Helen Darling (singer)

For other uses, see Helen Darling.
Helen Darling
Born (1965-05-01) May 1, 1965 (age 59)
OriginBaton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
GenresCountry
OccupationSinger
InstrumentVocals
Years active1995–present
LabelsDecca Nashville

Helen Darling (born May 1, 1965 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) is an American country music artist. Darling has released one studio album on Decca Nashville. She also charted one single on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart; "Jenny Come Back", peaked at No. 69 in 1995.

Darling sang background vocals on Garth Brooks' 1994 single "The Red Strokes". Brooks returned the favor by singing background on Darling's album. Two years later, she sang "I Will Always Be With You" for MGM's All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 with Frazier River frontman Danny Frazier in the credits. She also sang "Love Led Us Here" for Disney's Muppet Treasure Island with John Berry in the credits.[1]

A second album, West of Yesterday, was planned for release in early 1997,[2] but was scrapped. One of the unreleased tracks, "Land of the Living" would later be recorded by Pam Tillis for her 1997 Greatest Hits compilation, where it became her final top ten country hit.

As a songwriter, Darling has had her songs recorded by Reba McEntire, Little Big Town and Mindy McCready, among others. She also co-wrote Jo Dee Messina's Number One song "Bring On the Rain".

Helen Darling (1995)

Helen Darling
Studio album by
Helen Darling
ReleasedAugust 15, 1995 (1995-08-15)[3]
StudioJavelina Recording Studios (Nashville, TN)
GenreCountry
Length37:23
LabelDecca Nashville
Producer
Helen Darling chronology
Helen Darling
(1995) 		Who I Am Tonight
(2003)
Singles from Helen Darling
  1. "Jenny Come Back"
    Released: July 10, 1995[4]
  2. "I Haven't Found It Yet"
    Released: October 23, 1995[5]

Helen Darling is the debut studio album by Darling. It was released on August 15, 1995, via Decca Nashville. The song "Even God Must Get the Blues" would later be recorded by Jo Dee Messina on her 2000 album Burn.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[6]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic rated the album a 4 1/2 of 5, saying her music is reminiscent of Garth Brooks's country rock. Norm Rosenfield of Country Standard Time gave it a positive review, saying Darling sounded strong and confident on the album.[7]

Personnel

Taken from the liner notes.[8]

Track listing

Helen Darling track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Jenny Come Back"
3:12
2."I Haven't Found It Yet"
  • Helen Darling
  • Chuck Jones
3:29
3."Into the Storm"
4:40
4."I Love Him, I Think"
  • Cathy Majeski
  • Sunny Russ
  • Stephony Smith
3:49
5."When the Butterflies Have Flown Away"
  • Darling
  • Tena Clark
  • Gary Prim
3:31
6."Black and White and Blue"Tony Arata3:50
7."With Every Twist and Turn"Susan Duffy2:51
8."That's How You Know It's Love"Smith3:51
9."Next to Love"
4:18
10."Even God Must Get the Blues"
3:46
Total length:37:23

Singles

Year Single Peak chart
positions 		Album
US Country[9] CAN Country[10][11]
1995 "Jenny Come Back" 69 86 Helen Darling
1996 "I Haven't Found It Yet"[12] — —
"Full Deck of Cards"[13] — 90 West of Yesterday (unreleased)
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos

Year Video Director
1995 "Jenny Come Back"[14] Greg Vernon
1996 "I Haven't Found It Yet"[15] Charley Randazzo
"Full Deck of Cards" Michael McNamara

References

  1. ^ Bush, John, "Helen Darling Biography", Allmusic, retrieved 13 November 2009
  2. ^ "Popular Uprisings". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 49. Prometheus Global Media. December 7, 1996. p. 19. ISSN 0006-2510.
  3. ^ "Nashville This Week: Labels Preparing for Third Quarter". Radio & Records. No. 1103. July 14, 1995. p. 38.
  4. ^ "Decca's Darling Part Of Tradition". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 29. Prometheus Global Media. pp. 25, 29. ISSN 0006-2510. The first single, "Jenny Come Back," was shipped to radio July 10.
  5. ^ "Country Highlights: New Releases". Country Monitor. Vol. 3, no. 43. October 20, 1995. p. 1.
  6. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Helen Darling review". Allmusic. Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  7. ^ Rosenfield, Norm. "Helen Darling review – Helen Darling". Country Standard Time. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  8. ^ Helen Darling (CD booklet). Helen Darling. Decca Nashville Records. 1995. 11259.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ "Hot Country Songs for the week of August 5, 1995". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  10. ^ "RPM 100 Country Tracks for September 11, 1995". Library and Archives Canada. RPM. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  11. ^ "RPM 100 Country Tracks for November 25, 1996". Library and Archives Canada. RPM. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  12. ^ "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. October 28, 1995.
  13. ^ "Country Highlights: New Releases". Country Monitor. Vol. 4, no. 44. October 25, 1996. p. 1.
  14. ^ "CMT : Videos : Helen Darling : Jenny Come Back". Country Music Television. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  15. ^ "CMT : Videos : Helen Darling : I Haven't Found It Yet". Country Music Television. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2011.