Southern Fried

Southern Fried is a studio album by American country singer-songwriter Bill Anderson and his band "The Po' Folks". It was released in 1983 on Southern Tracks Records. It was co-produced by Anderson and Mike Johnson. The album marked Anderson's first release on an independent record label after previously recording for MCA Records for many years. The album produced four singles released between 1982 and 1983, all of which charted on the Billboard country songs survey.

Southern Fried
Studio album by
Bill Anderson and The Po' Folks
Released1983 (1983)
Studio
GenreCountry[1]
LabelSouthern Tracks
Producer
  • Bill Anderson
  • Mike Johnson
Bill Anderson and The Po' Folks chronology
Nashville Mirrors
(1980)		 Southern Fried
(1983)		 Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
(1984)
Singles from Southern Fried
  1. "Southern Fried"
    Released: July 1982
  2. "Laid Off"
    Released: November 1982
  3. "Thank You Darling"
    Released: February 1983
  4. "Son of the South/20th Century Fox"
    Released: July 1983

Background and content

Anderson had left MCA Records in 1981 following a series of unsuccessful singles issued in the early 1980s. Instead, Anderson focused more on songwriting, but decided to go back into the studio in 1982.[2] Southern Fried was recorded in two separate venues. First it was recorded at the label's own Southern Tracks Studio, located in Atlanta, Georgia. Additional sessions were recorded at the Grand Ole Opry house, located in Nashville, Tennessee. It was Anderson's first album in which he self-produced a project. He shared production credits with musician Mike Johnson as well. Johnson was the bandleader of "The Po' Folks Band", Anderson's backing band that received equal credit on the project[3] The album only consisted of 6 tracks, one of the shortest album track listings among Anderson's albums.[4] Three songs were penned by Anderson, including the title track. He also acquired material from other songwriters for the project, notably Bobby Braddock, who penned "Son of the South".[3]

Release

The release of Southern Fried was announced a year before its release. In a 1982 issue of Billboard Magazine, the album was categorized under the title "mini LP" due to its short track listing.[5] The album was released in 1983 on Southern Tracks Records, making the record his 31st studio recording.[3] The album was issued as a vinyl LP, with only three songs on each side of the record.[4]

It was Anderson's second studio album not to make the Billboard album charts. The album did however did include four singles. All of the singles became minor hits between 1982 and 1983.[6] The title track was released as the lead single in July 1982.[6] It reached number 42 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.[7] "Laid Off" was issued as the second single in November 1983, reaching number 82 in January 1983.[6][8] "Thank You Darling" was released as a single in February 1983,[6] peaking at number 70 by April.[9] "Son of the South" was released in conjunction with its B-side, "20th Century Fox", shortly afterwards, becoming a minor hit as well.[6]

Track listing
Side one[3]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Laid Off"Bill Anderson 
2."You Turn the Light On"
  • Lewis Anderson
  • Steve Geyer
 
3."Thank You Darling"Thomas Lazaros 
Side two[3]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Son of the South"Bobby Braddock 
2."Southern Fried"Anderson 
3."20th Century Fox"Anderson 

Personnel

All credits are adapted from the liner notes of Southern Fried.[3]

Musical personnel

  • Bill Anderson – lead vocals
  • Judy Felts – background vocals
  • David Gould – harmonica
  • Herman Harper – background vocals
  • Yvonne Hodges – background vocals
  • Dirk Johnson – keyboards
  • Mike Johnson – steel guitar, dobro, background vocals
  • Bev Porter – background vocals
  • Les Singer – guitar
  • Mike Streeter – drums, background vocals
  • Bruce Watkins – guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo

Technical personnel

  • Bill Anderson – producer
  • Al DeLory – string arrangements
  • Mike Johnson – producer
  • Mike McCarty – art direction
  • Bev Porter – vocal arrangements
  • Bergen White – arrangement
  • Kris Wilkinson – arrangement

Release history
Region Date Format Label Ref.
United States 1983 Vinyl Southern Tracks Records [4][3]
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References
  1. "Southern Fried – Bill Anderson – Songs, Reviews, Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  2. Huey, Steve. "Bill Anderson – Biography & History". Allmusic. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  3. Anderson, Bill (1983). "Southern Fried (Liner Notes)". Southern Tracks Records.
  4. "Bill Anderson – Southern Fried (1983, Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  5. "Nashville Scene". Billboard. 94 (46): 42. November 20, 1982.
  6. Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  7. ""Southern Fried" chart history". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  8. ""Laid Off" chart history". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  9. ""Thank You Darling" chart history". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
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