For Loving You (album)


For Loving You is a studio album released by American country music artists Bill Anderson and Jan Howard. The album was released in February 1968 on Decca Records. The album was the pair's first collaborative album together, setting the trend for a series of studio albums over the next several years. The album's title track was the lead single of the album, which became a number 1 hit on the Billboard country songs chart.

Background and content

For Loving You was recorded in several sessions between 1965 and 1967 in two separate studios: Bradley's Barn and the Columbia Recording Studio. All sessions took place in Nashville, Tennessee. The sessions were produced by Owen Bradley, whom had previously collaborated with both Anderson and Howard. The album consisted of 11 tracks. Several of the tracks were cover versions of songs recorded by other artists. Among the album's covers was Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line", Bing Crosby's "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?" and Don Robertson's "Born to Be with You". Among the new songs was the title track, which would be the album's lead single. The album marked the first collaboration between Anderson and Howard, both of whom had been recording separately for the Decca label during the 1960s.

Release and reception

For Loving You was officially released in February 1968 via Decca Records in a vinyl record format. Six songs appeared on side one while five songs appeared on side two of the record. The album reached a peak position of 6 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart in March 1968. The album's only single was the title track, which was released in late 1967. It peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in December 1967. The song became Anderson's third number 1 single, while also becoming Howard's only number 1 single. Additionally, the single peaked at number 9 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart.
For Loving You received positive reviews from critics. Greg Adams of Allmusic gave the release 3 out of 5 stars, calling it "thematic", but criticized the lack of material missing from Anderson, who is a "talented and prolific songwriter".

Track listing

Personnel

All credits are adapted from the liner notes of For Loving You.
Musical and technical personnel

Release history