Tommy Overstreet "Gwen (Congratulations)" (Dot Records, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by Ricci Mareno & Bill Tallent)
Tommy Overstreet "This Is Tommy Overstreet" (Dot Records, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Ricci Mareno & Charlie Black)
Tommy Overstreet "Heaven Is My Woman's Love" (Dot Records, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Ricci Mareno, Charlie Black & Jerry Gillespie)
Tommy Overstreet "My Friends Call Me T.O." (Dot Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Ricci Mareno, Charlie Black & Jerry Gillespie)
Tommy Overstreet "Woman, Your Name Is My Song" (Dot Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Ricci Mareno, Charlie Black & Jerry Gillespie)
Tommy Overstreet "I'm A Believer" (ABC/Dot Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Ricci Mareno, Charlie Black & Jerry Gillespie)
Tommy Overstreet "Live From The Silver Slipper" (ABC/Dot Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Ricci Mareno, Jim Halsey & Jim Williamson)
A concert album with guest appearances from Linda Hart, banjoist Skip DeVol and the vocal group Three Of A Kind... Texas-born actor/singer Linda Hart was formerly of the New Christy Minstrels as well as from her family's gospel group, The Musical Harts, and later toured in Bette Midler's entourage.
Tommy Overstreet "Turn On To Tommy Overstreet" (ABC/Dot Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Ron Chancey)
A pretty uptempo set with socko, robust arrangements and only a few drippy countrypolitan ballads. It seems like Overstreet was really trying to keep up with the times, if not ahead of the curve -- this is pretty slick and bombastic, but it's not completely cheesy. None of these songs really leapt out at me as ones I'd want in permanent rotation at Chez Sixpack, but I enjoyed listening to this record, and really hadn't expected to. Worth a spin -- among some of the better Top 40 Nashville stuff you'll hear from this era.
Tommy Overstreet "Vintage '77" (ABC/Dot Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Ron Chancey & Leslie Ladd)
Tommy Overstreet "Hangin' 'Round" (ABC/Dot Records, 1977) (LP)
Tommy Overstreet "There'll Never Be Another First Time" (Pinnacle Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Tommy Overstreet & Jim Williamson)
Tommy Overstreet "Better Me" (ABC/Dot Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Ron Chancey)
Tommy Overstreet "I'll Never Let You Down" (Elektra Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Milsap)
Tommy Overstreet "The Real Tommy Overstreet" (Elektra Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Milsap)
Tommy Overstreet "The Best Of Tommy Overstreet" (Elektra Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Milsap & Mike Poston)
Curiously, this is not actually a collection of his work on his short tenure with Elektra Records, but rather a rehash of old hits such as "Gwen (Congratulations)," etc., which he originally recorded with ABC/Dot. Personally, I consider re-recording sessions like this to be new albums rather than actual "best-of" records... though I'm sure there are those among you who do not agree with this perspective. The Nashville studio crew for this set included guitarist Charlie Black, Greg Galbraith (guitar), Sonny Garrish (dobro and steel guitar), Fred Newell (guitar), Curtis Young (bass), the Cates Sisters singing backup, and various and sundry others.
Tommy Overstreet "Audiograph Alive" (Audiograph Records, 1982) (LP)
After his short stint with Elektra, Tommy Overstreet kind of fell off the radar, recording new albums on indie labels such as Audiograph and 51 West which arose in the early 'Eighties to give some refuge to fading stars from the 1960s and '70s who had been summarily dropped by their respective major labels, as Nashville set its sights on bigger hits and stronger sales numbers. Overstreet also carved out a niche for himself as a studio producer, appearing in this capacity on a number of smaller, independent albums.
Tommy Overstreet "Dream Maker" (Intercord Records, 1982) (LP)
Tommy Overstreet "Good Lovin' Feelin' " (Intercord Records, 1983) (LP)
Tommy Overstreet "Nuggets" (51 West Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Paul Whitehead & Hollis Halford)
This record was a little bit random and odd, with Overstreet covering hits from other artists such as George Jones's classic weeper, "He Stopped Loving Her Today" and lesser numbers such as "Burgers And Fries," which was one of Charley Pride's later hits.
Tommy Overstreet "Memories Old And New, v.1" (Deja Vu Records, 1984)
Tommy Overstreet "Memories Old And New, v.2" (Deja Vu Records, 1985)
Tommy Overstreet "Greatest Hits, v.1" (ABC/Dot Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Ricci Mareno)
Tommy Overstreet "The Best Of Tommy Overstreet" (Varese Sarabande, 1998)
This sadly out-of-print collection covers the bulk of his hits for the ABC/Dot label in the 1970s, and while the material strains a little bit, it's really no worse than many of Overstreet's countrypolitan contemporaries. Sometimes he'd try and go all Waylon on us, other times he'd be more croony and soft... But on balance, he was really alright. This CD best-of is probably more worth having than his original LPs, but either way would be kinda rewarding, in a corny kinda way. (Amazing true fact (according to the Wikipedia): Overstreet was apparently related to 1920's crooning star Gene Austin, who recorded the hit version of "My Blue Heaven"(!)
Tommy Overstreet "Solid Gold Hits" (Laser Light Records, 1993)
Tommy Overstreet "Country Gospel Favorites" (Madacy Records, 2006)
A 3-CD set of religious recordings...
Tommy Overstreet "Welcome To My World Of Love" (Acrobat Records, 2008)
Tommy Overstreet "Heaven Is My Woman's Love: Tommy Overstreet Sings His Hits" (IMC Records, 1998)
Tommy Overstreet "20 Classic Songs" (Varese Sarabande, 2008)
Re-recorded versions of his old hits...
An amiable second-stringer, country crooner Tommy Overstreet (1937-2015) had a string of hits in the 1970s, never quite hitting Number One, but leaving behind a lot of loyal fans. An Okie kid who started out working in Texas and the Southwest, Overstreet came to Nashville in 1967 and slowly worked his way up through the ranks and in later years opened a venue in Branson, Missouri. He was mostly a mellow singer, but had some rugged twang in there as well. (Amazing true fact (according to the Wikipedia): Overstreet was apparently related to 1920's crooning star Gene Austin, who recorded the original hit version of "My Blue Heaven"(!) Here's a quick look at his work...
