It Ain't Easy
Studio album by
Janie Fricke
ReleasedSeptember 1982 (1982-09)
RecordedJune 1982 (1982-06)
StudioSoundshop Studio
GenreCountry-pop[1]
LabelColumbia
ProducerBob Montgomery
Janie Fricke chronology
Sleeping with Your Memory
(1981)		 It Ain't Easy
(1982)		 Greatest Hits
(1982)
Singles from It Ain't Easy
  1. "It Ain't Easy Bein' Easy"
    Released: August 1982
  2. "You Don't Know Love"
    Released: January 1983
  3. "He's a Heartache (Looking for a Place to Happen)"
    Released: May 1983

It Ain't Easy is a studio album by American country music artist Janie Fricke. It was released in September 1982 via Columbia Records and contained ten tracks. The disc was the seventh studio release of Fricke's career and reached the top 15 of the American country LP's chart. The album spawned three singles. Two of its singles "You Don't Know Love" and "He's a Heartache (Looking for a Place to Happen)" reached the number one spot on the North American country songs charts.

Background and content

Janie Fricke struggled for several years to craft a musical identity until she began focusing on ballads in 1980. Her breakthrough came later that year with the top five chart hit "Down to My Last Broken Heart".[2] She changed towards a more up-tempo country pop musical style with her next album release It Ain't Easy.[3] Fricke also shifted producers for the album, working for the first time with Bob Montgomery. The album was recorded in June 1982 at the Soundshop Studio located in Franklin, Tennessee.[4] It Ain't Easy contained a total of ten tracks.[1] Most of the album's material were new recordings. Two of these tracks were composed by songwriter Jeff Silbar ("He's a Heartache" and "Who Better Than an Angel") and one was composed by singer-songwriter Mark Gray ("It Ain't Easy Bein' Easy"). The album also included a cover of Sami Jo's country pop crossover single from 1974 "Tell Me a Lie".[4]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic

It Ain't Easy was originally released in September 1982 on Columbia Records. It was the seventh studio album released in Fricke's career. The album was originally distributed as a vinyl LP and a cassette. Both formats offered an identical track listing.[4][5] It was later reissued to digital markets including Apple Music.[6] AllMusic's Tom Roland gave the album three out of five stars in his review: "Here she sounds like a strong woman who's very familiar with heartache, and producer Bob Montgomery gives her some rockin' material to shout on."[1] The disc spent a total of 58 weeks on the American Billboard country albums chart, peaking at number 15 in January 1983. It was Fricke's longest-charting album in her career.[7]

Singles

Three singles were spawned from the project It Ain't Easy. The first of its singles was the title track "It Ain't Easy Bein' Easy", which was issued by Columbia Records in August 1982.[8] The song spent one week at the number one spot on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in November 1982.[9] It was followed in January 1983 by the second single "You Don't Know Love".[10] It spent 19 weeks on the Billboard country chart and reached number four by April 1983.[9] The third and final single was "He's a Heartache (Looking for a Place to Happen)". The track was issued as a single in May 1983.[11] The song became Fricke's fourth number one single on the Billboard country chart, spending one week there.[9] In Canada, both the title track and "He's a Heartache" would also reach the number one spot on the RPM country list.[12] Although originally released on Fricke's It Ain't Easy LP, "Tell Me a Lie" was officially released as a single in September 1983 to help promote her next album Love Lies.[13]

Track listings

Original versions

Side one (LP and cassette versions)[4][5]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."He's a Heartache (Looking for a Place to Happen)"
2:58
2."Who Better Than an Angel"
3:10
3."It Ain't Easy Bein' Easy"
3:35
4."Too Hard on My Heart"
  • Rendy Caneer
  • Eric Johnson
  • Bob Shelton
3:04
5."A Little More Love"
3:33
Side two (LP and cassette versions)[4][5]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Love Have Mercy"
2:35
2."Tell Me a Lie"
  • Mickey Buckins
  • Barbara Wyrick
3:55
3."You Don't Know Love"
3:21
4."Heart to Heart Talk"
  • Danny Morrison
  • John Reid
  • Johnny Slate
2:28
5."Tryin' to Fool a Fool"John Schweers2:45

Digital version

Music download and streaming[6]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."He's a Heartache (Looking for a Place to Happen)"
  • Henley
  • Silbar
3:01
2."Who Better Than an Angel"
  • DuBois
  • Lorber
  • Silbar
3:11
3."It Ain't Easy Bein' Easy"
  • Gray
  • Burkhart
  • Taylor
3:36
4."Too Hard on My Heart"
  • Caneer
  • Johnson
  • Shelton
3:07
5."A Little More Love"
  • Channel
  • Daily
3:34
6."Love Have Mercy"
  • Buckingham
  • Newton
2:35
7."Tell Me a Lie"
  • Buckins
  • Wyrick
4:01
8."You Don't Know Love"
  • Foster
  • King
3:22
9."Heart to Heart Talk"
  • Morrison
  • Reid
  • Slate
2:29
10."Tryin' to Fool a Fool"Schweers2:51

Personnel

All credits are adapted from the liner notes of It Ain't Easy'.[4]

Musical and technical personnel

  • Janie Fricke - lead vocals
  • Janie Fricke, Judy Rodman, Bill Warren, Tony Wiggins, Benny Wilson - backing vocals
  • Ron Oates - piano
  • Bob Wray - bass guitar
  • James Stroud - drums
  • Don Gorman (track 1), Dann Huff, Kenny Mims - guitar
  • Don Gorman - guitar solo (track 1)
  • Shane Keister - keyboards

Charts

Weekly chart performance for It Ain't Easy
Chart (1982–1983) Peak
position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[14] 15

Accolades

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
1983 Country Music Association Awards Album of the Year for It Ain't Easy Nominated [15]

Release history

Region Date Format Label Ref.
North America September 1982 Vinyl Columbia Records [4]
Cassette [5]
United Kingdom Vinyl CBS Records International [16]
North America 2016
  • Music download
  • streaming
 Columbia Records [17][6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Roland, Tom. "It Ain't Easy: Janie Fricke: Songs, reviews, credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  2. ↑ Deming, Mark. "Janie Fricke Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  3. ↑ Erlewine, Michael (1997). All Music Guide to Country. Miller Freeman Publications. p. 163. ISBN 9780879304751.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Fricke, Janie (September 1982). "It Ain't Easy (LP Liner Notes and Album Information)". Columbia Records. FC-38214.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Fricke, Janie (September 1982). "It Ain't Easy (Cassette Liner Notes and Album Information)". Columbia Records. FCT-38214.
  6. 1 2 3 "It Ain't Easy by Janie Fricke". Apple Music. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  7. ↑ "Janie Fricke chart history (Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  8. ↑ Fricke, Janie (August 1982). ""It Ain't Easy Bein' Easy"/"A Little More Love" (7" vinyl single)". Columbia Records. 38-03214.
  9. 1 2 3 "Janie Fricke chart history (Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  10. ↑ Fricke, Janie (January 1983). ""You Don't Know Love"/"Heart to Heart Talk" (7" vinyl single)". Columbia Records. 38-03498.
  11. ↑ Fricke, Janie (May 1983). ""He's a Heartache (Looking for a Place to Happen)"/"Tryin' to a Fool a Fool" (7" vinyl single)". Columbia Records. 38-03899.
  12. ↑ "Search results for "Janie Fricke" under Country Singles". RPM. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  13. ↑ Fricke, Janie (September 1983). ""Tell Me a Lie"/"Love Have Mercy" (7" vinyl single)". Columbia Records. 38-04091.
  14. ↑ "Janie Fricke Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard.
  15. ↑ "CMA Past Winners & Nominees: Janie Fricke". Country Music Association. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  16. ↑ Fricke, Janie (September 1982). "It Ain't Easy (LP Liner Notes and Album Information)". CBS Records International. CBS-85983.
  17. ↑ "Press Release: Sony Legacy Releases Four Janie Fricke Albums Digitally For The First Time Ever". The Country Note. 16 October 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
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