Double Trouble (George Jones and Johnny Paycheck album)
Double Trouble is an album by American country music artists George Jones and Johnny Paycheck released in 1980 on the Epic Records label.
| Double Trouble | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1980 | |||
| Studio | Columbia Recording Studios, Nashville, Tennessee | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 28:10 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producer | Billy Sherrill | |||
| George Jones chronology | ||||
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| Johnny Paycheck chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Background
Double Trouble remains the "oddest" album George Jones ever recorded. The singer was enjoying the attention of hip rock & rollers, thanks to a glowing article in Rolling Stone, and it appears that this album was an attempt on the part of Epic and producer Billy Sherrill to take advantage of the crossover potential. Enlisting Paycheck, who had played bass for Jones as part of the Jones Boys in the 1960s and had scored numerous hits throughout the 1970s, the album consists of mostly covers of 1950s rock and roll but with Sherrill's heavy handed production and a chorus of female backing singers. The title was more than appropriate, considering that Paycheck and Jones in particular were at their raging, hell-raising worst. Critics panned the album but with the passing of time there is a bizarre fascination in hearing them so completely unhinged. As Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic observes, "The pair sound as if they were on one of their notorious drinking and drugging binges, making jokes with each other throughout every song (except the closing "You Better Move On") and singing without regard for key."
Reception
Double Trouble would be Jones and Paycheck's only duet album. Although the album stalled on the Billboard charts at number 45, the Chuck Berry song "Maybellene" would make the top ten, peaking at number 7. "You Can have Her" and the impressive "You Better Move On" were also minor hits. AllMusic calls it "easily the worst album George Jones ever recorded."
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "When You're Ugly Like Us (You Just Naturally Got to Be Cool)" | Don Goodman, Rick Schulman | 2:22 |
| 2. | "Along Came Jones" | Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller | 2:58 |
| 3. | "Proud Mary" | John Fogerty | 2:49 |
| 4. | "You Can Have Her" | William S. Cook | 3:11 |
| 5. | "Smack Dab in the Middle" | Charles Calhoun | 2:38 |
| 6. | "Maybellene" | Chuck Berry, Alan Freed, Russ Fratto | 2:18 |
| 7. | "Roll Over Beethoven" | Chuck Berry | 3:49 |
| 8. | "Kansas City" | Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller | 3:05 |
| 9. | "Tutti Frutti" | Richard Penniman, Dorothy LaBostrie, Robert Blackwell | 2:12 |
| 10. | "You Better Move On" | Arthur Alexander | 2:48 |
Personnel
- George Jones – vocals
- Johnny Paycheck - Vocals
- Billy Sanford – guitar
- Cliff Parker – guitar
- Tommy Allsup - guitar
- Phil Baugh - electric guitar
- Jim Murphy – pedal steel guitar
- Stephen R. Shaffer – bass guitar
- Jerry Kroon – drums
- Bobby Wood – piano
- Diane Tidwell, Janie Fricke, Joe Bias, Judy Anderson, Nick DeStefano, The Nashville Edition - backing vocals
- Technical
- Lou Bradley, Ron Reynolds - engineer
- Slick Lawson - photography
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | CAN Country | ||
| 1978 | "Maybellene" | 7 | 4 |
| 1979 | "You Can Have Her" | 14 | 26 |
| 1980 | "When You're Ugly Like Us (You Just Naturally Got to Be Cool)" |
31 | 29 |
| "You Better Move On" | 18 | 25 | |