Barbara Mandrell is undoubtedly one of the most influential country music artists from the 1970s and 80s. Mandrell’s debut album, Treat Him Right, came out in 1971. The record kicked off a successful career that lasted more than two decades.
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Mandrell retired from country music in 1997, leaving a legacy that remains revered. We found three Mandrell hits from the 1970s that still surprisingly sound like hits today.
“Tonight My Baby’s Coming Home”
“Tonight My Baby’s Coming Home” is an uptempo, feel-good track that today’s female artists, like Lainey Wilson and Ella Langley, could almost be heard singing on it. From Barbara Mandrell’s sophomore album The Midnight Oil, the song was written by Billy Sherrill and Glenn Sutton.
“Last night he called from Dallas / He was having a beer at the Crystal Palace,” the Grand Ole Opry member sings. “He said, ‘Honey you won’t be alone for long / I got to make just one more stop / To pick up a ring in Little Rock / And I’m gonna head this semi straight for home.’”
Released in 1971, the song became Barbara Mandrell’s first Top 10 single.
“Standing Room Only”
“Standing Room Only” is written by Susan Manchester and Charles Silver. Out in 1975, the song is a tale as old as time, at least in country music. “Standing Room Only” is about a woman who is done with her partner’s infidelity, a message that has endured for all of country music.
“If home is where the heart is / Then your home’s on the street,” the song says in part. “Me, I’ll read a good book / Turn out the lights and go to sleep / Standing room only / I can’t stand no more, no more / Standing room only / Outside my door.”
Barbara Mandrell likes the song so much, she includes it on her 2020 vinyl record, After All These Years: A Collection.
“(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right”
Barbara Mandrell is one of numerous artists to record “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right”. Written by Homer Banks, Carl Hampton, and Raymond Jackson, the song became a No. 1 hit for Mandrell.
The bold song is about an adulterous affair, an unfortunately still-common topic in country music, even after all these years. Mandrell sings, “If loving you is wrong, I don’t wanna be right / If being right means being without you / I’d rather live a wrong doing life / Your mama and daddy say it’s a shame / It’s a downright disgrace / But long as I got you by my side / I don’t care what your people say.”
“(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right” marked a career first for Barbara Mandrell. It became her first Top 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart as well.
Photo by Harry Langdon/Getty Images
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