Connie Smith’s career began with her ebullient 1964 hit “Once a Day,” now part of the Library of Congress’ prestigious National Recording Registry.

Marty Stuart, Smith’s husband and producer since ’97, shaped her four previous albums to celebrate traditional sounds and present them to new audiences. This time, the focus is different. Smith selected venerable country and pop songs, not all hits, written or sung by friends.

Backed by Stuart’s band and numerous guest players, she wraps her still-formidable voice around Loretta Lynn’s “World of Forgotten People,” enhanced by Gary Carter’s empathetic pedal steel. Shimmering electric guitar and steel liven up George Jones’ “Beneath Still Waters” and “If You Won’t Tell on Me.” Carter’s steel and subtle rhythm guitars enhance her spins on Roy Acuff’s “Once More” and Jim & Jesse’s bluegrass ballad “Drifting and Dreaming of You.”

Gentle acoustic guitars frame “The Fugitive,” penned by Liz Anderson and immortalized by Merle Haggard. Stuart skillfully re-creates the smooth, orchestrated ’60s countrypolitan sound on her revivals of Gogi Grant’s ’50s pop hit “The Wayward Wind,” Skeeter Davis’ ’62 country-pop hit “The End of The World,” and “Seattle,” an obscure pop tune Smith first recorded in ’68.

This article originally appeared in VG’s September 2024 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.