Janie Fricke is not new to country – in fact she has been in the business since pre-1975, where she grew up on a farm in Indiana where her father taught her to play the guitar. Janie first began singing jingles and became the voice for Coca-Cola, 7-Up and Red Lobster. She moved to Nashville in 1975 and began singing background vocals for Crystal Gayle, Barbara Mandrell, Conway Twitty and even did an Elvis posthumous release.

Janie’s awards include two CMA Awards for “Female Vocalist of the Year” in 1982 and 1983, 36 albums, 26 singles and 19 #1 hits! Very impressive and she has been a favorite of mine for just years!

Although she just recently tried bluegrass she has always been a fan of the music and the new and innovative type of bluegrass in today’s musical world has inspired her to try her hand at it with her new CD release “The Country Side of Bluegrass.”

“He’s a Heartache” (waiting for a place to happen!) has been a favorite of mine for a long time. It’s definitely sung in the bluegrass mode with the instruments that define the genre and Janie sings it like a gal who knows the dangers of a man like him but still wants a bit of the action and has almost loved him once or twice!

“Please Help Me I’m Falling (In Love With You) is a time-honored song of helplessness in falling in love with someone you are not supposed to be with. She sings of help needed to keep from being unfaithful as she belongs to another but is helpless to deny her feelings. I can remember this song when I was just a bitty child and I loved it then when it was recorded by Hank Locklin and then many years later by Dolly Parton. Janie does a wonderful job bringing this classic song back on her new CD.

“Ring of Fire” is best known recorded by none other than the late and great Johnny Cash and co-written by June Carter and Merle Kilgore. Janie does a fine tribute to them with this song and it is yet another love song done in bluegrass style of falling into the “ring of fire” of love and just burning up with it. The pickin’ in this tune is done with fine fingers in the backups and is a joy to listen to.

This CD, the “Country Side of Bluegrass” is a fine collection of classic country performed in the style of bluegrass and would make Bill Monroe, Ricky Skaggs, and many other bluegrass artists proud. I would suggest this album to anyone who truly loves a mixture of grassroots country and bluegrass. The CD rounds out with “You Don’t Know Love”, “Goodbye Broken Heart”, “Do Me With Love”, “Faithless Love”, “She’s Single Again”, “I’ll Need Someone to Hold Me” (When I Cry), “Down to My Last Broken Heart”, “Tell Me A Lie”, “It Ain’t Easy Bein Easy”, and “Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me Baby”.

For more information you can find her at www.janiefricke.com and find her on Facebook and Twitter. The album sells for just $10.00 on her website as well as iTunes. That will be one well-spent $10.00!!

Calamity Annie, CMTT Music Contributor
CalamityAnnie1 on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace