Okie (Vince Gill album)

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Okie
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 23, 2019
Recorded2019
GenreCountry
Length49:45
LabelMCA Nashville
ProducerVince Gill, Justin Niebank
Vince Gill chronology
Down to My Last Bad Habit
(2016)
Okie
(2019)
Sweet Memories
(2023)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
American Songwriter[2]

Okie is the fifteenth studio album by American country music singer Vince Gill. The album was released on August 23, 2019, by MCA Nashville.[3][4]

Background[edit]

According to Gill, Merle Haggard advised him to "just tell the truth. That's the most important thing of all." A number of the songs in the album have personal elements. For example, in "Forever Changed," which talks about sexual abuse, Gill drew from the experience of running away from a gym teacher who had behaved inappropriately toward him, while "When My Amy Prays" is about his wife Amy Grant and religion.[5] Other songs deal with issues such as teenage pregnancy ("What Choice Will You Make,") and racial equality.

Gill said: "My life has never been political, I've never been out there saying endorse this candidate, or that one. But I’m not afraid to have a decent conversation about some of this stuff. We could solve so many things by being fair-minded."[6]

He also said: "All I tried to do was have these songs maybe be about subjects that were tough, but maybe tell these stories without judgment".[5]

Commercial performance[edit]

Okie debuted at No. 9 on Billboard' Top Country Albums with 10,000 units, 9,000 of which are traditional album sales. This is Gill's 16th top 10 album on the chart.[7] The album has sold 32,500 copies in the United States as of March 2020.[8]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Vince Gill except as noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I Don't Wanna Ride the Rails No More" 4:27
2."The Price of Regret" 3:50
3."Forever Changed" 3:41
4."An Honest Man" 3:40
5."What Choice Will You Make"Gill, Leslie Satcher4:13
6."Black and White"Gill, Charlie Worsham3:46
7."The Red Words" 4:48
8."When My Amy Prays" 3:55
9."A Letter to My Mama"Gill, Dean Dillon3:36
10."Nothin' Like a Guy Clark Song" 5:03
11."That Old Man of Mine" 3:52
12."A World Without Haggard" 4:53
Total length:49:45

Personnel[edit]

Adapted from AllMusic.[9]

Charts[edit]

Chart (2019) Peak
position
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[10] 70
US Billboard 200[11] 71
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[12] 9

References[edit]

  1. ^ Thom Jurek. "Okie - Vince Gill". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  2. ^ Horowitz, Hal (2019-08-19). "Vince Gill: Okie". Americansongwriter.com. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
  3. ^ "Okie by Vince Gill on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
  4. ^ Chuck Dauphin (2019-08-22). "Vince Gill Shares His Truth on New Album 'Okie'". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
  5. ^ a b Dauphin, Chuck (August 22, 2019). "Inspired by Merle Haggard and Guy Clark, Vince Gill Shares His Truth on New Album 'Okie'". Billboard.
  6. ^ Moss, Marissa R. (August 29, 2019). "Why Vince Gill Chose to Speak Out on His New Album 'Okie'". Rolling Stone.
  7. ^ Asker, Jim (September 3, 2019). "Midland Scores First Top Country Albums No. 1, Tanya Tucker and Vince Gill Return to Top 10". Billboard.
  8. ^ Bjorke, Matt (March 10, 2020). "Top 10 Country Albums Pure Sales Chart: March 9, 2020". RoughStock. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  9. ^ "Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  10. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Vince Gill – Okie". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  11. ^ "Vince Gill Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  12. ^ "Vince Gill Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 4, 2019.