Tune Tuesday

Today We wish Juice Newton a Happy 73rd Birthday. She is one of those artists/songwriters who was very big in the 80’s and sort of disappeared. The truth is, she’s always been around, we just don’t hear her stuff thanks to a variety of things. One of those things is the mindset of corporate radio.

I have featured uptempo stuff from Juice before, but I wanted to feature her voice today. Her ballads really showcase her singing voice and one of my favorites is The Sweetest Thing. This song was written for Juice Newton by her music partner Otha Young (Robert O. Young) for her 1975 debut album Juice Newton and Silver Spur. She re-recorded it in 1981 for her groundbreaking album Juice.

Country singer Jamie O’Neal covered the song for her album of cover songs. She told songfacts.com:

“I think there’s songs, like ‘The Sweetest Thing,’ that’ll live on forever, and when you hear it, it takes you right back to where you were when that was a big hit for Juice Newton … I think that song stands the test of time and that’s what makes it a classic to me is the fact that everybody knows it. Not just in one little area of music, but across the board, everybody knows that song.”

The song was a Top 10 hit on three different Billboard charts: #1 on Adult Contemporary, #1 on Country and #7 on the Hot 100.

Happy Birthday, Juice!