The Real Mr. Heartache: The Little Darlin' Years

• Artist: Johnny Paycheck
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1996
• Total Time: 59:15
• Type: Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Country

Review

For the casual country fan who only knows Johnny Paycheck from his late-'70s outlaw period ("Take This Job and Shove It," a hit song so huge that its title was made into a major film), these 24 sides from the mid-'60s will come as a major revelation. Paycheck has always come by his outlaw image honestly and he had been knocking around Nashville since 1958, cutting rockabilly country singles under the name Donny Young when he came to the attention of producer/record executive Aubrey Mayhew in 1962. Forming a partnership, they produced a spate of hard country singles for Hilltop before starting up their own label, Little Darlin'. Figuring the easiest way to get noticed was to be as wild as possible, they uncorked a rash of singles (and a couple of albums) that pushed the darkest side of honky tonk lyrics to their limits while simultaneously widening the limits of 45-rpm reproduction with stinging, high-end mixes perfect for AM country radio stations and truck-stop jukeboxes alike. These weren't merely honky tonk records bucking the tide of the '60s Nashville sound; this was country music with a wild-hair, unrepentant redneck attitude to it. This dissolute persona is reflected in many of the titles alone, from "If I'm Gonna Sink (I Might as Well Go to the Bottom)," to "He's in a Hurry (To Get Home to My Wife)," to the absolutely scary "(Pardon Me) I've Got Someone to Kill," the mood getting blacker and blacker with each keening wail of Lloyd Green's steel guitar. Paycheck may have had bigger (much bigger) hits than the 24 tracks collected here, but he never made any greater music than this. ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Don't Start Countin' on Me	Doug Gilmore, Eddie Crandall	Johnny Paycheck	(2:00)
The Girl They Talk About	Larry Lee	Johnny Paycheck	(2:46)
A-11 (Lyrics)	Hank Cochran	Johnny Paycheck	(2:21)
The Real Mr. Heartache	Larry Lee	Johnny Paycheck	(2:50)
I'm Barely Hangin' on to Me	Joe Poovey	Johnny Paycheck	(2:15)
The Lovin' Machine	Larry Kingston	Johnny Paycheck	(2:33)
He's in a Hurry (To Get Home to My Wife)	Joe Poovey	Johnny Paycheck	(2:25)
The Ballad of Frisco Bay	Johnny Paycheck, Aubrey Mayhew	Johnny Paycheck	(2:47)
Wherever You Are	Johnny Paycheck, Aubrey Mayhew	Johnny Paycheck	(2:47)
Big Town Baby	Paul Angel	Johnny Paycheck	(1:58)
Hang on Sally	Larry Kingston	Johnny Paycheck	(2:03)
(Pardon Me) I've Got Someone to Kill	Johnny Paycheck, Aubrey Mayhew	Johnny Paycheck	(2:56)
(It's a Mighty Thin Line) Between Love and Hate	Johnny Paycheck, Aubrey Mayhew	Johnny Paycheck	(2:51)
Apartment #9	Johnny Paycheck, Bobby Austin	Johnny Paycheck	(2:15)
The Late and Great Me [#]	Joe Poovey	Johnny Paycheck	(2:21)
Motel Time Again	Bobby Bare	Johnny Paycheck	(2:15)
Jukebox Charlie	Johnny Paycheck, Aubrey Mayhew	Johnny Paycheck	(2:27)
Touch My Heart	Johnny Paycheck, Aubrey Mayhew	Johnny Paycheck	(2:45)
My Baby Don't Love Me Anymore	Johnny Paycheck, Aubrey Mayhew	Johnny Paycheck	(2:26)
The Cave	Larry Kingston	Johnny Paycheck	(3:32)
Don't Monkey With Another Monkey's Monkey	Dale Morris	Johnny Paycheck	(2:17)
(Like Me) You'll Recover in Time	Johnny Paycheck, Aubrey Mayhew	Johnny Paycheck	(4:01)
It Won't Be Long (And I'll Be Hating You)	Johnny Paycheck, Aubrey Mayhew, Bill Merritt	Johnny Paycheck	(2:29)
If I'm Gonna Sink (I Might as Well Go to the Bottom)	Johnny Paycheck, Aubrey Mayhew	Johnny Paycheck	(2:43)

Credits

Aubrey Mayhew (Remastering), Aubrey Mayhew (Photo Courtesy), Lauren Finney (Art Direction), Johnny Paycheck (Vocals), Aubrey Mayhew (Original Recording Producer), Daniel Cooper (Programming), Alan Stoker (Audio Consultant), Daniel Cooper (Liner Notes), Aubrey Mayhew (Producer)