Sings Country Like Crazy

Rusty York cut this straight country album in 1968 after touring with Bobby Bare for several years and dabbling in bluegrass music. Bare contributed the song "You Better Leave My Baby Alone," and co-wrote "I Might Just Walk Right Back Again" with York. The other songs, excepting a remake of York's hit "Sugaree" and four Harlan Howard compositions, are covers of country hits including "Crazy" (to which the album title refers), "Ring of Fire," and "Abilene." York's version of Claude King's "Wolverton Mountain" is very similar to the original, with a country-pop sound that persists throughout the album. In fact, the production style is such that the album sounds as if it could have been recorded at any time in the '60s. York's longtime confederate Jimmie Skinner penned the album's liner notes. The straightforward country recordings of the sort heard on Sings Like Crazy may not be as prized by collectors as York's rockabilly efforts, but they better represent the kind of music to which he was dedicated.