Tell Me a Lie
{{other uses}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Tell Me a Lie
| cover = Tell Me a Lie - Sami Jo.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Sami Jo
| album = It Could Have Been Me
| B-side = Stay Where You Are
| released = February 1974
| recorded = 1973
| studio =
| genre = Pop
| length =
| label = MGM South
| writer = Mickey Buckins, Barbara Wyrick
| producer = Sonny Limbo
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = It Could Have Been Me
| next_year = 1974
}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Tell Me a Lie
| cover = TellMeALieJF.png
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Janie Fricke
| album = Love Lies
| B-side = Love Have Mercy
| released = September 17, 1983
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre = Country
| length = 3:35
| label = Columbia
| writer = Mickey Buckins, Barbara Wyrick
| producer = Bob Montgomery
| prev_title = He's a Heartache (Looking for a Place to Happen)
| prev_year = 1983
| next_title = Let's Stop Talkin' About It
| next_year = 1984
}}
"Tell Me a Lie" is a song composed by Mickey Buckins and Barbara Wyrick. Originally recorded by Lynn Anderson for her 1974 What a Man My Man Is album, it was released later that same year as a single by Sami Jo Cole, who took it to number 21 on both of the major U.S. pop charts. It also charted in Canada (#17).{{cite web|url=http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.5033a&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.5033a.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.5033a |title=Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada |website=Collectionscanada.gc.ca |date=1974-04-20 |accessdate=2018-04-01}} Cole's version was also an Adult Contemporary hit, reaching number 14 in the U.S.{{cite book|first= Joel |last= Whitburn |author-link= Joel Whitburn |year= 1993 |title= Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993 |publisher= Record Research |page=121}} and number 27 in Canada.{{cite web|url=http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.5014&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.5014.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.5014 |title=Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada |website=Collectionscanada.gc.ca |date=1974-05-18 |accessdate=2018-04-01}}
Janie Fricke covered the song in 1983 and topped the U.S. country singles charts with it.
Chart history
{{col-begin|width=67%}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+Year-end chart performance for "Tell Me a Lie" !scope="col"|Chart (1974) !scope="col"|Rank |
| scope="row"|Canada RPM Top Singles[http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.3893b&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.3893b.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.3893b Bac-lac.gc.ca]
| style="text-align:center;"|157 |
|---|
| scope="row"|US (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual){{cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |date=1999 |title=Pop Annual |location=Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin |publisher=Record Research Inc. |isbn=0-89820-142-X}}
| style="text-align:center;"|162 |
{{col-end}}
Later versions
In 1981, Bettye LaVette recorded an R&B version of the song on Motown. It was released as the title track of her album the following year.{{cite AV media notes |title=Tell Me A Lie |others=Bettye LaVette |year=1982 |publisher=Motown Record Corporation|location=Hollywood, California }}
Janie Fricke cover
In 1983, Janie Fricke picked up the song "Tell Me a Lie" as to be released as her next single in 1983. Originally included on Fricke's 1982 album It Ain't Easy, it was released in September 1983 as the first single from her album Love Lies. During this time, Fricke racked up a good number of hits, like "It Ain't Easy Bein' Easy" and "I Need Someone to Hold Me When I Cry".
Shortly thereafter, Fricke's record producer at the time Billy Sherrill, had suggested that Fricke would record the song. Listening to Sherrill, Fricke recorded the song in 1983. By this time though, Fricke had produced a number 1 hit in 1983 called "It Ain't Easy Bein' Easy". Fricke soon released "Tell Me a Lie" as a single on the country charts that year.
By 1983, "Tell Me a Lie" was Janie Fricke's fourth number one hit on the Country charts.{{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 |page=128}} The song and its album that it was featured on titled It Ain't Easy became very successful and became one of Fricke's signature songs. Since the song's release, it has been included in numerous multi-artist compilation albums. Despite the song's pop production, as well as its success on the country charts, it did not reach the pop singles chart. In 2004, Fricke released a bluegrass album, entitled The Bluegrass Sessions, which featured remakes of Fricke's biggest hits. The album featured "Tell Me a Lie".
Chart performance
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+Chart performance for "Tell Me a Lie" by Janie Fricke !scope="col"|Chart (1983–1984) !scope="col"|Peak |
| scope="row"|Canadian RPM Country Tracks
|align="center"|1 |
|---|
| {{single chart|Billboardcountrysongs|1|artist=Janie Fricke|rowheader=true}} |
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110715234551/http://www.samijocole.com/index.html Sami Jo Cole Website]