Country music isn’t a huge part of my life as far as my ephemeral iPod is concerned, but it is a huge part of my family’s, as well as those who come to the avenue from other avenues where country is predominate.
This edition is for them.
Sunday evening, country singer Mindy McCready took herself from this mortal coil at the age of 37 after a long battle with addiction. Her career held promise, but had been derailed by drug abuse, legal troubles, and personal matters that detracted from her professional career, and ultimately, her own life.
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“Guys Do It All the Time,” 1996: McCready’s debut album “Ten Thousand Angels” spawned four singles, but of the 15 total the singer would release in her lifetime, “Guys Do It All the Time” would be her sole No. 1, topping both U.S. and Canadian country music charts. The album itself would go on to be her only platinum and multi-platinum recording.
“You’ll Never Know,” 1998: The follow-up to her debut, 1997′s “If I Don’t Stay the Night” didn’t produce any top 10s, but the album itself sold just over 825,000 records, earning gold status as a result. The videos for this, her second single, and “The Other Side of This Kiss” were both directed by then-fiancee, actor Dean Cain.
“Oh Romeo,” 1998: The final single from her second album, “Oh Romeo” has the distinction of being McCready’s sole U.K. hit, topping out at 41 on the UK Singles Chart. Considering the popularity (or lack there of) of country in England, Scotland and Wales, this was not a trivial achievement.
“All I Want Is Everything,” 1999: McCready’s third album “I’m Not So Tough” not only failed to produce a hit, but was deemed a commercial failure by her record label with only 144,000 copies sold, despite placing in the Top 20 in both U.S. and Canadian country music album charts. Her label BNA dropped her from their roster soon after.
“Maybe, Maybe Not,” 2002: 2002′s self-titled disc for Capitol Nashville would be the last to produce a video, and the last to appear in the Top 40, coming in at No. 29 on the U.S. country album charts that year. From that point forward, her professional career took a backseat to the personal tribulations the singer would face. In 2010, McCready recorded one final album, “I’m Still Here.” The album featured reworkings of her No. 1 hit and the title cut from her debut, with the album placing at No. 71 in the United States.
Photo: MLive.com.
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