Norma Jean Sings a Tribute to Kitty Wells is a studio album by American singer, Norma Jean. It was released in November 1966 by RCA Victor and was her fourth studio album. It paid tribute to Norma Jean's biggest musical influence, country music singer Kitty Wells. It consisted of her singing her own version of Wells's most popular songs. It received a positive reception from music publications after its release.
Background, recording and content A regular cast member of The Porter Wagoner Show in the 1960s, Norma Jean also had a solo career with several top-10 and top-40 US country hits during the decade. From childhood, she was largely inspired to pursue a career in country music after hearing Kitty Wells on the radio. In honor of her musical influence, she recorded a tribute album to Wells after finding commercial success. The collection consisted of 12 songs all of which were recorded and made popular by Wells. This included the popular "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" and the more recent Wells hit, "Meanwhile Down at Joe's".
Release, critical reception and chart performance Norma Jean Sings a Tribute to Kitty Wells was released by RCA Victor in November 1966 and was her fourth studio offering. It was distributed as a vinyl LP in either monaural or stereo formats. It received positive reviews from music publications following its release. Billboard praised Norma Jean for adapting Wells's material to fit her own style and believed the product would "chalk big sales". Cash Box also thought the album would be "a steady seller" for its tribute to Wells since both were members of the Grand Ole Opry at the time. AllMusic did not write a written review but rated it four out of five stars. The product peaked at number 23 on the US Billboard Top Country Albums survey in early 1967 and was her third album to make the sales chart in her career. It was also her lowest-peaking album on the chart at that point in her career.
Track listing
Charts Chart (1966–1967) Peakposition US Top Country Albums (Billboard)23
Release history + Release history and formats for Norma Jean Sings a Tribute to Kitty Wells Region Date Format Label Ref. Various November 1966 RCA Victor
References