AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Janie Fricke

 

Artist:Janie Fricke

Song:Let's Stop Talkin' About It

Album:It Ain't Easy: The Complete Hits

Janie Fricke started out as a Nashville session singer in the 70s. This led to some duets and then a string of hits in the 80s. The 1984 single Let's Stop Talkin' About It was one of her seven #1 country hits. She was born Dec. 19, 1947 in South Whitley, IN. It's in northern Indiana. The population is 1,700. She's the most famous person from that town. Janie learned piano as a child and she liked Joan Baez and Judy Collins. While studying elementary education at Indiana University, Janie sang with The Singing Hoosiers and got a job as a jingle singer. After graduating, she moved to Nashville and joined the Lea Jane Singers. Then she got into session singing and that led to her 1977 duet with Johnny Duncan called Stranger. Listeners wondered who the singer was as she wasn't identified. This got her a deal with Columbia and legendary producer Billy Sherrill. Sherrill was best known for producing Tammy Wynette. Janie had modest success at first. Then Sherrill suggested she concentrate on singing ballads. After she had two top five hits from the 1980 album I'll Need Someone To Hold Me When I Cry, Janie had a string of 16 top ten country hits including seven #1 hits. She was named Female Vocalist of the Year in 1982 and 1983. Let's Stop Talkin' About It is from the 1983 album Love Lies. It was written by Deborah Allen, Rafe Van Hoy and Rory Bourke. Deborah had success as a songwriter before having a successful solo career. She recorded the song in 1982. Van Hoy and Bourke are veteran Nashville songwriters. Of course nothing lasts forever in the music business. Janie faded by 1987 and she left Columbia in 1989. In recent years Columbia has licensed Janie's recordings to outside record companies. This 2CD comp from Real Gone Music has all her hits. In 1991 Janie became a regular on the TNN series The Statler Brothers Show until 1998. She started her own label in 2000. She last recorded in 2012. Though Janie appears on the RFD-TV show Country's Family Reunion, I would say she is semi-retired at this point. She has a ranch in Lancaster, TX. Here's Janie Fricke performing Let's Stop Talkin' About It on the 1984 American Music Awards broadcast.