A Woman's Hand (album)
{{Infobox album
| name = A Woman's Hand
| type = studio
| artist = Jean Shepard
| cover = Jean Shepard--A Woman's Hand.jpg
| released = {{start date|1970|09}}
| recorded = {{start date|1969|07}}
| studio = Columbia (Nashville, Tennessee)
| genre = Country{{cite magazine |title=Billboard Album Reviews: Country |magazine=Billboard |date=September 19, 1970 |page=36 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wCkEAAAAMBAJ&dq=jean+shepard+a+woman%27s+hand&pg=PA36 |access-date=1 July 2024}}
| label = Capitol
| producer = Larry Butler
| prev_title = Best by Request
| prev_year = 1970
| next_title = Here & Now
| next_year = 1971
| misc = {{Singles
| name = A Woman's Hand
| type = studio
| single1 = Then He Touched Me
| single1date = December 1969
| single2 = A Woman's Hand
| single2date = March 1970
| single3 = I Want You Free
| single3date = July 1970
}}
}}
A Woman's Hand is a studio album by American country singer Jean Shepard. It was released in September 1970 by Capitol Records and was her sixteenth studio album. The collection of ten tracks featured a series of cover tunes by male country artists. Some of the songs were new material. Among them were its three singles: "Then He Touched Me", "I Want You Free" and the title track. Of the three, "Then He Touched Me" was its highest-charting, reaching the top ten on the US country chart. A Woman's Hand was reviewed positively by both Billboard and Cash Box magazines.
Background, recording and content
Jean Shepard was one of the first female country artists to find commercial success as solo act. Between the 1950s and 1970s, Shepard continuously made the country music popularity charts.{{cite web |last1=Cooper |first1=Dan |title=Jean Shepard |url=https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/hall-of-fame/jean-shepard |website=Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum |access-date=30 June 2024}} In the late sixties, Shepard made the transition from working with Kelso Herston to aspiring record producer Larry Butler.{{cite book |last1=Shepard |first1=Jean |title=Down Through the Years |date=2014 |publisher=Don Wise Productions |isbn=978-0944391068 |page=89}} Under his production, Shepard reached the top 20 with 1969's "Seven Lonely Days" and then reached the top ten with 1970's "Then He Touched Me".{{cite magazine |title=UA Country Artists |magazine=Billboard |date=October 9, 1976 |page=46 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1976/1976-10-09-Billboard-Page-0046.pdf#search=%22jean%20shepard%20then%20he%20touched%20me%22 |access-date=30 June 2024}} The latter would be featured on Shepard's A Woman's Hand LP.{{cite journal |last1=Shepard |first1=Jean |title=A Woman's Hand (Liner Notes) |journal=Capitol Records |date=August 1970 |id=ST-559}}
A Woman's Hand was Shepard's second studio album produced by Larry Butler. The project was recorded at the Columbia Studios (located in Nashville, Tennessee) in July 1969. The album project contained a total of ten tracks. Several of the songs on the album were covers of country hits by male performers. This included songs by Bill Anderson ("I'll Live for You"), Buck Owens ("Maybe If I Close My Eyes It'll Go Away") and Hank Williams ("I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)"). Among its new songs was "Then He Touched Me", which was written by George Richey and Norro Wilson.{{cite magazine |title=Country LP Reviews |magazine=Cash Box |date=September 12, 1970 |page=50 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/70s/1970/CB-1970-09-12-OCR-Page-0050.pdf#search=%22jean%20shepard%20a%20woman's%20hand%22 |access-date=1 July 2024}}
Release, critical reception and singles
A Woman's Hand was released by Capitol Records in September 1970. It was Shepard's sixteenth studio album in her career. Capitol distributed the album as a vinyl LP, with five songs on either side of the record. The project received positive reviews from music magazines following its release. Billboard wrote, "Emotion, tenderness and sincerity are spelled out in the voice of Jean Shepard as she sings these fine tunes." Cash Box magazine wrote, "A woman's hand can do a lot, but when the woman is Jean Shepard, her voice can do a lot more as is evidenced by this beautifully overpowering LP."
A total of three singles were included on A Woman's Hand. The first single released was "Then He Touched Me" in December 1969.{{cite journal |last1=Shepard |first1=Jean |title="Then He Touched Me"/"Only Mama That'll Walk the Line" (7" vinyl single) |journal=Capitol Records |date=December 1969 |id=2694}} The song became her ninth top ten single on the US Billboard country songs chart, peaking at number eight.{{cite book |title= The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research}} March 1970 saw the release of the title track as the second single.{{cite journal |last1=Shepard |first1=Jean |title="A Woman's Hand"/"What Went Wrong" (7" vinyl single) |journal=Capitol Records |date=March 1970 |id=2279}} It was rose to the US Billboard country top 30, peaking at number 23. The third and last single released was "I Want You Free" in July 1970.{{cite journal |last1=Shepard |first1=Jean |title="I Want You Free"/"Be Nice to Everybody" (7" vinyl single) |journal=Capitol Records |date=July 1970 |id=2847}} It was also a top 30 US country chart single, peaking at number 22.
Track listing
{{track list
|title1 = A Woman's Hand
|writer1 = Jan Crutchfield
|length1 = 2:22
|title2 = Born to Be with You
|writer2 = Don Robertson
|length2 = 2:23
|title3 = My Arms Stay Open Late
|writer3 = {{hlist|C. Putman|D. Lomax}}
|length3 = 2:20
|title4 = I'll Live for You
|writer4 = Bill Anderson
|length4 = 2:35
|title5 = What Went Wrong
|writer5 = Nancy Apple
|length5 = 1:56
}}
{{track list
|title1 = I Want You Free
|writer1 = Martha Sharpe
|length1 = 2:43
|title2 = Then He Touched Me
|writer2 = {{hlist|G. Richey|N. Wilson}}
|length2 = 2:44
|title3 = I Love You More Today
|writer3 = L. E. White
|length3 = 2:20
|title4 = Maybe If I Close My Eyes (It'll Go Away)
|writer4 = Buck Owens
|length4 = 2:13
|title5 = I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)
|writer5 = Hank Williams
|length5 = 2:29
}}
Release history
References
{{reflist}}
{{Jean Shepard}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woman's Hand}}
Category:Albums produced by Larry Butler (producer)