Nat Stuckey (1933-1988) was a Nashville second-stringer who had a number of mid-level hits in the 1960s and '60s, and who wrote several hit songs recorded by other artists, including "Waitin' In The Welfare Line," which was a hit for Buck Owens. He also recorded a couple of duet albums with Connie Smith which are worth tracking down. Here's a quick look at his work...
Nat Stuckey "Nat Stuckey Really Sings" (Paula Records, 1966) (LP)
Nat Stuckey "All My Tomorrows" (Paula Records, 1967) (LP)
Nat Stuckey "Stuckey Style" (Paula Records, 1968) (LP)
Nat Stuckey "Nat Stuckey Sings" (RCA, 1968) (LP)
Nat Stuckey "Keep 'Em Country" (RCA, 1969) (LP)
Nat Stuckey & Connie Smith "Young Love" (RCA, 1969) (LP)
Moderately goofy, but fairly solid, countrypolitan. Stuckey does okay on this one -- in fact, I'd say he did better while working with Smith than he did on many of his solo albums. And even with the occasional wah-wah guitar or studio frill, Smith also gets in some good licks on this album. Not earthshaking, but not complete drek, either.
Nat Stuckey "New Country Roads" (RCA, 1969) (LP)
Nat Stuckey & Connie Smith "Sunday Morning" (RCA, 1970) (LP)
A gospel duets album that also includes popular tunes such as "Daddy Sang Bass" The original LP is a highly sought-after collector's item, but if you just wanna check out the music, it has (hoorah!) been reissued on CD under the title God Will on an indie label run by Stuckey's family. (See CD reviews above for more info...)
Nat Stuckey "Old Man Willis" (RCA, 1970) (LP)
Nat Stuckey "Country Fever" (RCA, 1970) (LP)
Nat Stuckey "She Wakes Me With A Kiss Every Morning" (RCA, 1971) (LP)
Nat Stuckey "Only A Woman Like You" (RCA, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by Jerry Bradley, Ray Butts & Tom Pick)
A solid, workmanlike set of Nashville Sound-meets-countrypolitan, with plenty of usual-suspect Music City studio pros backing Stuckey's ever-so-masculine crooning and the ooh-wahh chorus of the Nashville Edition. He's in fine voice, the musicians are flawless, though the arrangements are relentlessly placid and down-tempo, punctuated by very concise steel riffs, courtesy of Hal Rugg. Lots of contemporary cover tunes, including versions of "He's Got The Whole World In His Hands," "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town," "Is Anybody Going To San Antone," "Help Me Make It Through The Night" and a remarkably faithful rendition of Jerry Reed's "When You're Hot, You're Hot." Amazingly, though, Stuckey and company manage to make them all sound uniformly soporific As slick, factory-made early 'Seventies country-pop sets go, this is kind of borderline: there's certainly worse to be heard, but plenty that's better.
Nat Stuckey "Forgive Me For Calling You Darling" (RCA, 1972) (LP)
Nat Stuckey "Is It Any Wonder That I Love You" (RCA, 1972) (LP)
Nat Stuckey "Take Time To Love Her/I Used It All On You" (RCA, 1973) (LP)
Nat Stuckey "The Best Of Nat Stuckey" (RCA, 1974) (LP)
Nat Stuckey "In The Ghetto" (RCA-Camden, 1974) (LP)
Nat Stuckey "Independence" (MCA Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by David Barnes)
He really kind of cuts loose on this outlaw-tinged, honky-tonk heavy outing, with a bunch of surprisingly robust hard-country outings such as Troy Seals' "Honky Tonk Dreams" and the rollicking "She Stays In The Name Of Love," packed with thumping snare drums and nice pedal steel from John Hughey. The album opens with "Sun Comin' Up," a scathing novelty number sung from the point of view of a panhandling wino -- written by Stuckey, but worthy of Porter Wagoner -- and also includes a cover of "Lyin Eyes," by the Eagles. There are a couple of songs with swooping, over-the-top orchestrations, but mostly this is a solid hard-country outing, with Stuckey benefitting greatly from the bright mid-'70s MCA production style that I love so much. Recommended!
Nat Stuckey "Nat Stuckey" (51 West Records, 1982) (LP)
Nat Stuckey "The Very Best Of Nat Stuckey" (Koch Records, 2006)
Nat Stuckey "The Best Of Nat Stuckey" (Fuel Records, 2007)
Nat Stuckey "Pop A Top" (Music Row Talent, 1999)
Nat Stuckey & Connie Smith "God Will" (Music Row Talent, 2001)
A highly welcome CD reissue of classic gospel duets recorded with Connie Smith in the late 1960s. This disc combines all the material from the much sought-after Sunday Morning album, and some tracks off of the earlier Young Love LP. Country gospel fans in particular will be ecstatic that Stuckey's family was able to convince RCA to let them reissue this album, so that fans no longer have to contend with extravagant collector prices to hear this fine Nashville-politan gospel material! (Also see my Country Gospel section.)
