Expert: Mel Priddle - 6/5/2009

Question
This may be the strangest question you've gotten, but I've been trying to figure this out for years without luck. When I was a little girl my parents had a collection of country albums. There was one album with alot of mailboxes on the cover. I can't remember if it was a single artist or various artists. I can tell you that it would have been released between 1962-76. I used to play the record and listen to one particular song about birds struting and laughing. I'm not crazy seriously... any help identifying the album simply by its cover would be greatly appreciated. Probably near impossible but greatly appreciated.

:o)

Answer
Hello Notthatcrazy,

This is a difficult one. There have probably been several albums over the years that had a cover featuring mailboxes. However, the one that stands out in my memory was a country compilation album that came out on RCA Camden in 1964. It was called "The Country Stars! The Country Hits!" (CAMDEN CAL-793).

The cover featured a painting of eleven differently coloured mailboxes, with a farm house in the background, set against green, rolling hills. The mailboxes had the names of the singers on them. You can see the cover at the following sites:

http://tinyurl.com/mf6qg7

http://tinyurl.com/mmkvuv

http://tinyurl.com/ln8pgv


The track listing was as follows:

SIDE 1
1. Take Me In Your Arms And Hold Me - Eddy Arnold
2. Wildwood Flower - Chet Atkins
3. My Filipino Rose - Hank Snow
4. Cigareetes, Whusky And Wild, Wild Women - Homer & Jethro
5. Chime Bells - Elton Britt
6. Blues In My Heart - Don Gibson

SIDE 2
1. Waiting For A Train - Jim Reeves
2. The Nashville Waltz - Pee Wee King & Redd Stewart
3. Down Yonder - Gid Tanner
4. Born To Lose - Porter Wagoner
5. I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes - Montana Slim
6. Under The Double Eagle - Bill Boyd


When the album was issued in the UK in 1969 (Camden CDS 1041), "Chime Bells" and "Down Yonder" were not used.


Hope that's of some help. Cheers........Mel.