed herself “Janie Frickie”. Their record sales dropped noticeably. In 1989 she lost her contract with the Columbia label.

In 1992 she found shelter with the newly founded Branson Entertainment label. Two more albums were produced, with which she could no longer build on the successes of the past.

Discography

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)	Remarks
		Country
1980	I'll Need Someone to Hold Me When I Cry	Country28 (21 weeks) Country
1981	Sleeping with your memory	Country42 (27 weeks) Country
1982	It ain't easy	Country15 (58 weeks) Country
1983	Love Lies	Country10 (52 weeks) Country
1984	The First Word in Memory	Country17 (32 weeks) Country
1985	Somebody Else's Fire	Country21 (39 weeks) Country
1986	Black and White	Country1 (35 weeks) Country
1987	After midnight	Country29 (19 weeks) Country
1988	Saddle the wind	Country64 (9 weeks) Country
1989	Labor of Love	Country64 (13 weeks) Country

More albums

• 1978: Singer of Songs
• 1979: Love Notes
• 1979: From the Heart
• 1980: Nice 'n Easy (with Johnny Duncan )
• 1991: Great Movie Themes
• 1991: Janie Fricke
• 1992: Crossroads: Hymns of Faith
• 1995: Now and Then
• 2000: Bouncin 'Back
• 2003: Tributes to My Heroes
• 2004: The Bluegrass Sessions
• 2008: Roses and Lace
• 2012: Country Side of Bluegrass

Live albums

• 2002: Live at Billy Bob's Texas

Compilations

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)	Remarks
		Country
1982	Greatest hits	Country34 (25 weeks) Country
1985	The very best of Janie	Country33 (37 weeks) Country
1987	Celebration	Country63 (16 weeks) Country

More compilations

• 1986: I Love Country
• 1986: 17 greatest hits
• 1995: Sweet and Sassy
• 1999: great hits
• 1999: Anthology
• 2006: Golden Legends: Janie Fricke
• 2018: The Essential Janie Fricke

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)	Remarks
		Country
1977	What're You Doing Tonight Singer of Songs	Country21 (13 weeks) Country
1978	Baby It's You Singer of Songs	Country21 (12 weeks) Country
	Please Help Me, I'm Falling (In Love With You) Singer of Songs	Country12 (13 weeks) Country
	Playin 'Hard to Get Love Notes	Country22 (12 weeks) Country
1979	I'll Love Away Your Troubles for Awhile Love Notes	Country14 (12 weeks) Country
	Let's Try Again Love Notes	Country28 (10 weeks) Country
	But love me from the heart	Country26 (13 weeks) Country
1980	Pass Me By (If You're Only Passing Through) From the Heart	Country22 (12 weeks) Country
	He's Out of My Life Nice 'n Easy	Country17 (14 weeks) Country	with Johnny Duncan
	Down to My Last Broken Heart I'll Need Someone to Hold Me When I Cry	Country2 (18 weeks) Country
1981	Pride I'll Need Someone to Hold Me When I Cry	Country12 (14 weeks) Country
	I'll Need Someone to Hold Me When I Cry I'll Need Someone to Hold Me When I Cry	Country12 (18 weeks) Country
	Do Me with Love Sleeping with Your Memory	Country4 (19 weeks) Country
1982	Don't Worry 'bout Me Baby Sleeping with Your Memory	Country1 (18 weeks) Country
	It Ain't Easy Bein 'Easy It Ain't Easy	Country1 (19 weeks) Country
1983	You Don't Know Love It Ain't Easy	Country4 (19 weeks) Country
	He's a Heartache (Looking for a Place to Happen) It Ain't Easy	Country1 (20 weeks) Country
	Tell Me a Lie Love Lies	Country1 (20 weeks) Country
1984	Let's Stop Talkin 'About It Love Lies	Country1 (18 weeks) Country
	If the Fall Don't Get You Love Lies	Country8 (17 weeks) Country
	Your Heart's Not in It The First Word in Memory	Country1 (23 weeks) Country
	The First Word in Memory Is Me The First Word in Memory	Country1 (19 weeks) Country
1985	She's single Again Somebody Else's Fire	Country2 (22 weeks) Country
	Somebody Else's Fire Somebody Else's Fire	Country4 (23 weeks) Country
1986	Easy to Please Somebody Else's Fire	Country5 (22 weeks) Country
	Always Have, Always Will Black and White	Country1 (22 weeks) Country
	When a Woman Cries Black and White	Country20 (16 weeks) Country
1987	Are You Satisfied? After midnight	Country32 (11 weeks) Country
	Baby You're Gone After Midnight	Country63 (4 weeks) Country
1988	Where Does Love Go (When It's Gone) Saddle the Wind	Country54 (8 weeks) Country
	I'll Walk Before I Crawl Saddle the Wind	Country50 (8 weeks) Country
	The Heart Saddle the Wind	Country64 (4 weeks) Country
1989	Love Is One of Those Words Labor of Love	Country56 (7 weeks) Country
	Give 'em My Number Labor of Love	Country43 (9 weeks) Country

More singles

• 1991: You Never Crossed My Mind
• 1991: I Want to Grow Old with You

Guest Posts

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)	Remarks
		Country
1977	Come a Little Bit Closer Come a Little Bit Closer	Country4 (16 weeks) Country	with Johnny Duncan
1978	On My Knees Take Me	Country1 (14 weeks) Country	with Charlie Rich
1984	A Place to Fall Apart It's All in the Game	Country1 (22 weeks) Country	with Merle Haggard
1987	From Time to Time (It Feels Like Love Again) Partners / After Midnight	Country21 (12 weeks) Country	with Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers

Awards

year	Org.	Award	title
1979	TNN	New female vocalist
1982	CMA	Female Vocalist Of The Year
1983	ACM	Top female vocalist
1983	CMA	Female Vocalist Of The Year
1983	TNN	Top female vocalist
1984	TNN	Top female vocalist

Web links

• Works by Janie Fricke in the catalog of the German National Library
• Janie Fricke's website

swell

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Chart sources: US